This year looks set to send Digital Ad spending into the stratosphere, with a remarkable USD $740 billion forecast for 2024, an increase of $61 billion from last year. A significant portion of this budget is expected to go towards search advertising, which remains the most lucrative segment in the digital advertising space. It’s anticipated that businesses will allocate over $300 billion to search ads, achieving a growth of 10% compared to the previous year.

According to forecasts by Statista, this year is set to break records with an expected increase of $27.4 billion in search ad investments to reach $306.7 billion and contribute 41% of the entire digital ad revenue. The United States is poised to lead the way with $132 billion of the search ad spend, accounting for almost 45% of the year’s total, while China will follow as the second-largest market with $61 billion in spending.

“Given Google’s dominance in the search market and the widespread adoption of its tooling ecosystem, customers will persist in using search engines for brand discovery and product research,” says Robert Munro, Paid Media Director at LION Digital. “Therefore, investing in paid search campaigns remains crucial for allocating media budgets.”

Technology is Set to Heavily Influence the Ever-Changing Digital Marketing Landscape

Despite the impact of social media, influencers, retail media, and advances in artificial intelligence, search ads still hold the crown as the top revenue driver in the digital advertising landscape. The evolution of AI and natural language processing has reshaped the market substantially, contributing to an almost doubled spend from the $167.5 billion investment in 2020 for search advertising.

Mobile advertising is enjoying plenty of growth, with a projected 65% of the overall ad spend at $172.3 billion, while desktop search ads comprise the remaining 35% at $134.4 billion. Video advertising is expected to generate $191 billion, accounting for 25% of the market’s total revenue, closely paralleled by banner ads.

Meanwhile, influencer advertising is set to contribute $35 billion, representing less than 5% of the total market revenue. As digital advertising continues to expand and adapt, the popularity of search ads remains strong.
If you’re interested in tapping into this remarkable growth and want our specialist eCommerce team at LION Digital to craft a tailored blended search strategy that propels your business forward in a challenging market, don’t hesitate to get in touch to schedule a discovery call today!

Reference: Digital advertising spend to hit $740bn in 2024, with search ads dominating