Paid search in US to double in value over next five years

New Media Age, August, 2004 by Claire Armitt

The US paid search market will more than double in value over the next five years, predicts Jupiter Research.

Paid search listings and inclusion--text ads on results pages or unranked entries in search engines--are currently worth $2.6bn (1.4bn [pounds sterling]). Jupiter predicts they will continue to grow faster than any other sector of online advertising, to be worth $5.5bn (3bn [pounds sterling]) in 2009.

A sharp increase in the average cost per click is set to drive growth, says Jupiter, rising from 29 cents (15p) in 2003 to 36 cents (19p) in 2004. It predicts a further increase to 47 cents (25p) per click in five years' time.

The report says paid search will account for almost a third of total online ad spend in the US this year, up from just...