Search spend among advertisers remains strong with a growing emphasis on mobile devices as tablet conversion rates surpass desktop conversion rates, according to the third Adobe Digital Index report. The new report focuses on digital advertising industry insights for Q2 2012, plus an outlook for the remainder of the year.
"With accelerated consumer adoption of tablets and smartphones, as well as social marketing growth, marketers are shifting to adopt a multi-channel digital advertising approach to reach their target audiences," commented David Karnstedt, senior vice president, Media and Advertising Solutions, Digital Marketing Business, Adobe. "Advertisers should be cognizant of the next generation of digital marketing to better measure, manage and optimize their marketing investments for maximum return."
Search advertising continued to grow in both the United States and Europe, representing a key channel for digital marketers. Search spend in the United States grew by 13 percent Year over Year (YoY) while ROI steadily improved. Additionally, growth rates for search spend were strong in the UK and Germany, representing an 18 percent and 12 percent increase, respectively, YoY.
Search spend in the United States is expected to increase at a rate of 10 to 15 percent YoY. If digital advertising continues to be robust, the report estimates 15 percent growth in both the UK and Germany, two of Europe's biggest digital markets.
Mobile traffic, notably from tablets, continued to demonstrate a significant opportunity for advertisers. While tablet Cost Per Click (CPC) remained lower than desktop CPCs, conversion rates were 20 percent higher. This indicates there are significant opportunities for marketers to increase ROI by shifting advertising spend to tablet devices.
Tablet and smartphone traffic is estimated to represent 20 percent of all online traffic by the end of the year. Additionally, marketers are likely to allocate more search spend to mobile, especially tablets, to increase return on advertising investment.
Brands continued to invest heavily in Facebook to drive fan growth, which grew by 21 percent Quarter over Quarter (QoQ) and 84 percent YoY worldwide. Facebook engagement among brands also grew by 60 percent QoQ and 338 percent YoY. Facebook brand pages are estimated to grow an additional 45 percent by the end of 2012 - which could help brands boost consumer engagement. This will likely be attributed to changes in the Facebook platform, such as Facebook timelines for brands, and Facebook measurement.