Search marketing spending set to reach £2.75bn

Expenditure for search engine marketing is set to rise by 24 per cent to £2.75 billion by the end of this year, new forecasts reveal.

E-consultancy’s latest Search Engine Marketing Buyer’s Guide shows that expenditure on paid search will also increase by 23 per cent to £2.24 billion next year, while adspend on search engine optimisation will jump by 32 per cent to £330 million.

The guide also predicts that during the remainder of this year, worries about the state of the economy will spark increased scrutiny on the performance of search advertising, while the search marketing in general will become more complex as the industry develops.

Chris Lake, editor-in-chief of E-consultancy, said: “Search spending is continuing to increase at a healthy pace, although the growth rate will not match the increases seen over the last few years.

“Economic concerns will affect the overall ad industry, and search isn’t entirely immune from a dip in budgets. Marketers and agencies are savvier than ever, so scope for growth in return-on-investment is limited.”