$50k A Month For Paid Search?

From Internet Retailer Hundreds of retailers spend $50k plus a month on paid search.

Paid search just keeps getting more popular with online marketers. Approximately 350 to 500 U.S. retailers are now each spending $50,000 or more per month on pay-per-click, paid-search programs, in keyword campaigns that represent anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 words each, estimates search engine marketing provider Efficient Frontier Inc.

I wonder how much each retailer pays for THEIR OWN NAME as a keyword.

There has to be a better way of reaching your target audience than by guessing what words he/she will type into a search engine to find you.

I think the advertising industry is getting lazy. Instead of creating a concept, or using new technologies to reach consumers, they are relying on algorithms and the "throw enough crap on the wall and see what sticks" method.