In the recent Forrester Research analysis "Europe's Search Engine Marketing Forecast, 2004-2010," was presented that search engine marketing -- commercial search that includes paid listings, contextual search, site optimization, and paid inclusions -- will generate euro 1.4 billion of spending in Europe in 2005.
This is a 65 percent increase compared with 2004. The analysis predicts an overall cool-down in the SEM share of European online advertising spend beginning in 2007.
The Forrester forecast shows that by 2010, European marketers will spend almost euro 3 billion on search engine marketing. Small- and medium-sized businesses will join the fray, increasing the role of search engine marketing.
Hellen Omwando, Consumer Markets Analyst at Forrester Research, says: "Growing numbers of online shoppers, online advertising budgets, and pay-for-performance search marketing models will attract both large and small firms."
In the UK, the largest online ad market in Europe, search marketing will grow to over euro 1 billion in 2010, up from euro 763 million at the end of 2005. Marketers in travel, finance, auto, and retail will fuel the spend.
France, with 19% of search marketing spend in Europe by the end of 2005 -- and 31% by 2010 -- is the most surprising growth market, as it has historically been a laggard in anything digital.
While search marketing's share in online advertising will increase for another two years, Forrester believes it will start decreasing in 2007.
According to the research, search engines will respond with search types and business models that combine the best of display ads and search.
Another research authority, JupiterResearch deepened online advertiser concerns about reliance on cookies for measuring Web site and marketing campaign effectiveness.
The industry analysts believe that almost 40 percent of online users may be deleting cookies from their primary computer on a monthly basis.
According to JupiterResearch's recently released report "Measuring Unique Visitors: Addressing the Dramatic Decline in the Accuracy of Cookie-Based Measurement":In 2004, 58% of online users have deleted "cookies"
"Given the number of sites and applications that depend heavily on cookies for accuracy and functionality, the lack of this data represents significant risk for many companies," says Eric T. Peterson, Analyst at JupiterResearch.
JupiterResearch says privacy and security concerns on the part of online users are responsible for the cookie-deletion behavior.
The JupiterResearch report provides advice to site operators for how to cope with the decline in accuracy of visitor measurement. In the report also is predicted that Web analytics vendors will adapt their tools in the face of a consumer landscape that makes established measurement practices unreliable.