UK online ad spending to top £4.5bn in 2011

Online advertising spending in the UK is on track to hit £4.5bn by 2011, well ahead of the US and other developed nations.

Market research company eMarketer said that the UK is set to account for over half of all online ad spending in western Europe this year, rising to a 52.6 per cent market share in 2010. 

Steady economic growth, further advances in broadband, mobile internet access and associated ad-serving technology will help fuel this growth, according to eMarketer's UK Online Advertising report.

Following 47 per cent growth in 2006, online ad spending in the UK will rise from £2.6bn in 2007 to £4.5bn in 2011, although the growth will only be around 8.5 per cent by this time.

The US showed better growth in 2006 of 49.4 per cent, but this is expected to drop off to around 6.5 per cent by 2011 and total around $8.24bn.

Online advertising is expected to represent 18 per cent of all UK advertising spending in 2007, more than double the percentage in the US or in any other European country.

The report predicts that the continuing shift of substantial advertising budgets to digital platforms will see online ad spending grow 31 per cent in 2007 and more than 10 per cent per year for the rest of the decade.