Adobe Systems Incorporated released findings from its Adobe® Digital Index report focused on digital advertising industry insights for Q2 2012, plus an outlook for the remainder of the year. Each year, Adobe analyzes advertiser and user behavior from more than $2.5 billion in annualized spend under management. According to the report, search spend among advertisers remains strong with a growing emphasis on mobile devices as tablet conversion rates surpass desktop conversion rates. Additionally, the report shows that consumer engagement on Facebook has increased dramatically as marketers find ways to utilize improvements to Facebook’s platform.
Key Report Findings for Q2 2012
- Search advertising continued to grow in both the United States and Europe, representing a key channel for digital marketers. Search spend in the United States grew by 13 percent Year over Year (YoY) while ROI steadily improved. Additionally, growth rates for search spend were strong in the UK and Germany, representing an 18 percent and 12 percent increase, respectively, YoY.
- Mobile traffic, notably from tablets, continued to demonstrate a significant opportunity for advertisers. While tablet Cost Per Click (CPC) remained lower than desktop CPCs, conversion rates were 20 percent higher. This indicates there are significant opportunities for marketers to increase ROI by shifting advertising spend to tablet devices.
- Brands continued to invest heavily in Facebook to drive fan growth, which grew by 21 percent Quarter over Quarter (QoQ) and 84 percent YoY worldwide. Facebook engagement among brands also grew by 60 percent QoQ and 338 percent YoY.
Outlook for Q3-Q4 2012
Based on a client index from the past three quarters (beginning in Q3 2011), some key trends are emerging:
- Search spend in the United States is expected to increase at a rate of 10 to 15 percent YoY. If digital advertising continues to be robust, we can expect 15 percent growth in both the UK and Germany, two of Europe’s biggest digital markets.
- Tablet and smartphone traffic (projected to represent 16 to 20 percent of all search spend by year’s end) is estimated to represent 20 percent of all online traffic by the end of the year. Additionally, marketers are likely to allocate more search spend to mobile, especially tablets, to increase return on advertising investment.
- Facebook brand pages are estimated to grow an additional 45 percent by the end of 2012 – which could help brands boost consumer engagement. This will likely be attributed to changes in the Facebook platform, such as Facebook timelines for brands, and Facebook measurement.
