Online Marketing projected to increase

eMarketer projects that the online share of ad dollars will continue to grow, rising from nearly 10% this year to slightly more than 15% in 2013.

“The spending shifts predate the recession,” says David Hallerman, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, US Advertising Spending: The New Reality. “But the current economy is reinforcing the new advertising models—and making them more permanent.”

These projections by eMarketer mirror many other studies and statements around the world. Facing the oncoming recession, an increasing number of print newspapers are turning to online to survice, in fact.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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eMarketer speaks to me

One of the best email lists I ever signed up for was eMarketer.
Take a look at this graphic.
Admittedly, these figures are from the US, and the Australian market would have slightly different numbers. The saying here is: "Australia is about 10 years behind the US." - It serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy especially for smaller companies.
These numbers are probably pretty accurate for larger businesses in Australia; and close for small- to medium-sized companies. Smaller companies have put less of this information to use in Australia. From what I have seen here, that may change soon and quickly.

An effective adjustment to the numbers could be made by adjusting the numbers using statistics about Australia from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Australia has slightly fewer college graduates and a larger number of people between 35 and 64. The most active economic group in Australia is defined as the 15-34 age group, for both online and conventional sales, for example.
From intuition, for example, I would say the Australian public would trust a Non-Profit organization or Healthcare specialist more than an Academic source. I have to wonder if as many as 12% of Australians would find Bloggers a trustworthy source of information. The long term effects of a continuing Internet-phobic media campaign by the government, combined with the fact that Australia has opened up the Net in the last 4-5 years, leaves the perception that Bloggers are a questionable source.
Overall, the graphic above will spark useful discussions about the online marketing targets for businesses of any size in Australia.

Further:
Advertisers will spend £3.4 billion in 2008, up 27% from 2007 levels, and will continue double-digit growth through 2010, passing £4.3 billion in 2010 and exceeding £5 billion in 2012, according to online ad spending data released by eMarketer, MarketingCharts writes.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Numbers tell the story - sorta

From the Global Thoughtz Australia blog, we learn:

Australian Internet Users Profile

(by Alban Guillemot)

Best practice online marketing requires a good knowledge of your target audience so that you can develop a tailored online strategy. If you are planning an online marketing campaign in Australia, the following information will help you to find out who is the typical Australian internet user.

According to the latest census from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 58% of the Australian population has access to internet. 20% of the Australian population still rely on dial up connection, while 37% has broadband access.

• More Girls

Based on Hitwise Data for the last 12 weeks, it appears that the typical Australian internet user is more likely to be a girl, as 52.02% are female, whereas 47.98% are male.

• Over 35

Looking at the demographics, a large proportion of the Australian internet population is over 35 years old (66.3%), with a high proportion of users over 55 (26.28%). The 18-24 years old slice represents only 13.77%.

• From the East Coast

More than 81% of the Australian Internet population lives on the East Coast (NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS, QLD) with around 34% for New South Wales. South Australia and Northern Territory only account for 8%, while Western Australia represents 11%.

What's significant there?
First, it's surprising to see the large proportion of over 35s (66%) on the Net - and most of them using broadband.
Over a quarter of those over 55 use the Internet. That's a greater proportion than the UK (18%) and the US (17%).
Why are these numbers interesting? Most marketing online and offline is targeted at the 15-34 age group. Based on these numbers, they represent just under 1/3 of those with Internet access.
The reason the marketing is targeted at this group is an Australian marketing adage that this age group spends nearly half the money for consumer goods.
Banks and retail outlets offer easy credit for these new consumers. It comes as a surprise to many aussies how much harder it is to get a credit card after they turn 36.

emarketer shows some interesting statistics about Australians using broadband. (look down the page a little..) 13.6 million Australians, or 66%, have access to the Net. 4.3 million or 53.9% of all households, have broadband access.
The broadband numbers are a little misleading. You'd have to live here to know it, but over half of those don't have adequate service and/or are not using broadband as the OECD defines it - at least 256mbits.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey. Sphere: Related Content