C Does Not Stand for Ceiling

In Search Engine Guide this week, Gord Hotchkiss said that "the C Level Ceiling" is the primary problem that search engines are facing in growing search expenditures. "Senior execs don't get search, they don't want to get search and they certainly don't want to move significant budget to search." He then goes on to give a litany of reasons why search is low on the marketing totem pole for C Level executives.

Further down the article, Mr. Hotchkiss does admit that since search is only 2 percent of the ad budget and TV is 45 percent, it stands to reason that the chief marketing officer is going to spend more time on television. The article says that the author is the CEO of Canada's leading search engine marketing firm. That doesn't exactly make him unbiased, but it should make him more knowledgeable.

The Internet is growing faster than any media in history, and search accounts for the lion's share of that growth. In fact, if spending on search doubled or tripled in the next year, there would be such severe inventory problems that the prices would be astronomical.

Search will continue to drive the growth in Internet expenditures by companies seeking to reach a qualified customer. However, it needs to grow at a reasonable pace so that it can be fully understood by every level in the company.