June 18, 2009 -- A report on search engine marketing (SEM) finds that while marketers continue to invest in search ads, they are less than satisfied with the results they're getting.

Key findings of the report, "Search Engine Marketing in 2009: Reality Not Matching Expectations When It Comes to Performance” by predictive marketing company [x+1]:

• Four of 10 (42%) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied about their companies' ability to adequately optimize keywords and redirect visitors to dynamic custom pages.  Nearly 30% were neutral and only 20% gave their search engine marketing efforts a high rating.

• Despite being less than satisfied, two out of three (65.4%) senior-level SEM professionals surveyed  say they will spend the same or more on search engine marketing  in 2009 compared with 2008, with 13% looking to increase spending by more than 20%.

• One out of four (23%) said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ability to continuously improve the performance of their landing pages in response to keyword searches.

• Only 10.3% said they consistently saw lift rates above 20%, while 15.9% said they had not noticed a big difference in conversion rates through use of SEM.

About the survey: The [x+1] survey was based on a March 2009 online survey of 107 senior-level SEM professionals from a cross section of industry sectors.

Two thirds said their companies had gross annual revenue of $100 million or less; 15.9% said $1 billion or more. 53.3% said their 2008 marketing budget was $5 million or less; only 7.5% said it was $100 million or more.  51.4% of respondents said they have decision-making authority on spending and allocation of search; 35.6% said they were at the director or VP level or above in marketing or advertising. Another 11% each said they were either manager of search or manager of digital/interactive.

Source:  [x+1] report, Search Engine Marketing in 2009: Reality Not Matching Expectations When it Comes to Performance (PDF), June 19, 2009.