Search ad spending takes rare slide in quarter
By Daniel at 21 January, 2009, 10:56 am
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Spending on Internet search advertising, a corner
of the market widely seen as relatively sheltered from the economic downturn,
fell 8% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report published
Tuesday.
The report, from search engine marketing firm Efficient Frontier, raised some
concerns about fourth-quarter earnings reports due in the coming days from
companies that provide Internet search including Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft
Corp. (MSFT)
“In such an economically pressured environment, budgets become increasingly
scrutinized,” the report stated.
Google maintained its commanding lead in the U.S. market with 76% of the total
spent on search marketing, according to the report. However, the company saw
spending on its search service and related network fall 4% compared to the same
period a year earlier.
Yahoo (YHOO) meanwhile saw its share of online search advertising spending gain
3% over the same period, according to the report, while Microsoft saw its share
dip slightly.
Google and Microsoft are expected to report fourth-quarter earnings Thursday
after the market’s close, while Yahoo is scheduled to report results next
Tuesday.
The biggest declines in online search advertising spending came from the auto,
travel, entertainment and financial services industries, according to the report.
On a day of broad losses for technology stocks, shares of Google closed more than
5% lower at $282.75, while shares of Yahoo fell 5% and Microsoft shares fell more
than 6%.
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