Which of the following techniques would you say is a “best practice” when it comes to increasing the volume of interested visitors to your site through organic search engine optimization?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

Avoidance of frames in page design
Avoidance of javascript navigation
Avoidance of keywords in HTML meta tags
Avoidance of keywords in HTML title tags
Avoidance of red colored text
Avoidance of query string URLs
Use of links from other independent sites pointing to yours
Use of links from other sites that you own pointing to each other
Leaving comments on lots of weblogs, guest books, discussion boards and elsewhere as a means of generating links to your site
Use of bold text and capital letters
Use of dedicated pages specifically optimized for individual search engines
Use of frames in page design
Use of javascript navigation
Use of keywords in headlines and page copy
Use of keywords in HTML meta tags
Use of keywords in HTML title tags
Use of keywords in hyperlinked text
Use of lists of keywords invisibly in same color text as the page itself (e.g., white text against white background)
Use of duplicate or near duplicate pages with the same content to maximize keywords
Use of non-query string URLs
Use of keywords in URLs
Use of keywords in domain names
Use of keyword in host names

What year did you first engage in Search Engine Marketing Technology services?

Do you offer Search Engine Marketing Technology services?
[SELECT ONE]

Yes, we do this in-house
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, and we expect to continue outsourcing it in 2008
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, although we expect to offer such services ourselves in 2008
No, we don’t offer that service

Do you currently offer clients “Organic Search Engine Optimization” program services?
[SELECT ONE]

Yes, we do this in-house
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, and we expect to continue outsourcing it in 2008
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, although we expect to offer such services ourselves in 2008
No, we don’t offer that service

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements concerning industry standards for “search optimization” best practices?

Strongly
Agree Somewhat
Agree No
Opinion Somewhat
Disagree Strongly
Disagree

There is a need for industry standards to guide “best practices” for search engine optimization practices
There should be laws passed to mandate some “best practices” for search engine optimization
An industry body should issue “best practice” standards for search optimization and penalize companies that do not abide by them, such as by publishing a list of names of companies to avoid
Abuse of search optimization practices is a major problem

What do you anticipate your firm’s gross billings will be in 2007 attributable to Organic Search Engine Optimization programs?
[SELECT ONE]

$1,001 to $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
$10 million to $25 million
$25 million to $50 million
$50 million to $100 million
More than $100 million

How many clients do you expect your firm will receive payments from in 2007 for Organic Search Engine Optimization programs?
[SELECT ONE]

0
1
2-5
6-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-75
76-100
101-200
More than 200

Approximately how much will your average client spend with you on Organic Search Engine Optimization programs in 2007?
[SELECT ONE]

Less than $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
More than $1 million

What is your typical fee structure for Organic Search Engine Optimization programs?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

Time and materials
Flat agency fee
Fee per click
Commission for sales
Commission for other marketing objective

Approximately how much will your largest client spend with you on Organic Search Engine Optimization programs in 2007?
[SELECT ONE]

Less than $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
$10 million to $25 million
More than $25 million

What do you believe are the reasons your clients use an outside SEM service provider for Organic Search Engine Optimization programs as opposed to doing it in-house themselves?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

It’s too time consuming
It’s too hard to stay abreast of best practices
It is more economical to outsource this
We get more efficiency/effectiveness with a service provider; “more bang for our buck”
They don’t have the necessary tools in-house
As an SEM service provider, we have good industry contacts, such as with the search engines
It’s too complicated to track and measure this in-house

How much more or less revenue do you project that your firm will do in 2008 compared to 2007 for Organic Search Engine Optimization program?
[SELECT ONE]

90% less
80% less
70% less
60% less
50% less
40% less
30% less
20% less
10% less
About the same
10% more
20% more
30% more
40% more
50% more
60% more
70% more
80% more
90% more
Twice as much
Three times as much
Four times as much
Five times as much
Close to 10 times as much or more
Don’t know

What is your typical fee structure for Paid Inclusion programs?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

Time and materials
Flat agency fee
Additional percent on top of ad spend with the search engines
Fee per click
Commission for sales
Commission for other marketing objective

