UK firms 'spending more' on web marketing

The study, conducted by Guava and Econsultancy, found that 55 per cent of respondents expect their budgets for this area to increase this year.

IT firms looking to improve their lead generation in order to boost their client numbers may wish to consider making a similar move, as the research suggests that SEO continues to be a productive form of marketing for companies.

Just under half (48 per cent) saw SEO return on investment increase over the past year with only six per cent experiencing a decrease and research director for Econsultancy Linus Gregoriadis noted that more and more organisations are "turning to digital channels" during the recession.

"Crucially, companies are also getting better at measuring their returns from this channel which, in turn, is leading to more investment," he explained.

And Guava director Lucy Cokes added that social media marketing is likely to become more prominent during 2009, as larger firms seek to take grater control of this aspect of their marketing strategy.

The research follows a similar study by Nielsen, which found that a growing number of businesses are looking online in order to promote their products and services.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"