Search Market Share Stabilises in Oz

THE spectacular market share growth of paid search marketing has levelled out, while online display advertising continues to lose ground against other digital alternatives, albeit much more slowly than in the past, according to the latest ad expenditure report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Among the key findings: Display ads fell from a 25.5 per cent share for the three months to March 2007 to 24.6 per cent this year, while classifieds lifted from 27 per cent to 27.7 per cent and the search category (in which Google has at least 90% market share) rose from 47.4 per cent to 47.7 per cent.

Overall the market remained extremely buoyant, growing 30% over the same period last year – up to A$384.5m for the quarter.

But the good times may not last, a story in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests. It says Australia’s $1.3 billion online advertising market is bracing for a cyclical slowdown, while portals such as ninemsn and Yahoo!7 will struggle to hold their revenue market share against specialist websites and independent networks.

Fairfax Digital's chief executive, Jack Matthews, said: "My sense is that it's slowing a bit cyclically." Commercial director of ninemsn, Jason Scott, said revenue for his group was ahead of last year. Search Engine Room: May 8, 2008