What do you believe are the reasons your clients use an outside SEM service provider for Paid Inclusion programs as opposed to doing it in-house themselves?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

It’s too time consuming
It’s too hard to stay abreast of best practices
It is more economical to outsource this
We get more efficiency/effectiveness with a service provider; “more bang for our buck”
They don’t have the necessary tools in-house
As an SEM service provider, we have good industry contacts, such as with the search engines
It’s too complicated to track and measure this in-house

What do you anticipate your firm’s gross billings will be in 2007 attributable to Paid Inclusion programs?
[SELECT ONE]

$1,001 to $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
$10 million to $25 million
$25 million to $50 million
$50 million to $100 million
More than $100 million

Approximately how much will your average client spend with you gross on Paid Inclusion programs in 2007?
[SELECT ONE]

Less than $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
More than $1 million

Approximately how much will your largest client spend with you gross on Paid Inclusion programs in 2007?
[SELECT ONE]

Less than $10,000
$10,001 to $100,000
$100,001 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $10 million
$10 million to $25 million
More than $25 million

How much more or less revenue do you project that your firm will do in 2008 compared to 2007 for Paid Inclusion programs?
[SELECT ONE]

90% less
80% less
70% less
60% less
50% less
40% less
30% less
20% less
10% less
About the same
10% more
20% more
30% more
40% more
50% more
60% more
70% more
80% more
90% more
Twice as much
Three times as much
Four times as much
Five times as much
Close to 10 times as much or more
Don’t know

How much more or less revenue do you project in 2008 compared to 2007 for Search Engine Marketing Technology services?
[SELECT ONE]

90% less
80% less
70% less
60% less
50% less
40% less
30% less
20% less
10% less
About the same
10% more
20% more
30% more
40% more
50% more
60% more
70% more
80% more
90% more
Twice as much
Three times as much
Four times as much
Five times as much
Close to 10 times as much or more
Don’t know
How many clients do you expect your firm will receive payments from in 2007 for Search Engine Marketing Technology services?
[SELECT ONE]

0
1
2-5
6-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-75
76-100
101-200
More than 200
What do you believe are the reasons your clients use an outside SEM service provider for managing their Search Engine Marketing Technology as opposed to managing it in-house themselves?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

It’s too time consuming
It’s too hard to stay abreast of best practices
It is more economical to outsource this
We get more efficiency/effectiveness with a service provider; “more bang for our buck”
They don’t have the necessary tools in-house
As an SEM service provider, we have good industry contacts, such as with the search engines
It’s too complicated to track and measure this in-house

What is your typical fee structure for Search Engine Marketing Technology services?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

Time and materials
Flat agency fee
One-time licensing fee
Leasing fee
Additional percent on top of ad spend with the search engines
Fee per click
Commission for sales
Commission for other marketing objective

Do you currently offer clients “Web Analytics” program services?
[SELECT ONE]
Yes, we do this with a proprietary in-house tool
Yes, we do this in-house with a tool we license from a third-party (What is it called):
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, and we expect to continue outsourcing it in 2008
Yes, but we currently outsource that activity to a partner business, although we expect to offer such services ourselves in 2008
No, we don’t offer that service

How many employees does your company have?
[SELECT ONE]
1
2 to 10
11 to 25
26 to 50
51 to 100
101 to 500
501 to 1,000
1,001 to 5,000
5,001 to 10,000
More than 10,000

What metrics do you track / measure / generally pay attention to gauge the success of Search Engine Marketing programs?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]
Boss’s satisfaction at having a presence on search engines
Brand impact of search ads (as measured by surveys or other means)
Increased traffic volume to site
Click-through rate (CTR)
Conversion rate (to sales or other post-click marketing objectives)
Cost per click-through (CPC)
Cost of generating online sale/other action (CPA)
Cost of generating sale offline (e.g., via telephone or in-store, tracked from search engine)
Navigation path visited on web site after the click
Number of pages visited on web site after the click
Competitors’ activities regarding same keywords
Rank of advertising link on search engines
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Overall revenue increase
Profit of marketing programs (Revenue minus costs of ads and goods)
Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)
Total number of online conversions or sales
Length of time users remain on the web site (“stickiness”)
Correlation of search ad performance with other ad programs (e.g., lift in search ad clicks during TV campaign or change in search behaviors owing to new product launch)

