Search for Web info a gold mine

Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:30 AM BST

By Lisa Baertlein

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - People searching for information on the Internet are driving some of the fastest-growing profits on the Web, whetting advertisers' appetites by signaling what they want.

By typing in search terms, users are also sending advertisers a clear message about merchandise they might be interested in buying, and search providers like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN are cashing in.

For instance, entering "laptop computer" will bring up ads for products from computer makers Dell and Hewlett-Packard, retailer Best Buy, online auctioneer eBay and price comparison site BizRate.com.

Research shows global Web search advertising revenue, which is big business for the two Internet giants, will be almost $8 billion in 2005 -- more than 20 times what it was four years ago.

"It's a marketer's dream tool because we can monitor it in so many different ways and watch the effectiveness of it," said Jeff Saville, a consumer direct marketing manager at Deckers Outdoor.

Deckers, which sells Teva sandals and Ugg sheepskin boots, among other products, jumped into Web search advertising as the 2005 holiday season ramped up, diverting money from its Web banner ad budget.

Web search ads, also referred to as paid search, are triggered when Internet users look for information. Advertisers buy key words that would be used to find their product and pay each time a consumer clicks on their ads -- which are links to their Web pages -- and Google and Yahoo reap the revenue.

The market is growing fast, primarily because the ads are trackable and target people who are already interested. The medium is also inexpensive compared with television, radio, direct mail and Web banner ads.

For Saville and others, paid-search advertising has become a do-or-die proposition.

Jeffrey Herzog, chairman and chief executive of iCrossing, a search engine marketing company that helps people create and manage Web search campaigns, agreed.

"When someone conducts a search, only two things can happen. They'll either find your business or a competitor's business. Game over," Herzog said. Full story: HERE