Article: The Coming Search Advertising Crash

[mouser]

http://publishing2.com/2006/03/09/the-coming-search-advertising-crash/

I’m not sure if I’ll be the first to predict it, but search advertising is headed for a cliff. I can’t say with any certainty when–or whether–the crash will come, but the evidence is mounting.

Everyone is talking about the $90 million click fraud settlement, and the Google apologists are out in force, arguing that $90 million is a drop in the bucket and that the settlement reduces the likelihood of major legal liabilities in the future. I’m not a lawyer, so they may very well be right that Google is in good shape from a legal perspective. Of course, you can count on Google bear Henry Blodget to find a way to rag on Google, but even he’s missing the big problem here.

The issue is not whether advertisers can sue Google for any significant amount of money. The issue is whether advertisers will begin to lose faith in search advertising.

interesting read.

[allen]

Interesting indeed.

Essentially, I think they're making a big deal about nothing.  People have been nay-saying advertising since the beginning--but ever time it dips, somebody (google) revitalizes it with new ideas.

Billboards will go away long before advertising in search engines.

[Renegade]

Total bull. Search advertising is here to stay. Ask anyone who uses it. It works. What works, stays.