More than a third of Search Engine Land readers expect to add local search and mobile advertising to their media mix in the next 12 months, based on a survey just completed.

This survey was fielded in June and July with invitations to readers of Search Engine Land. There were 138 responses. The incentive was the opportunity to win a ticket to our Search Marketing Expo – SMX Local & Mobile show, October 1-2 in Denver.

An equal percentage of respondents – 36% — said they’d adopt local search and mobile advertising in the next 12 months. Another 4% or respondents said they intend to buy local search after a year; 17% answered that they’d by on mobile platforms a year out or more.

 The market for local search is more mature than mobile. Currently, 43% of those completing the survey said they already buy local search advertising; only 12% said they’re buying mobile.

Cost-per-click is the most common pricing model for both advertising types; 49% of local search and 38% of mobile advertising was purchased on a CPC basis. Respondents expect mobile to drive transactions; 31% said they currently or in the future expect to pay per-lead. Only 25% of local search buyers said they buy or expect to buy on a per-lead basis.

Just under 40% of readers said the “superior targeting” capability of mobile was the reason they’re currently or expect to buy, about the same as the number who said they aren’t considering buying mobile advertising. Half of respondents said not knowing enough about mobile advertising was the principal impediment to adoption and 36% said return-on-investment has not been sufficiently demonstrated.

Half said targeting was the principal reason why they were buying or intend to buy local search; another 23% said the likelihood that local will drive transactions was the principal motivating factor. Impediments to local search adoption were divided virtually equally between: “ROI isn’t sufficiently proven yet”, “Too difficult to administer campaigns with multiple vendors” and “I don’t know enough about the options.”

The vast majority of survey respondents said they buy or plan to buy geo-targeted web search, business listings, local business ads and business directory listings; 85% to 87% for each category. 60% said they use or will add geo-targeted e-mail to their media mix. News and weather categories fared poorly. Only 41% said they buy/expected to buy on news sites and 21% on weather sites.

40% Spend More than $500,000 Annually on Media

Of the respondents, 40% said they spend more than $500,000 annually on search and online media. Another 20% said they spend between $100,000 and $499,999. 93% of participants said that they approve, authorize or recommend interactive and search marketing-related purchase.

Just under 80% said they worked in search marketing at an agency (47%) or in-house for a company (32%). 95% said they manage interactive as search marketing (33%) or are directly responsible for those activities (62%).

Search Engine Land was recognized by Advertising Age last week as one of the top blogs covering media and marketing. Our flagship editorial site tied for third in a ranking of 360 sites. Search Engine Land was the highest ranked blog focusing specifically on search marketing.

Developed by marketing executive and blogger Todd Andrlik, the Ad Age Power 150 index appeared first on adage.com on August 6. The index ranks on four criteria: Google, Bloglines, Technorati and a subjective ranking developed by Andrlik. Search Engine Land’s score of 68 (out of possible total 75) placed it in 3-way tie for third. You can check out the full Ad Age Power 150 list here.

High five to Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, along with all of the news and content contributors, for this recognition. It is remarkable that Search Engine Land achieved this ranking after only eight months of publishing. The site’s growth has been incredible too. Search Engine Land attracted more than 250,000 unique visitors and generated more than 500,000 page views in the last 30 days. Thanks to all of you who visited.

Finally, thanks to our Search Engine Land sponsors. We couldn’t run the site without your support: Ask.com, Ingenio, Google, Yahoo!, Text Link Ads and Suberb Hosting.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a note saying that we were looking for someone to join us. Today I’m happy to announce that Marc D’Agostini has joined the Third Door Media team as sales manager.

Marc has had a diverse and successful career in media and events. He was most recently at enterprise software powerhouse SAS Institute helping them coordinate their trade show operations. He also worked with Sean and me at Jupitermedia, in addition to positions at Penton Media’s Internet World and Oracle.

Marc will focus on selling our events at the beginning, but will also be involved in lead generation program sales (Search Marketing Now) and ad sales for both Search Engine Land and Sphinn.

You can reach Marc at marc (at) thirddoormedia.com. 

Speaking of events, sponsors and exhibitors are enthusiastically coming on board with our Search Marketing Expo - SMX Local and Mobile and SMX West shows.

Since my post yesterday, Localeze joined Ingenio, Local.com, Superpages.com, OrangeSoda, PinPoint Interactive Media, and Website Magazine as participants in the Local & Mobile show, October 1 & 2 in Denver.

Also, iProspect has signed on as the first Premier Plus Sponsor for SMX West, February 26-28 in Santa Clara. ABC Search also signed a multifaceted sponsorship for that event.

Thanks to all of you for the support of the Search Marketing Expo - SMX conference series.

Redding, CT (PR Web) March 7, 2007 - Readers of search marketing news and analysis site SearchEngineLand.com spend at least $1.5 billion on search marketing annually, according to a just-released survey of readers. Search Engine Land is published by Third Door Media, Inc.

“Search Engine Land is attracting readers who control nearly 15% of the global market for search advertising,” said Third Door Media president Chris Elwell.* “Only consistently outstanding editorial can attract people of that caliber to a site, especially one that is less than 3 months old. Our team - which includes Editor-In-Chief Danny Sullivan, Executive Editor Chris Sherman and more than a dozen other respected columnists and correspondents - is clearly providing a must-read product for search and interactive marketers,” Elwell added.

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Special rate available for a limited time for the June 2007 Seattle event focusing on advanced search topics, programmed by SearchEngineLand.com’s Danny Sullivan

Redding, CT (PR Web) February 23, 2007 - Search Marketing Expo (SMX) - the new search marketing conference from SearchEngineLand.com publisher Third Door Media - is open for registration.

Programmed by Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, Search Marketing Expo promises to be an exciting new entry into this rapidly growing segment of advertising. Designed as the first of a series of live events to cover search and interactive marketing, the SMX series will deliver practical, hands-on information for interactive marketers looking to advance their search marketing skills.

The conference, SMX Advanced, will be held June 4 & 5, 2007 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, WA.

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Redding, CT (PR Web) February 1, 2007 — Leading search engine marketing site Search Engine Land today unveiled a new marketing program tailored to the needs of ROI-conscious marketers. The Search Engine Land Partner Program combines a revenue-sharing compensation model with pervasive site exposure.

The Search Engine Land Partner Program delivers exposure with text links throughout the site and a listing on the dedicated Search Engine Land Partner Program page. Each Partner Program relationship features a percentage-of-results compensation component and a modest slotting fee.

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Redding, CT (PR Web) December 5, 2006 — Search industry expert Danny Sullivan today unveiled a comprehensive set of services - including web sites, webcasts and trade shows - that will keep visitors ahead of developments in the fast-changing and rapidly growing fields of search and interactive marketing. The properties are products of Third Door Media, Inc., founded by Sullivan and several partners.

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