UK search marketing on the increase

Search marketing accounts for over half of the UK´s advertising spend, new research has indicated.

Citing data from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Internet Advertising Bureau UK, research website eMarketer noted that paid search advertising makes up 57 per cent of total UK online ad spending.

Display advertising has the second greatest share at 22 per cent, with classified advertising taking up 21 per cent.

The figures indicate that UK spend on search marketing greatly increased in 2007, with advertisers spending 44 per cent more on search during the first half of 2007 than they did during the first six months of 2006.

According to the data, spending on display advertising was also up 33 per cent during the same period.

Karin von Abrams, senior analyst at eMarketer, underlined the growing importance of search advertising in the UK.

"Search-related advertising will remain the primary focus of the UK market for some time to come, and the gap between spend on search-linked and display ads will widen," she said.

eMarketer projected that online ad spending in the UK will rise from £2.6 billion in 2007 to £4.5 billion in 2011.