iCrossing Tops Search Agency Revenue Rankings In Ad Age

By Pamela Parker

Published: May 3, 2012 at 5:20 pm

New York-based iCrossing, a division of Hearst Corporation, tops the latest Ad Age list of top 25 search marketing agencies by revenue released today. (Link is available to subscribers only.) The agency brought in $105 million in search-related revenues in 2011, up 13.6% from the previous year.

Rounding out the top five were Dentsu’s 360i, WPP Group’s Group M Search, Aegis Group’s iProspect, and Performics, a Publicis Groupe company.

Several standalone agencies did make the rankings. The Search Agency, based in Los Angeles, came in 7th, with $32 million in search revenue in 2011. New York-based Acronym Media was 9th in the listings, with $31 million in search revenue last year. Covario, based in San Diego, brought in $21 million from search last year, earning it a number 15 spot in the rankings.

Most of the agencies increased their search revenue from 2010 to 2011. Covario was the fastest-growing, raising its search revenues by 76% year-over-year. Other agencies showing strong growth include Merkle’s Impaqt (46%) and BKV (43%), of Overland Park, Kansas.

Some companies’ search revenues did slip, however. Neo@Ogilvy was down 6% year-over year. Rapp, an Omnicom agency, showed a 5% drop; and Atrinsic Interactive was down 4%.

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Ad Age Advertising agency Covario Dentsu International Hearst Corporation ICrossing IProspect Kansas Los Angeles Merkle Inc. New York Ogilvy Omnicom Group Performics Publicis Groupe San Diego Search engine marketing WPP plc

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About the author

Pamela Parker

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.