By George Anderson
Paying for the privilege of being the first can pay big dividends for retailers.
According to a Cox News Service report, search engine marketing played a significant role in directing consumers to e-tail sites this past holiday season and will continue to grow as part of company's advertising mix moving forward.
Chuck Davis, chairman of the shopping comparison service Shopzilla, told an audience at the Shop.org conference that the dollars spent on search engine marketing this past holiday season were "very significant."
Interestingly, the number of companies paying to be on the top of search pages continues to grow despite research showing that most consumers do not use the links to go directly to e-tail sites.
Moderator's Comment: Why does search engine marketing continue to grow in importance despite research that shows most consumers not clicking on sponsored links? What is the key to successful search engine marketing? - George Anderson - Moderator