Apparel Sale:: The Economy Seems to be Affecting Paid Clicks

According to the January 2008 QSearch click paid report, ComScore reported flat annual growth in paid clicks for Google in 2007 and an 8 percent decrease from December to January.  One could argue that Google might be experiencing the same recession that the rest of the American economy seems to be in.  

At first blush, it seems that the ComScore report suggests that consumers are not clicking on Google paid ads, but the CEO, Magid Abraham, says that the numbers may not reflect a wider trend.“While we do not claim that these con cerns are unwarranted, we believe a care ful analysis of our search data does not lend them direct support,” Abraham says. “More specifically, the evidence suggests that the softness in Google's paid click metrics is primarily a result of Google's own quality initiatives that result in a reduction in the number of paid listings and, therefore, the opportunity for paid clicks to occur. In addition, the reduction in the incidence of paid listings existed progressively throughout 2007 and was successfully offset by improved revenue per click.” 

By contrast, SearchIgnite, a search technology unit of digital agency Innovation Interactive, surveyed its own 500-marketer client list and came up with much different numbers.  Its clients saw an increase of 45.7% on year-over-year paid clicks as well as an increase in ad spending on Google of 40.1% year-over year.

So, as a retailer, whose numbers do you believe?  For now, it's hard to say.  Why? Because what consumers are actually searching for is a much better indicator than any statistical number.  If luxury keywords are being searched for on a regular basis, chances are, those consumers aren't feeling the pinch. 

In my opinion, the jury is still out on both of these reports.  I'll be curious to see what 1st quarter reports say about searches, keywords, and paid clicks. Stay tuned, for better or worse, the next 12 to 18 months promise to be nothing short of interesting