Google’s Chief Economist Hal Varian effectively dismantled all of SearchIgnite’s study on CPC inflation resulting from Google’s ad deal with Yahoo except for one: that prices could rise. That may be irrelevant, though, since, Varian notes, Google and Yahoo don’t actually set ad prices. Advertisers do.
Google Leads Others In CPC Inflation
Google takes in nearly 77% of the total search advertising spend, as of Q4 2007, and raked in 97% of all ad spend increases, according to a study by Efficient Frontier. Despite Nielsen’s recent report that Google search share had slightly decreased, numbers like these on the advertising revenue side could mean good things for a flagging Google stock price.
AdWords and History of PPC Price Inflation
Detlev Johnson, in the SearchReturn email newsletter, weighs in on the subject of landing page quality algorithms by turning to a history of paid search price increases:
Inflation Low, Consumer Prices Flat, Retail Sales Up
Last month, consumer prices were flat, while retail sales grew more than expected. Energy prices fell shortly, which may have added to consumers’ desire to spend.
Geek Blogger With Ego Inflation?
It’s easy to keep my ego in check. I haven’t built a new product. I haven’t cured cancer. I haven’t increased Microsoft’s stock price.
Inflation: What Is It And Why Does It Happen?
“Inflation is the overall or specific increase in the cost of a good or service.”
Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.