The Search Engine Marketing (SEM) industry generated 5.75 billion dollars in expenditure by advertisers during 2005, according to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). This figure represents a 44 percent increase over spending in 2004

The organization has also predicted that by 2010, total SEM expenditure will reach 11 billion dollars.

Other key points in the report:

- Paid placement represented 83% of total expenditre
- 80% of advertisers reported engaging in organic search optimization
- Only 11% of expenditure focused on organic search engine optimization
- Paid inclusion accounted for 4% of total expenditure
- Funding for SEM budgets is siphoned off from other marketing programs that a company may have rather than being created from new sources; i.e. more into SEM related activities and less into other forms of advertising.

You can read more of the report at SEMPO

The battle for no.1 listings in search engine rankings; be it a PPC or organic (free listing) rank is definitely hotting up and there’s an increasing number of SEM companies making outlandish promises to get you into the top 10.

If you’re tossing up whether to carry out your own search engine optimization, or hiring a company to do it for you; there’s many things to consider. In the world of search engine marketing firms, like any trade, there’s good and bad.

Some use “black hat” techniques (also known as search engine spamming) and the line between black hat and white hat can sometimes be very blurred. For further information, read my article on points to consider before hiring a Search Engine Optimization Professional.

Have you used a Search Engine Marketing/Optimization firm? What was your experience? Do you have tips to share with others about selecting a company? Share them below.