Research | Internet Marketing Blog

UK online ad spend to hit £2bn this year

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has predicted that UK online ad spend will overtake national newspaper advertising by the end of 2006, after reporting that the web’s share of the ad market reached double figures in H1.

by Richard Maven 04 October 2006 08:28am 0 comments

SMEs failing to exploit blogs, says study

Only 3% of SMEs are planning to start a corporate blog, according to a survey by hosting provider Fasthosts.

The firm, which questioned 2,000 small businesses, found nearly half would use a blog to drive traffic and interact with their customers, but far fewer were actually preparing to launch one.

by Richard Maven 03 October 2006 09:44am 3 comments

Local search gains momentum, says study

A study by ComScore , focusing on the US, has shown an increase of over 40% in the number of users performing local searches online in the last year.

According to the research, 63% of US internet users (around 109 million people) performed a local search during July, a 43% increase over the same month in 2005.

by Richard Maven 29 September 2006 15:52pm 1 comment

Sites clash with measurement firms

A "cacaphony of complaints" from web publishers has prompted the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to put pressure on the industry's two major metrics firms to improve their methodologies and transparency, reports AdWeek .

The magazine says several top publishers have expressed doubts over the unique user and traffic data being provided by Nielsen//NetRatings and comScore Media Metrix, both of which are preparing to be audited.

by Richard Maven 27 September 2006 11:02am 1 comment

Growth in online ad spending slows

Research firm eMarketer has forecast that growth in US online ad spending will slow slightly this year as due to weaker consumer spending and as the market matures.

A report by the firm predicted internet ad revenues would rise 26.8% to $15.9bn this year – a move that may calm some fears in the industry after Yahoo!’s warning sent shares tumbling last week.

by Richard Maven 26 September 2006 11:56am 1 comment

SEO as effective as paid search, study says

WebSideStory has released an interesting study that indicates paid search is only slightly more effective than optimisation when it comes to conversion rates.

The research, which focused on 20 major B2C sites over the first eight months of this year, basically suggests that neither paid or organic search advocates are right to claim their methods are better.

by Richard Maven 25 September 2006 14:27pm 0 comments

EU plans are threat to new media firms, says Ofcom

Ofcom has warned that the EU’s proposed Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) directive could force new media companies to relocate outside Europe.

The UK media regulator said research it had commissioned from RAND Europe showed the proposals could “significantly increase regulatory costs and uncertainty” for multimedia firms.

by Richard Maven 21 September 2006 09:25am 0 comments

Cookie deletion discrepancies take the biscuit

Vinny Lingham’s blog has carried some interesting research into cookie deletion – an area which has not been studied in depth but affects user privacy, as well as advertisers’ measurements and conversion rates.

The research will also be of great interest to affiliates who may not be getting the credit they deserve.

by Richard Maven 15 September 2006 10:22am 0 comments

Old media get act together on the web

Traditional media companies are increasing their share of online advertising budgets at the expense of big internet players such as Yahoo! and Google, according to research by New York-based private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS).

by Richard Maven 14 September 2006 14:39pm 0 comments

Thoughts on d.Construct 2006 conference

If you’re watching the Web 2.0 scene in the UK then you might be interested in some thoughts on the annual d.Construct conference I attended last Friday.

by Gareth Knight 13 September 2006 10:28am 1 comment