The cost of securing the services of search marketers is falling.The price of recruiting skilled search marketers is decreasing, a new report has suggested.

According to research by Marketing Sherpa, it is becoming easier for firms to enlist the services of such specialists, news that may be welcomed by companies looking to use dedicated lead generation companies as part of a sales outsourcing progamme.

A survey conducted by the website showed that 64 per cent of companies rated the complexity of finding a suitable marketing professional as 'not difficult', up from 46 per cent in 2008 and 39 per cent in 2007.

In contrast, the proportion of organisations finding it 'very difficult' fell to 14 per cent, down from 23 per cent the previous year.

"Good help will always be hard to find, but locating someone with knowledge of SEM [search engine marketing] is getting easier as the industry matures," the news source noted.

The study also highlighted the potential benefits of SEM outsourcing, noting that marketers that elected to move their operations in-house took as long as four-and-a-half-months to get the system running smoothly.

Industry expert Steve Smith recently told Econtent that the popularity of lead generation is increasing in spite of the economic downturn, as businesses are opting for the technique after tightening their marketing budgets.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"