Digiday+ Research deep dive: Google dominates in both marketing spend and confidence on the buy side

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It’s safe to say that pretty much everyone on the buy side is spending on Google and that they’re confident that advertising on Google actually works. At least, that’s what a Digiday+ Research survey of 138 agency and brand professionals found.

But while agencies have displayed a very steady rate of spending and marketing confidence in Google, brands’ spending and confidence have been a bit more up and down.

Digiday’s survey found that Google comes in just behind Meta siblings Facebook and Instagram when it comes to agencies’ marketing spend. Ninety-two percent of agency pros said their clients spend at least a very small portion of their marketing budgets on Google.

A notable difference between agency spending on Google versus Meta’s platforms is that a significant portion of agencies who spend on Google spend a lot: Nearly half (46%) said a large or very large portion of their clients’ marketing budgets goes toward the search giant. In fact, whereas Google came in behind Facebook and Instagram for overall marketing spend among agencies, it is the top marketing channel among agencies whose clients spend big.

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The numbers are even bigger for brands. Google is the top channel for marketing spend among brands overall, and among brands that spend a lot.

Digiday’s survey found that 97% of brand pros said they spend at least a very small portion of their marketing budgets on Google. And 60% said they spend a large or very large portion of their marketing budgets there.

Digiday’s survey found that three-quarters of agency pros said their clients spend a moderate to very large portion of their marketing budgets on Google, with nearly half (46%) saying their clients spend a large or very large portion of their marketing budgets there.

Those who said their clients spend a large portion of their marketing budgets on Google accounted for the largest category, with nearly a third of agency pros (31%) saying this.

Agencyy clients’ spend on Google has changed very little over the last year. While other marketing platforms have seen fluctuations in marketing spend over time, this steady marketing spend on Google says a lot about the consistent nature of the search giant as a marketing channel.

Source:: Digiday