Search engine marketing gains relevance according to study

82 percent of 120 Swiss companies surveyed invest in search engine marketing. This is the result of the first Swiss market study on the subject. On behalf of the online marketing agency Angelink yourposition, the company Dr. Pascal Sieber & Partners surveyed around 120 marketing managers from Swiss companies between May and July 2006. They wanted to find out about experiences, goals and budgets in connection with search engine marketing. According to a press release from Angelink yourposition, the study showed that the topic is well established: search engine marketing has a good image and budgets are expected to increase significantly. 18 percent of the 122 companies surveyed do not use search engine marketing at all. The main reason given for this was a lack of knowledge. A number of companies have taken their first steps in the form of search engine submissions, while a larger number are engaged in either search engine optimization or keyword advertising. 30 percent of the study participants use a combination of search engine optimization and keyword advertising. They spend an average of CHF 50,000 per year on this. According to the study, this figure is set to rise: 70 percent of participants stated that they intend to increase their investment in search engine marketing over the next three years.
Roger Schnider, Co-Managing Director of Angelink yourposition, sees the results as confirmation of his own observations. Search engine marketing is increasingly being seen as a way of acquiring new customers and promoting sales. A sign of the rapid development is also the fact that numerous companies are already using the various instruments of search engine marketing in combination.