Q4 Paid Search Ad Revenue Up 24 Percent YoY In The Americas [Kenshoo]

Kenshoo Q4 2014 Paid Search Trends. In the Americas all key metrics rose both Q/Q and Y/Y.

Kenshoo released its fourth quarter look at search advertising this week. Here we are looking at results from customers based in the Americas (both north and south) on both Google and the Yahoo Bing Network. The snapshot of key metrics above tell a positive story. Return on investment rose as revenue outpaced the rise in spending.

Both revenue and ad spend reached their highest levels of the past five quarters in Q4. Year-over-year, ad spend rose 16 percent while revenue jumped 24 percent.

Ad engagements rose as well, with click-through rates up 7 percent compared to last year. Clicks rose 9 percent as ad impressions held relatively steady from the previous year, rising just 2 percent

Ad costs also have held steady. The cost-per-click rose 6 percent from 2013, but just 1 percent compared to Q3. Over the past five quarters the average cost-per-click among Kenshoo’s Americas-based customers has remained between $0.60 and $0.70.

Mobile’s share of clicks and spend continued to rise. Mobile devices accounted for over a third of ad spend and ad clicks in Q4, with 34 percent of ad spend and 37 percent of ad clicks.

Source: Kenshoo

CPCs across all devices rose marginally, though smartphone clicks remain discounted at $0.61 compared to desktop at $0.71. Tablet click costs are closing in on desktop at $0.67.

In a telling graphic, Kenshoo highlights the large gap in costs between the US and other countries. The average CPC in the fourth quarter was $0.70 in the US, while it was just $0.23 in Brazil and $0.49 in Canada. Both countries also saw higher click-through rates than the US.

Source: Kenshoo

The full report on the America’s is available here along with trend reports for the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.