DoubleClick Releases Research On Clicks, Conversions and ROI Boom for Search Advertisers In 2004 Holiday Season

Daily Average Click-throughs Double in December and Gross Revenue Increased More than 300% over the Third Quarter Average

Distribution Source : PRNewswire

Date : Wednesday - January 12, 2005

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DoubleClick Inc. , the leading provider of marketing solutions for ad agencies, marketers and web publishers, released the final installment of its DoubleClick Holiday 2004 Shopping Report series today, which concluded that search engine advertising effectiveness spiked dramatically during the month of December (December 1-24).

Performics, the performance-based marketing division of DoubleClick and a leading provider of search engine marketing (SEM) services and technologies, analyzed aggregate average daily activity data from search engine advertising campaigns for the month of December and compared that with the average daily activity during the third quarter of 2004. Consumer searches, as evidenced by the number of keyword clicks, increased dramatically during the month of December. The holiday shopping season saw more consumers searching and likewise improvement in conversion rates, gross revenue and return on investment.

* The average number of daily clicks in December was more than double (+109%) the daily average during the 2004 third quarter.

* Conversion rate (conversions divided by clicks) increased 124% during December when compared with the average daily conversion rate for the third quarter. Total conversions, measured by clicks resulting in purchases or other predetermined marketing objective, increased 369%.

* The average price per click in December rose by 23%, but with the higher click volume, total media spend more than doubled (+157%) compared to the daily average for the third quarter.

* The daily average for total gross revenue that search marketing programs generated for merchants was 308% higher in December compared with the third quarter average. The average return on investment (revenue divided by click charges(1)) rose 58% in the last shopping month of the holidays compared to the average for the late summer months.

"Consumers are increasingly finding ads targeted to search queries to be a valuable service when they are in shopping mode," said Stuart Frankel, Senior Vice President of DoubleClick and General Manager of Performics. "The success search advertisers found throughout the 2004 holiday shopping season is further evidence that search is a critical source of traffic and sales for online retailers."

Methodology

The data represent Performics' analysis of millions of clicks, ad dollars and revenue dollars from the aggregated search engine advertising campaigns of all of its clients. The comparisons are the daily averages during the month of December, specifically December 1 - 24, versus the daily averages for the third quarter 2004 (July through September 2004).

About DoubleClick

DoubleClick is the leading provider of solutions for advertising agencies, marketers and web publishers to plan, execute and analyze their marketing programs. DoubleClick's marketing solutions -- online advertising, search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, database marketing, data management and marketing resource management -- help clients yield the highest returns on their marketing dollar. In addition, the company's marketing analytics tools help clients measure performance within and across channels. DoubleClick Inc. has global headquarters in New York City and maintains 23 offices around the world.

(1) Click charges are the total cost of all keywords to the marketer for the given time period

Media Contact Jenny Connorton DoubleClick Inc. (212) 381-5183 jconnorton@doubleclick.net

DoubleClick Inc.

CONTACT: Jenny Connorton, DoubleClick Inc., +1-212-381-5183,
jconnorton@doubleclick.net