SEM Showing Signs of Recovery

After declining for several quarters, spending has stabilized through 2nd quarter, 2009. From MediaPost.com.

Microsoft's new search engine, Bing, improved their share. Yahoo's share was up, but Google's was down, due to increased efficiencies.

What's interesting is automotive, retail, travel and finance spending was up. These categories have been hit hard by the recession and it's good to see consumer interest in these products is changing.

If the legislation to require opt-ins for behavioral targeting passes, SEM should see growth.