comScore Media Metrix is launching the Competitive
Search Marketing Reports, the latest addition to the comScore Media Metrix
Search suite of products. The service enables agencies, publishers and
online marketers to compare the effectiveness of their online search
campaigns to campaigns run by competitors.
  comScore Media Metrix showcased this new service by examining the
effectiveness of search campaigns conducted by the most-visited online
travel agencies: Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com and
CheapTickets.com. The analysis revealed that more than 50 percent of the
total click-throughs to these sites were generated by sponsored ads,
compared to just 11 percent across all Web search activity. Among the sites
analyzed, Orbitz.com and CheapTickets.com led the pack, each receiving
approximately 72 percent of click-throughs from sponsored ads.
“With search advertising accounting for roughly 40 percent of total
online spending, it’s clear that advertisers view the medium as a critical
component of the advertising mix,” said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of
comScore Media Metrix. “This is particularly true for the leading online
travel agencies, which receive nearly two-thirds of their search-generated
click-throughs from sponsored ads. This high volume of advertising makes it
even more important for advertisers to focus on the search terms that have
the most relevance to their target audience.”
  While receiving a lower number of sponsored ad click-throughs than
Expedia.com or Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com appears to be the most effective
sponsored search advertiser, yielding a 6.5 percent click-through rate,
compared to the 4 - 5 percent click-through rates achieved by competitive
sites.
  “Although both Expedia and Orbitz demonstrate leadership in total ad
exposures and sponsored click-throughs, our analysis shows that Travelocity
is making very effective ad placements,” Daboll commented. “While they have
a lower percentage of their total click-throughs coming from sponsored ads
(59.9 percent) than the other three competitors, Travelocity.com seems to
be quite adept at search engine optimization, the other critical component
of search engine marketing.”
 
comScore’s analysis revealed that Yahoo! was the preferred engine for
sponsored ad campaigns among the most-visited online travel agency sites in
April, receiving nearly 44 percent of the sponsored ads placed by these
sites. However, Google generated a slightly higher sponsored click-through
rate (35 percent vs. 32 percent for Yahoo!), indicating higher ad
relevancy.
Top Ad-Supported Sites Attract Travel Searchers

Marketers seeking to target specific consumer segments can safely
assume that the segment’s search behavior will reveal a list of
topically-relevant sites for advertising purposes, but oftentimes less
obvious sites can provide marketers with the greatest financial return. To
aid marketers in this effort, comScore provides insight into Web-wide
behavior for virtually any consumer segment, including those who exhibit
specific search behavior.
 
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