New Research From Skai Finds Q4 2013 Was Biggest Quarter Ever for Paid Search

During the holiday shopping season, 36% of all global retail paid search clicks came from mobile devices and retailers increased spending revenue on Product Listing Ads by 138% YoY

San Francisco (January 16, 2014) – Skai (www.Kenshoo.com), the global leader in premium digital marketing technology, this week released Global Search Trends infographics and a 2013 Global Online Retail Seasonal Shopping Report: Final Edition.

Skai’s Global Search Trends infographics cover search advertising across all industries and offer global and regional data, analysis, and findings based on more than $5 billion in annualized global ad spend running through the Skai platform. Skai released three separate infographics for the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific Japan (APJ) with unique regional trends and country highlights for the United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and China.

The Skai 2013 Global Online Retail Seasonal Shopping Report: Final Edition presents key findings related to retail paid search throughout the 2013 holiday shopping season and includes global paid search data and regional paid search insights on the U.S. and U.K., as well as analyses of retailers’ use of Product Listing Ads (PLAs) and mobile paid search ads during the holiday season. Data studied for this report span more than 20 billion paid search impressions and clicks during November and December.

“Search advertisers continue to find new ways to improve results from their most productive digital marketing channel, and Q4 2013 proved to be the biggest quarter ever for paid search,” said Aaron Goldman, chief marketing officer of Skai. “Not only did paid search advertisers spend more than any other quarter on record; they did so more efficiently than ever by driving more clicks with fewer impressions. Furthermore, with formats like Mobile and Product Listing Ads showing tremendous gains, it’s clear that there’s greater opportunity ahead for sophisticated search marketers.”

According to the Skai Global Search Trends infographics, increased efficiency led to a 25% YoY increase in click-through-rate globally. Other key findings include:

  • Marketers spent more globally in Q4 2013 than any other quarter on record, increasing spend 19% YoY and 29% QoQ
  • Globally in Q4 2013, cost per click (CPC) increased 6% YoY, clicks increased 12% YoY, and impressions decreased 10% YoY
  • In the Americas in Q4 2013, paid search spend increased 18% YoY, CPC increased 2% YoY, clicks increased 16% YoY, and impressions decreased 12% YoY

According to Skai’s 2013 Global Online Retail Seasonal Shopping Report: Final Edition:

  • With an average global click-through rate of 2.33% and an average global conversion rate of 4.07%, retailers achieved a 6-to-1 return on ad spend (ROAS) for the season
  • Mobile devices accounted for one of every three paid search clicks, up nearly 28% YoY
  • Global retailers spent 138% more YoY on PLAs, achieving ROAS of $8.84
  • Clicks increased 13% YoY, leading to a 4% lift in online sales revenue and 21% increase in conversions

In the U.S., holiday season retail transactions increased 26%. U.S. retail revenue from paid search increased substantially for some of the most important holiday shopping days, rising 34% on Thanksgiving and 24% on Black Friday.

Complimentary copies of the new research report and infographics are available in their entirety through Skai.com. More specifically, Skai’s Global Search Trends infographics are available at Skai.com/GlobalSearchTrends, and Skai’s 2013 Global Online Retail Seasonal Shopping Report: Final Edition is available at Kenshoo.com/2013GlobalShopping.

About Skai
Skai is a digital marketing technology company that engineers premium solutions for search marketing, social media and online advertising. Brands, agencies and developers use Skai Search, Skai Social, Skai Local and Skai SmartPath to direct more than $200 billion in annualized online client sales revenue through the platform. Skai is the only Facebook strategic Preferred Marketing Developer with native API solutions for ads across Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Exchange. The Skai platform delivers Infinite OptimizationTM through closed-loop targeting, universal integration, dynamic attribution, and predictive analytics. Skai powers campaigns in more than 190 countries for nearly half of the Fortune 50 and all 10 top global ad agency networks. Skai clients include CareerBuilder, Expedia, Facebook, KAYAK, Havas Media, Hitwise, iREP, John Lewis, Resolution Media, Sears, Starcom MediaVest Group, Tesco, Travelocity, Walgreens, and Zappos. Skai has 18 international locations and is backed by Sequoia Capital, Arts Alliance, and Tenaya Capital. Please visit www.Kenshoo.com for more information.

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