Google helps you find anything from coveted research material to the nearest grocery shop in your locality. Obviously, advertisers vie for spots on search engines similar to Google to publicise their goods and services. However, Internet advertising in India, especially search engine marketing (SEM), is still lower due to poor level of broadband penetration.
At least 60% of web pages are said to be reaching through search engines. Hundreds of Indian companies are working on search engine marketing and optimisation (set of strategies to make web pages appear early on the results? page of a search engine).
?However, over 90% of the work is done for the US companies as Indian-majors have not yet cashed in on the power of Internet,? says Vikram Vijayaraghavan, director, Indian operations, Efficient Frontier, a global search-engine marketing firm. Matrimonial, ticketing and shopping are among the very few services that are opted online.
Unlike traditional advertising media, Internet offers the option to track results efficiently. Users search using keywords and the contextual advertisements are based on the search queries.
Though 2007 was announced as the year of broadband and the then telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran vouched to eradicate the ?256 Kbps era?, the government has not met its target because of the unforeseen changes in the telecom ministry.
Traditional advertising media like print and television still rule and aggressive marketing on the Internet might take at least three years, says S Radhakrishnan, executive vice-president, South, Mudra Communication Pvt Ltd.
However, Milind Mody, chief executive officer, eBrandz, a web marketing solutions company, is optimistic about the future of SEM in the country. The Indian market might replicate US, he says.
?US is basically the benchmark to see global trends in advertising. Google offers print, television and radio ads to its clients in the US. Online being a ROI (return on investment)-driven medium it would put additional pressure on the offline model to show performance,? he adds.