Compared to desktops, paid search ads targeted at tablet devices provide advertisers a 37 percent higher click through rate at a lower average cost
SAN FRANCISCO – Marin Software, provider of the leading online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies, today released the findings of its Paid Search Quarterly Benchmarking Report, which finds iPad and other tablet users tend to click on paid search ads at a higher rate than desktop or smartphone users. According to the report, although paid search ads directly targeted at tablets only comprises 2 percent of overall paid search spend, the click through rate (CTR) on tablets is 37 percent higher compared to desktops. Furthermore, advertisers targeting tablets like the iPad enjoy a lower average cost per click (CPC) compared to both desktops and mobile devices.
Marin Software’s Paid Search Quarterly Benchmarking Report consists of key trends and statistics uncovered through an examination of the Marin Global Search Index. The Marin Global Search Index is comprised of data from more than 800 large-scale advertisers and agencies that collectively spend in excess of $2 billion annually on paid-search through the Marin platform.
Paid Search Key Findings:
– During Q3, paid search spend targeted to desktops comprised 93 percent of total spend while smartphones earned 5 percent and tablets 2 percent of spend. Ads served to tablet devices provided a 37 percent higher CTR than ads on desktops. The average CPC for ads served to tablets was 29 percent lower than desktops.
– Compared to last year, search advertisers on Google saw a 19 percent increase in clicks and a 24 percent drop in impressions during the quarter. During the same time, CTR on Google increased 57 percent while CPC decreased 18 percent, suggesting large-scale advertisers realized efficiency gains through improved matching and more effective bidding.
– Continual refinement of match types from Broad to Phrase to Exact was a significant contributor to improved efficiencies for advertisers. Over the last year, search marketers have increased their use of Exact Match, growing their click-share of the match type by 6 percent while increasing share of spend by 2 percent.
– On Yahoo and Bing, advertisers saw a 43 percent higher click volume at a 10 percent lower CPC over the year. Despite CTR declining on a year over year basis, CTR increased 9 percent compared to Q2, implying improved ad matching or traffic characteristics by advertisers.
The full report, including trends within vertical markets can be downloaded at: http://www.marinsoftware.com/resources/whitepapers/q3-2011-benchmark-report.
About Marin Software:
Marin Software is a leading provider of online advertising management solutions, offering an integrated platform for managing search, display, and social marketing. The company provides solutions for advertisers and agencies of all sizes, enabling them to improve financial performance, save time, and make better decisions. Marin Enterprise, the company’s flagship product, addresses the needs of online marketers spending at least $100,000 per month on biddable media. Marin Professional delivers the same power and ease of use as Marin Enterprise, through an application designed for marketers spending less than $100,000 per month. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices worldwide, Marin’s technology powers marketing campaigns for over 800 customers managing more than $2 billion of annualized ad spend in more than 160 countries. For more information, please visit: http://www.marinsoftware.com.
