Paid Search Converts Holiday Shoppers Successfully

Some new stats released for the end of last year in the US show that not only did online shopping sales show significant increases year on year, but also that global paid search spend was up significantly, driven by some impressive conversion rates.

Overall, stats from comScore show that over $37 billion was spent in retail e-commerce in November and December 2011, with the week beginning 18 December hitting over $6 billion. Physical stores are said to have enjoyed a 4 per cent rise in revenues year on year, whilst online shopping grew by over 10 per cent. Additionally, paid search spend increased by 31 per cent in 2011 over the 2010 holiday shopping season; numbers from Covario suggest nearer 21 per cent, but still significant double-digit growth.

Stats from software company, Kenshoo, suggest that returns on internet marketing ad spend were significant; in the UK, advertisers generated over £13 in sales per £1 in online paid search spend, with an average retail cost per click of 20 pence.

The power of mobile devices in online retail is clearly demonstrated too. More than 14 per cent of the December ad clicks analyzed by Kenshoo happened across a mobile device, with 8 per cent happening on a tablet device, with these 8 per cent resulting in an impressive conversion rate of 2.72 per cent and almost $150 in revenue per conversion.

Unsurprisingly, Google continues to dominate the paid search space, apart from Asia Pacific, where Baidu now has a firm foothold. In the US and UK though, the search giant continues to be the dominant player for paid search business.