Spending on SEO 'to rise 32%'

03/09/2008

Expenditure on search engine optimisation (SEO) will rise by 32 per cent this year, according to the latest Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide from E-consultancy.

The report indicated that spending on SEO will reach £330 million in 2008, while overall expenditure on search engine marketing will surge by 24 per cent to £2.75 billion, according to Precision Marketing.

Pay-per-click will account for £2.24 billion of this spending, representing an increase of 23 per cent compared with 2007.

However, these growth figures are lower than those recorded in previous years, E-consultancy editor-in-chief Chris Lake said.

"Economic concerns will affect the overall ad industry and search isn't entirely immune from a dip in budgets," he commented.

"Marketers and agencies are savvier than ever, so scope for growth in return on investment is limited."

This follows a prediction from communications firm Carat that online advertising will overtake radio to become the third most popular marketing channel in the world by the end of 2008.