Search Marketing in India

According to the IAMAI report (1), of the 230 crore of paid search advertising aimed at Indians, 70 crore is put in by Indian companies themselves (Indian companies/companies having operation in India spending on Indians). That would make search marketing 43.75% of the overall internet advertising spend of 160 crore.

Advertisers are turning to paid search advertising to tap into the huge marketing opportunity provided by the 1 billion searches Indians perform online every month. 308 million of these 1 billion keywords show up with paid search ads. Indians click on 4.8 million paid search ads every month.

In India there are a total of 45,000 search advertisers in comparison to the 6,50,000 search advertisers in the US. Search marketing is still nascent in India but the market is expected to grow at 43% annually (FICCI-PriceWaterHouse Coopers report).

Internet marketing is expected to grow further as internet and broadband penetration in India increases. Banner advertising has been around in India for the past 6-7 years with most of the revenue going to the top 8-10 websites at their group sites. Search marketing has just caught on in the past 2-3 years with its ability to track ROI (return on investment) accurately. Google corners 90% of the search advertising revenue in India.

References:
1) "The State of Search Engine Marketing in India", September 2006

Internet Penetration in India

An e-marketer report puts the number of internet users in India at 33.2 million. India has the 8th largest number of internet users in the world. Internet usage in India is growing at whopping rate of 33%. This growth rate is expected to continue as internet has reached only 3-3.5% of the total population in the country. Broadband has reached 10% of the online population in the country.

E-mail Newsletter Marketing Campaign

E-zines can get you repeat exposure with your customers on a regular basis. Every customer opting for your E-zine is showing interest in your business and is a warm prospect. A 2006 survey by Vertical Response showed that E-mail Marketing had the highest ROI per dollar spent:

• E-mail ROI vs $1 spent: $51.45


• Print Catalogs vs $1 spent: $7.20


• Non-Email Internet Marketing: $21.08

An emaillabs report suggests that e-mails sent 2-3 times every month have the highest average click through rate of 24.7%

Why use Digital Advertising?

• Internet reaches out to 33.2 million Indians online.


• Internet and mobile are the media of choice for marketers targeting the 16-34 age group.


• Internet reach is expected to continue growing at 33% annually.


• Indians are already performing a billion online search queries.


• Campaign performance can be accurately measured on the internet and fine-tuned unlike other advertising media.


• Internet gives you the ability to interact with your consumers and build long-term relationships.


• Online advertising raises your offline sales by 19% on an average according to a study by Yahoo & AC Neilsen.