Over one hundred years ago, John Wanamaker said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Many people today would argue that SEM addresses Mr. Wanamakers concern. I would argue that SEM only exacerbates the concern. Much of the traffic generated by SEM results in bounced traffic, window shoppers, or early-stage shoppers. The latter two aren’t necessarily bad things, but they do make it more difficult for Marketers to optimize their media efforts efficiently.
