Search engine marketing agencies now direct the majority of SEM spending in the U.S., according to a report from Jupitermedia Corp.
Just a few years ago, most SEM spending went directly to the search engines. Today, SEM is becoming a more mature market like traditional advertising in which agencies play a substantial role, said Jupitermedia. While just 31% of search marketers use an agency to manage their SEM campaigns, those marketers account for 51% of the total spending on paid search, marking a significant increase in the spending directed by agencies over the past 18 months.
The data was released in the firm's Search Engine Marketing Agency Constellation report, which reviews and rates 14 SEM agencies on market suitability, overall business value and agency size.
"As search marketing grows in complexity and advertisers increase their search budgets, we expect the market for SEM agencies will continue to expand," said JupiterResearch associate analyst Nate Elliott in a statement.
