Report: Don’t Buy AdWords, Focus On SEO

Over the weekend, with the sensational headline “Search & Destroy,” the New York Post wrote up the forthcoming results of an “audit” from UK-based Internet Search Metrics (also called Internet Search Management). The Post article says the audit, which is not yet released, argues that the spending on paid search is often unjustified and that more resources should be devoted to optimization.

If the audit is simply calling for balance and arguing in favor of devoting more effort and money to optimization, that’s a sober recommendation. If it concludes rather that paid search advertising has little or no merit, that would be a mistaken position.

On Monday, eBay resumed its AdWords campaigns on a “much more limited basis.” Indeed, the highly publicized temporary withdrawal of eBay’s paid search campaigns on Google may prompt other big spending advertisers to take a closer look at their dependence on AdWords.