Best Search Advertising Software
Search advertising software, also referred to as paid search or search engine marketing (SEM) software, helps businesses advertise on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Search advertising allows companies to target keywords that are relevant to their businesses and gain more prominent positioning in search engine results, gaining them visibility with users who are already searching for those keywords. Search advertising products are typically used by marketing teams or marketing and advertising agencies to identify, target, and bid on keywords. They also help create and optimize ads, as well as track conversion and return on ad spend (ROAS). Search advertising is usually leveraged for direct response advertising, with advertisers aiming to convert searchers on the spot. Search advertising includes both first-party and third-party platforms. First-party platforms are those offered directly by Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! that offer direct access to ad placement on each of the respective search engines. Third-party platforms may manage ad campaigns across multiple search engines and may also offer functionality to serve ads across display, video, mobile, or social media channels as well.
To qualify for inclusion in the Search Advertising category, a product must:
- Possess capabilities to bid on keywords across AdWords, Bing Ads, and/or Yahoo!
- Offer tools to create text ads or product listing ads
- Provide workflows for effectively managing and trafficking ads within the platform
- Track key success metrics such as reach, conversions, and ROAS
Search Advertising Software Grid® Overview
The best Search Advertising Software products are determined by customer satisfaction (based on user reviews) and scale (based on market share, vendor size, and social impact) and placed into four categories on the Grid®:
- Products in the Leader quadrant are rated highly by G2 Crowd users and have substantial Market Presence scores. Leaders include: AdWords, Bing Ads, WordStream, Marin Software, and DoubleClick Digital Marketing
- High Performers are highly rated by their users, but have not yet achieved the market share and scale of the Leaders. High Performers include: Kenshoo Infinity Suite, SearchForce, and AdStage
- Contenders have significant Market Presence and resources, but have received below average user Satisfaction ratings or have not yet received a sufficient number of reviews to validate the solution. Contenders include: Adobe Media Optimizer, Sizmek, Yahoo! Advertising, and Acquisio
- Niche solutions do not have the Market Presence of the Leaders. They may have been rated positively on customer Satisfaction, but have not yet received enough reviews to validate them. Niche products include: IgnitionOne Platform and Clickable
