Performics Predicts Actively Managed Holiday Paid Search Campaigns Will Grow 15 Percent

Chicago, IL (Vocus) November 8, 2010 Performics ( http://www.performics.com ), the performance marketing expert inside Zenith Media, part of Publicis Groupe, today projected holiday retail sales from paid search will grow by 15 percent in 2010 for actively managed campaigns. Along with weekly analysis, Performics will closely monitor the growing importance of the last week of free standard shipping prior to Christmas and its impact on the traditionally busy Cyber Stretch period, an eleven day period that begins the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and ends the Saturday after Black Friday. A few trends and past performance analyses that contributed to this growth prediction include:     Great holiday success in 2009: Actively managed holiday paid search campaigns spent 25.7 percent more in 2009 and reaped 24.0 percent more in sales year-over-year (YoY)     Decreasing average order value (AOV): Year-to-date (YTD) AOV is down 9 percent     The growing popularity of delayed shopping to capitalize on free shipping: Sales during the last week of free standard shipping prior to Christmas increased significantly in 2009     Increased efficiency of last minute shopping: After the last week of free standard shipping prior to Christmas in 2009, spending and CPCs dropped dramatically; active paid search advertisers can do more for less after December 17 Performics' holiday retail client group detailed findings that can help retailers significantly boost results this holiday season, just by making a few fundamental changes to their search management practices, said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. In mobile search, for example, we're emphatically recommending that clients design standalone search campaigns specifically to target mobile devices instead of extending their standard paid search campaigns into the mobile arena. Performics' clients who've already made this change have seen costs per click drop by 60 percent on average with click through rates more than doubling. Performics recommends paid search holiday advertisers:     Follow best practices to actively mange campaigns and effectively respond to market forces     Establish standalone mobile search campaigns to boost efficiencies in the emerging channel     Offer aggressive promotions to capture early shoppers     Actively participate in the last week of free standard shipping prior to Christmas     Continue active management beyond December 17 to further boost efficiency Performics will release ongoing updates to its holiday paid search forecasts on its blog throughout the holiday season. About Performics Performics integrates the art & science of Performance Marketing to optimize digital actions that accelerate brand engagement, participation, leads and sales. Our performance specialists are certified experts and recognized thought leaders whose proficiency in paid search, SEO, feeds, social, display, mobile and affiliate empowers our clients to make smart decisions about their digital spend and increase ROI. As the performance marketing agency for Zenith Media, part of Publicis Groupe, the top global spender in search, Performics leverages exclusive partnerships with leading publishers for scale and innovation. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and internationally, Performics is MarketingNext. Connect with us: performics.com blog.performics.com facebook.com/performics @performics Media Contacts: Andrew Caravella Performics 312-739-0257 andrew(dot)caravella(at)performics(dot)com Addie Reed PReturn Inc.