Among the organizations participating in the project to come up with the guidelines were Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Advertising.com, AOL, Business.com, Click Forensics, CBS Ineractive, Compete, Disney Interaactive Media, Looksmart, Omniture, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SEMPO, WebTrends, and many more. The guidelines are designed to:

- Provide a detailed definition of a “click” and outline standard methodologies by which clicks should be measured and counted, including the identification of invalid and/or fraudulent clicks.

- Define standard terms to aid in the streamlining of buying and selling of click-based media.

- Increase transparency and consistency in click measurements for media companies, ad-serving organizations, advertisers, and third-party click auditors.

"Helping the interactive industry define a click and the standard for measuring one has been an extraordinary effort on the part of the IAB and its members," said Shuman Ghosemajumder, Business Product Manager for Trust & Safety for Google. "It is an important step that continues to reinforce interactive media’s role as the most accountable and measurable form of advertising."

The document (pdf) is lengthy, but one that advertisers should take the time to read. They are offering a chance for ad agencies, advertisers, publishers, and vendors to provide feedback on the guidelines, so you might be able to get your two cents included too if something of value has not been referenced.

With the assistance of one of his fellow authors Aaron, formulates an interesting point of view and one I believe cannot be faulted. He notes that the big three search engines have all recently purchased their own advertising networks and the potential for “insider data trading” could exist. Not that anyone believes the big three would go that route, but he notes a CPA model would eliminate the largest concerns marketers would have, should that ever unknowingly happen.

Aaron then goes on to nicely cover why CPA would be positive for marketers, consumers, and search engines. This is the real value of the article in my mind. I am not convinced the industry at large would ever make such a sweeping change, but really explaining the benefits of CPA may help lead media purchasers to consider CPA options as part of their paid search purchasing mix and this I believe is a good thing.

Aaron concludes his article with a compelling argument as to which trends point to a real possibility that CPA could become the standard for paid search. But even he states that he clearly only touches on the benefits of the move to a CPA model and he hasn’t touched on the downsides.

I believe this is one those articles that benefits the search marketing community because hopefully it will generate a larger conversation and encourage many marketers to consider the CPA format as part of their paid search strategy. What do you think about a move away from CPC to CPA? Does it have merit in your mind?

Comments

Google: up 24.8% from $1.29 to $1.61

Yahoo: up 30% from $1.03 to $1.34

Shopping search engines saw the highest jump, up 36.9%.

Via Nathan.

Add to Digg

Technorati:

Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world’s most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian.

You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at andy.beal@gmail.com.

Yahoo’s CPC jumped 30%, from $1.03 to $1.34. Shopping search engines saw an even better boost, going from $1.87 to $2.56, a 36.9% increase. Looks like a good year for all.

Who thinks this year will be a good one too, but not as good?

(via Search Engine Guide)

Add to | DiggThis | Yahoo! My Web

Technorati:

Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

Visit the InsideGoogle blog.