Google AdWords Out Performs Yahoo! in PPC
Posted February 3, 2006

Google AdWords Prevails Over Yahoo & MSN Says Survey

According to the results of a survey of 1,200 advertisers performed by Outsell, Google's AdWords search marketing unit is more effective than Yahoo or MSN (although MSN adCenter is still in limited run) search marketing offerings.

"Yahoo and MSN face extended minority status in the ratings of advertisers if they don't change the perception that ads on Google are more effective," stated Outsell at the annual meeting of the Software & Information Industry Association.

Key points to the survey :

* 71% say that search marketing on Google was effective
* 62% say that Yahoo Search Marketing was effective
* 49% say MSN was effective

But which advertisers are the most seasoned and spending the largest budgets? Mediapost adds that those who preferred Google results also had the smallest marketing budgets. Is this a case of putting all of your eggs in one basket?

The average marketing budget of respondents who rated Google "extremely" effective totaled $3.7 million.

Average budgets for those who considered Yahoo and MSN extremely effective came to $4.6 million.

The study also forecast that marketing budgets would continue to shift online this year. Overall, the company predicted that online marketing spending would grow by 19 percent, with search marketing increasing by 26 percent. Print spending, by contrast, will increase by an estimated 3.3 percent, while TV and radio will grow by an anemic 2.4 percent.