Spending on online adverts in Europe is on the rise, according to new research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), finchannel.com reports.
The study, completed in association with IHS Screen Digest, found that online ad spend in May 2012 reached 20.9 billion euros (£16.7 billion). A similar study from 2010 put the figure at just 18.3 billion euros.
Search engine marketing saw the biggest boost, growing by 17.9 per cent. Display ads came second, rising by 15.3 per cent, whilst classifieds and directories also registered a 5.7 per cent increase. In total, the sector grew by an average of 14.4 per cent in the past year.
The figure also represents a 21.8 per cent share of the total media spend in Europe.
The growth solidified search marketing as the most popular outlet, with the new figures accounting it for 46.5 per cent of all online marketing budget spend.
Forecasters have suggested that despite economic uncertainty in European markets, online ad spend was still set to grow – with analysts claiming it could see a further increase of 2.8 per cent during 2012. This is expected to be driven by further increases in search marketing spend, but also a wider adoption of social media, mobile and email marketing, thomsonlocal.com reports.
