At a recent retail meeting of the minds eCommerce analyst Steve Harmon and Mercent CEO Eric Best shared thoughts on the evolution and shifting path of online advertising - specifically relating to paid search.
The outcome?
Steve Harmon's latest segment report entitled, "Online Advertising & Jerry Maguire: Show Me the Money" which includes the consensus view between Harmon and Best that the online advertising world is migrating away from the familiar CPC (cost-per-click) paid search model and towards universal use of a CPA or 'cost-per-action' model.
What would this mean for online advertisers?
Advertisers only pay for a searched ad if a user actually takes action (i.e. buys a product). Although the idea isn't entirely new, CPA has existed in the affiliate marketing world since day one, the model is new if ALL ADVERTISING worked this way. True performance marketing and quite possibly the next tipping point in online advertising.
