UK spending on search engine marketing (SEM) will increase 58% this year to 2.22 billion pounds, forecasts E-consultancy, pointing out that although the anticipated growth rate would be down from 65% in 2006, the market has plenty of room for future growth. (Note: 1 dollar (USD) = 0.5 pounds (GBP))
The paid search market alone will near 2 billion pounds this year – some 1.97 billion pounds -Â up 56% from 2006, the E-consultancy report estimates.
However, for the first time, spending on organic search will grow more quickly, increasing 68% -Â to 252 million pounds, or 11% of the SEM market, it said. The estimate includes payments to agencies, as well as investment in client-side staff to manage SEO and implement changes.
In a survey earlier this year, the firm found that two-thirds of marketers said they would be increasing their budgets in the next 12 months for both paid search (65%) and search engine optimization (64%).