Online search’s upward growth curve is getting a boost from marketers traditionally more inclined to spend on other forms of offline advertising. According Nielsen/NetRatings, the business and consumer services segment lead all other segments with an increase of $100 million in online ad spending from the first quarter of 2002 to the first quarter of 2003. For the first time, some of the biggest-spending advertisiers are moving more dollars to online advertising, the research and ratings firm says.

“I think a lot of companies today are transitioning marketing dollars out of other vehicles into online marketing vehicles,” says Andrew Wetzler, president of search marketing firm MoreVisibility.com. “Some companies are today spending online what they used to spend on outbound telemarketing,” he adds, referring to the current flap over the Federal Do Not Call list that’s left a cloud over outbound telemarketing. Some companies such as credit card companies that have in the past invested millions in outbound call center related activities are now making the decision to look elsewhere, for example, says Wetzler.

If that spells a boon for online search marketing, the boost is arriving at an opportune time, Wetzler adds. As the e-commerce operations of retailers and other marketers have matured, they’ve improved, justifying an investment in search to bring shoppers to sites. “As companies get better at the e-commerce component of their web sites, and improve their e-commerce functionality, they are in a better position to spend more to drive traffic to their site. As a company gets better at converting visitors to buyers, it makes more sense to bring more visitors into the funnel,” he says.

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