Google Content Network Traffic Grows by 300%

In the wake of Yahoo’s anouncement that its content network will be shutting down as of the 31st March, Google have shown that the content network can, and does, work. Research by Efficient Frontier has shown that impressions on Googles Content Network have grown by over 300% year on year as advertisers divert money from MSN and Yahoo.

The NMA, had this to say on it:

Its UK Search Engine Performance Report Q4 2008 found impressions on Google’s Content Network, which includes search-based AdSense ads on sites such as MySpace, Telegraph.co.uk and LastFM, surged 308% year on year to account for 6.4% of all UK search impressions.

The latest growth serves yet another blow to rivals Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo Search alone saw search spend fall to 8.4% in Q4 from 13.9% the previous year.

The news follows massive investment by Google in its Content Network in 2008, including the rollout of new ad formats and, in October, third-party ad serving.

In contrast, Yahoo announced earlier this month it’s to close Content Match, its text-based equivalent to Google’s AdSense, in Europe to focus on rich-media ad sales.

The Efficient Frontier report said in Q4 2008 the UK search market grew 14% quarter on quarter and 11% year on year, with Google now receiving 88.2% of all spend, up from 82.6% in Q4 2007.

The figures are in stark contrast to Efficient Frontier’s equivalent report for the US, released last week, which said Q4 search budgets there had been cut by 8% year on year.

For more on this go to:  http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/41220/Google+Content+Network+takes+money+from+rivals+as+traffic+grows+by.html