Search engine advertisers in India now outnumber TV advertisers

Company News

MUMBAI, September 21

The search engine marketing business, a $10 billion industry worldwide, is undergoing a phenomenal growth. What is the scenario in India? This would be captured in a new study to be soon released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in association with Pinstorm. Titled “The State of Search Engine Marketing In India”, the study would bring to light the evolution and growth of search engine marketing in India.

The study found that over 40,000 marketers are using this platform. “22 of the top 50 and 37 of the top 100 search advertisers by keyword volume are firms with Indian operations”, adds Mr. Mahesh Murthy, Founder and CEO Pinstorm, India alone produces more than half-a-million searches a month – and the number is growing as people research choices, product details and prices for every sort of buying decision – from travel to banking to insurance to education to even a film career. Every search is an expression of consumer intent. Marketing will veer around to this mode of communication because one is able to segment finely – a typical client effort may have 2 dozen or more campaigns and strategies –only advertising to stated consumer intent instead of shooting in the dark.

As traditional media increasingly fails to deliver with precisely targeted segments, online search will increasingly become the prime media weapon in a marketer’s arsenal for its sheer ability to target and deliver to an interested consumer”.

The full report will be released at the IAMAI Search Engine Marketing Seminar in Bombay on September 26 and New Delhi on September 28.

About Search Engine Marketing:

In Internet marketing, search engine marketing, or SEM, is a set of marketing methods to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Unlike other advertising media, SEM allows the advertiser to reach exactly their target audience. In other words it helps in fine targeting its audience on a global scale at a minimal cost. The process of SEM involves bidding for the right words at a cost on major Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Baidu etc.

Search results are better with greater number of key words. The number of keywords bid could range from around 500 to I million or more.

These words are then used for writing ad copy that is visible in the Sponsored links when the keyword is searched.

The client is charged either through Cost per click (CPC), where the client is charged only when a potential customer clicks the ad or through Cost per Impression (CPM), where the client is charged for every 1000 impressions.

About IAMAI:

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act, 1896. Its mandate is to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors. It is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers and other stakeholders. The association addresses the issues, concerns and challenges of the Internet and Mobile economy and takes a leading role in its development.

The association’s activities include promoting the inherent strengths of the digital economy, evaluating and recommending standards and practices to the industry, conducting research, creating platforms for its members, communicating on behalf of the industry and creating a favourable business environment for the industry.

Founded in January 2004 by leading portals in India, IAMAI in the only specialised industry body in India representing the interests of online and mobile value added services industry.

For more information please visit the IAMAI web site at http://www.iamai.in

About Pinstorm: Pinstorm is one of the world's leading search engine marketing firms, based in Bombay with offices in New Delhi, Singapore and Malaysia . In a team of over 60 people, Pinstorm has an eclectic mix of marketers, software engineers, search engine experts and creative people.

Pinstorm helps build brands like eBay, American Express, Verizon, Qantas, Monster.com and Sun Microsystems globally using search engines. In 2005, Pinstorm was picked by Red Herring magazine to their list of the “Asia's 100 hottest companies” and by Business Today magazine as “the coolest company in India ” in the same year – a feat that led to several interesting theories on temperature differentials and what they mean in business terms.

Pinstorm has pioneered several industry-first concepts including the use of search engines for recruitment and for identifying new venture opportunities

For more information on Pinstorm, please visit www.pinstorm.com

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Subho Ray

President IAMAI

Email : subho@iamai.in

Tel:022 5621 8635

Jay Desai

Hanmer & Partners

Email :jay@hanmerpr.com

Tel : 67524600 / 67524670

Cell: 9820060107

Ansoo Gupta

Pinstorm

Email: ansoo@pinstorm.com

Tel: 9867681020