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Search Marketing Takes Lion's Share of UK Online Ad Spend

Marketers in the UK say search marketing is the most efficient way to generate leads - so it’s no wonder that search marketing accounts for the lion’s share of online ad spending compared with other formats, making up more than half (57%) of the online advertising dollar (so to speak) in the UK.

Display advertising, in second place, has a 22% share, followed by classified, according to eMarketer, which cites data from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Internet Advertising Bureau UK:

UK advertisers spent 44% more on search during the first half of 2007 than they did during the first six months of 2006, while display advertising was up 33% during the same period, according to the data.

In addition to lead generation, search is a vital conduit for direct online sales, according to a survey by E-consultancy and Neutralize:

eMarketer forecast in mid-2007 that total UK online ad spending would grow nearly 23%:

“Search-related advertising will remain the primary focus of the UK market for some time to come,” said Karin von Abrams, senior analyst and author of the eMarketer report “UK Online Advertising.” “And the gap between spend on search-linked and display ads will widen.”