Do you currently track the interaction effect between non-search advertising (media spend) and search behavior?
[SELECT ONE]
No, we do not currently track interaction effects between media and search and do not plan to in the next 12 months
Yes, we are tracking the interaction effect between media spending and search and have found that advertising drives search behavior
Yes, we are attempting to track the interaction effect between media spending and search and have found no correlation between advertising and search behavior
We would like to measure the interaction effects between media and search but do not have the resources or technology

We are interested in understanding the use of branding and engagement metrics for search and other online media. (Please select the best choice.)
[SELECT ONE]
We wish to use engagement and branding metrics in addition to our existing directly measured metrics
We wish to shift from our existing success metrics to branding and engagement metrics
We are not interested in using branding and engagement metrics

Do you use or are you interested in using the following additional metrics for planning and execution of search marketing campaigns?
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]

Share of search voice (impression share)
Share of search clicks (click share)

What is your level of experience or interest in the following search marketing tactics?
Trend / Technique
Experience / Interest Level
Tried it,
works great Tried it,
works okay Tried it,
unimpressed No experience,
but very interested No experience,
but somewhat interested No experience,
not interested
Locally Targeted Search Keyword Text Ads
Keyword-targeted Text Ads on “Niche Sector” Search Engines (e.g., Business.com, SideStep.com)
Keyword-targeted Text Ads on Shopping Portals (such as MySimon, BottomDollar, BizRate)
Keyword-targeted Text Ads with a “Rich-media” component (e.g., pictures and phrases jumping up from search results on mouse-over
Contextually Targeted Text Ads (using programs such as Google’s “AdSense” and Overture’s “Content Match”)
Paid Placement ads enhanced with graphical elements (like small logos affixed to the text ads)
Banners and other Web Display Ads targeted to search query terms

In order to reduce any confusion about the varying terminology related to this new and multifaceted discipline, we offer the following definitions of terms solely as they are used in the context of this survey. When you click the “Continue” button to proceed, these definitions will be served as a pop-up window for your reference throughout the course of the survey. Please make sure you have any “pop-up killer” utilities turned off if you would like to refer to that window.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM): the entire set of techniques and strategies used to direct more visitors from search engines to marketing web sites, including all of the tactics and strategies defined below.

Paid Placement: Text ads targeted to keyword search results on search engines, through programs such as Google AdWords and Yahoo Overture “Precision Match,” also sometimes referred to as “Paid Placement,” “Pay-per-Click” (PPC) advertising and Cost-per-Click (CPC) advertising.

Contextually Targeted Text Ads: Text ads targeted to the subject of writings on web pages, such as news articles and weblogs, using programs such as Google’s “AdSense” and Overture’s “Content Match” programs.

Paid Inclusion: The practice of paying a fee (fee structures may vary) to search engines and similar types of sites (e.g., directories, shopping comparison sites) so that a given web site or web pages may be included in the service’s directory, although not necessarily in exchange for a particular position in search listings, such as Overture’s “Site Match” program, formerly known as Inktomi)

Organic Search Engine Optimization: The practice of using a range of techniques, including augmenting HTML code, web page copy editing, site navigation, linking campaigns and more, in order to improve how well a site or page gets listed in search engines for particular search topics.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Service Provider: Agencies or individuals who assist companies with the various search engine marketing practices described above.

Search Engine Marketing Technology Provider: Makers of a software application specialized to assist in the execution of search engine marketing programs, with features such as “bid management,” “campaign management,” “portfolio management” and “dynamic optimization.”

Web Analytics: Using a reporting platform for measuring and analyzing the results of any/all of your online marketing campaigns, including search engine marketing.

Conversion / Usability Enhancement: Systematic programs pertaining to the design, navigation and copywriting of your web site that enhance the user experience and increase the conversion rate generated by the site.

Affiliate Marketing: Coordinated programs to enable partners to market on behalf of your web site or products that track referrals in order to compensate affiliates typically in the form of a sales commission.