The three marketing channels that company execs say generate the best ROI today:

• e-mail
• search engine optimization (SEO), and
• paid search (pay-per-click or PPC).

That’s what 1,200 marketing execs said in a recent survey conducted by MarketingSherpa.com.

When asked what was generating “great” ROI:

• 51% of execs said paid search. Why is it so popular? Laser-like targeting and results that are easy to measure.
• 44% of execs said e-mailing their house lists still produces the greatest return, and
• 39% of execs said they love SEO because all it costs to generate returns is a little time and effort.

The full results of the survey are available here (registration required).