Global Paid Search CTRs Up 62% in Q1

April 24, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Digital | Mobile Phone | Paid Search

Kenshoo-Global-Paid-Search-Trends-in-Q1-Apr2013The latest report on paid search trends has been released, this one from Kenshoo. As with previous reports from RKG, The Search Agency, and IgnitionOne, the Kenshoo study notes that mobile devices are playing a strong role in the search advertising market. Separately, though, the report illustrates that on a global basis, paid search click volume (+21%) and click-through rates (+62%) each saw strong growth, with spending up 15%. 

Interestingly, the report shows that the average cost-per-click declined to the lowest point in 5 quarters, falling from $0.45 in Q4 2012 to $0.39 in Q1, although the Q1 figure was only slightly below Q1 2012’s average of $0.41, suggesting a seasonality factor.

Meanwhile, the 62% year-over-year growth in click-through rate brought the average up to 1.68%.

Other Findings:

  • In the US, search ad spending grew by 24% year-over-year, while average cost-per-click (CPC) stood at $0.38.
  • Mobile phones (8.7%) and tablets (10.1%) together accounted for 18.8% of search ad spend in the US, even as they captured only 13.9% of spend (5% phone; 8.9% tablet).
  • CPCs were lowest on mobile phones ($0.30), while CPCs on tablets were only 10 cents less than on computers ($0.46 vs. $0.56).

About the Data: To analyze quarterly data in its historical context through the most uniform and largest sample possible, an aggregate data set was built from a representative sample of advertisers and agencies who had been active on the Kenshoo platform during the entire previous 24 months. Whenever possible, the initial 3 months of campaign data were excluded from the index in an attempt to reduce the impact of program launches and the associated anomalies they present as marketers set up their programs and make initial tweaks.

The rolling data set used in this research reflects billions of dollars in global paid search ad spend. While this sample better reflects changes over time in the overall marketplace, there may be variations in numbers for past or future reports published by Kenshoo, as the rolling data set is dynamic each new quarter.

Mobile device data comes from a representative sample of Kenshoo clients in the U.S. and U.K. who were tracking device type, conversions, and revenue metrics within the Kenshoo platform during Q1 2013 for paid search activities. Mobile device data comes from a different sample of Kenshoo client data than the index data set used for global and regional analysis.

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