Search marketers are getting better at measuring the results of their work, but more are also increasingly judged based on those results, reports ClickZ.

A new study from iProspect shows more search marketers get their performance judged in relation not only to search metrics but also to how those results play into the larger business picture.

In 2005 81 percent of search marketer job evaluations took into account lead generation or brand performance. That rose to 86 percent in 2006.

Those in the search marketing field are also being judged by actual sales. 50 percent of evaluations now include mentions of how search has impacted total sales. Search engine ranking, click count and customer acquisition also were common factors but showed up on just 48 percent, 43 percent and 31 percent of evaluations, respectively.

The increased play ROI gets in job evaluations also suggests more companies are measuring ROI on search. 88 percent of search marketers engage in ROI measurement.

Lack of communication between online and offline marketing professionals in an organization accounts for a big reason that remaining 12 percent isn't measuring its search efforts.