Further reaction to eMarketer SEO report

Total US search marketing will reach nearly $23.4 billion (£16.35 billion) by 2013, according to a new report from digital market research firm eMarketer.

By that time, marketers will be spending more on search engine optimisation (SEO) than on contextual advertising, the study claims.

It was also stated that SEO can offer long-term results to aid any search marketing campaign.

David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the publication Search Marketing Trends: Back to Basics, commented on marketers' attitudes to SEO.

He said that marketers who conduct SEO within their companies are likely to choose this method as a way of keeping costs down.

"Marketers sometimes find the SEO process complex, Mr Hallerman added. "For some marketers, that means full-blown SEO depends on help from an agency."

Last year, the Internet Advertising Bureau claimed UK paid search spending reached £981 million in the first six months of 2008.