The online search market was the leading web advertising format in Europe last year, new figures have shown.

This form of lead generation saw year-on-year growth of 26 per cent, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In addition, the sector accounted for 43 per cent of all online advertising spend in the 19 countries included in the research, reaching a total value of €5.6 billion (£4.7 billion).

Commenting on this, IAB Europe president and chief executive officer Alain Heureux stated: "This can be partly explained by measurement and performance-based marketing needs – in times of recession advertisers are more focused on proving return on investment."

The organisation noted that the economic downturn has had an effect on the internet advertising industry, but pointed out that it still experienced growth despite the global recession.

Mr Heureux remarked: "We firmly believe that the industry will continue to grow through the imagination, innovation and investment of its players."

Recently, IAB senior programmes manager Jack Wallington wrote on the organisation's blog that online login services such as Facebook Connect and OpenID - which allow users to enter social networking passwords to access companies' sites - may become increasingly important for internet marketers and lead generation.


Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"