Expert Predicts 25% Increase in Online Ad Spending

Robert Coen, senior vice president and director of forecasting for Universal McCann, expects a 25% increase in online ad spending this year over 2005, excluding search (he’s looking for a number around $9.705 billion). Some other forecasters anticipate the figure including search to approximate $20 billion. That would amount to roughly a 26% increase over 2005.

While online spending is surging, total advertising spending for 2006 is anticipated to grow at approximately 5.6% over last year. Retail newspaper spending was down 1% in the first three months of the year and spot radio was down 2%.

There have never been more options for clever advertisers and more will come as entrepreneurs offer people more of what they’re looking for!

Are You Losing Potential Customers?

If most of the visitors to your website are new, there's a good chance you are missing out on some potential sales! Think about it. A significant percentage of those new visitors are probably just starting their purchase cycle. They are looking for a product or service, but may not be sure of all their options. People generally do their homework before they buy. Shoppers who are just starting to look, aren't ready to buy yet. But, you have an opportunity to engage them by offering them something of value in return for being able to follow-up with them at a later time… hopefully, when they are ready to make a purchase decision.

Include an Engagement Application on every page of your site so potential customers have the option to opt-in for your help. Make the offer compelling… "Let us help you find the exact WIDGET you're looking for".

Once you get their information, start a dialog. Start the CRM (customer relationship management). The objective is to give them the information they need to make a decision to purchase your product or service. There are numerous web based CRM solutions available. One is from a company called Emma. They make it simple. Just collect your potential customers' names, the data goes into Emma's database. Then design rich HTML emails via Emma's simple application interface, slice and dice the data, sending the right info to the right prospects. Simple but effective!

Google Search Market Share Continues to Grow

comScore released its April 2006 Search Engine Rankings for total US home, work and university Internet users. Results follow (Apr '05/Apr '06):

• Google Sites 36.5%/43.1%
• Yahoo! Sites 30.7%/28.0%
• MSN Sites 16.1%/12.9%
• Time Warner Network 9.0%/6.9%
• Ask Network 6.1%/5.8%
• MySpace.com Search N/A/.6%

For additional information, visit www.comscore.com.