Covario, Inc. Acquires Netconcepts; Giving Large Advertisers’ Solution for Driving Faster Search Engine Optimization Results

January 12, 2010; 08:24 AM

SAN DIEGO & MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Covario, Inc., the leader in large scale search advertising software and services, announced today that it has acquired Netconcepts, LLC, a Madison, WI-based solutions provider, specializing in the management of website search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. The combined firms will do business as Covario, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Covario’s acquisition strengthens its industry leading position providing SEO solutions to the world’s largest advertisers. The combined company will have nearly 100 customers in key industries such as high tech, financial services, ecommerce, retail, consumer electronics, media, life sciences, and consumer packaged goods. Covario will leverage the acquisition by integrating Netconcepts’ GravityStream™ technology into Covario’s SEO consulting practice and Organic Search Insight™ software.

Netconcepts, founded in 1995, is the leader in driving online sales for the retail and ecommerce space through management of natural search engine rankings using its GravityStream technology. Key clients include Cabela’s, Northern Tool, Ann Taylor, Deckers, Woolrich, and Builder’s Square. The merger will help these retail clients, and other clients, gain access to Covario’s software and team of service experts to better synchronize their paid and natural/organic search efforts to create efficiencies, improve results for both channels, and ultimately improve their return on investment (ROI). The technology is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) web content management solution that allows an advertiser to deploy SEO strategies in a scalable and cost effective way.

“With the acquisition of Netconcepts and the GravityStream technology, Covario is bringing a unique solution to advertisers to help them accelerate their ability to present their brands on all the major search engines globally,” said Russ Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Covario. “By coupling Covario’s Organic Search Insight with NetConcepts’ GravityStream technology, advertisers will be able to identify the SEO actions that drive better rankings, and also deploy those strategies quickly, and in a highly scalable way to achieve their ROI goals.”

The growing importance of SEO in advertising is a key factor behind Covario’s acquisition of Netconcepts. According to Forrester Research, advertisers would spend approximately $2.5 billion on SEO in the U.S. alone in 2009, and this is estimated to double to $5.0 billion by 2014 [Forrester’s July 2009 US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009-2014]. “Marketers looking for clicks at a cost much lower than paid search are joining those who return to SEO after mastering paid search programs,” according to Shar VanBoskirk, an analyst for Forrester. “Nearly two-thirds of all marketing spend to manage search programs is for advanced technologies or outsourced partners — an indication that search programs are gaining maturity and investment.”

The combined solutions from Covario and Netconcepts are geared to provide these advanced tools to help large advertisers capture this opportunity.

“Advertisers who have constraints on their web development teams, usually do to the underfunding of Information Technology departments, need to build websites that are well optimized for Google,” said Stephan Spencer, Founder and President of Netconcepts. “The combined solution offers advertisers a fully automated SEO solution that spans keyword research, link building and web content management, strategy deployment, and ongoing reporting. There is no other solution like this on the market.”

Covario will be discussing its acquisition of Netconcepts and its GravityStream technology, at its annual INFLECTIONPoint customer conference February 3rd and 4th in San Diego, CA.

About Covario, Inc.

Covario, Inc. is the leader in paid and organic search software and services. The Covario portfolio provides global organizations with robust interactive and search marketing analytics solutions for paid search advertising and organic search engine optimization (SEO). Covario enables complex and distributed organizations to control brand integrity, ensure budget transparency and deliver quantifiable results across business units, distribution channels and languages. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Covario’s growing customer list include some of the world’s best known brands in high tech manufacturing, retail, ecommerce, financial services, consumer electronics, media, entertainment, publishing and consumer packaged goods. For more information on Covario call 858.397.1500 or visit http://www.covario.com.

Contacts:

For Covario, Inc.
Josh Wozman, +1-415-591-4091
Josh.Wozman@bm.com