Online ad spending in Europe is booming, even as the economy trembles with daily news of debt and default. According to a May 2012 Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe and IHS Screen Digest report, marketers and brands continued to move budgets online, with digital ad spending reaching €20.9 billion ($29 billion) in 2011.

The strong rise in online spending is in contrast to declining growth for total media overall and sluggish GDP in Western Europe. Still the entire continent, including Central and Eastern Europe, managed to eke out positive growth in all categories, helped especially by online ad spending rising 14.4% for the year, and taking 21.8% of all media spending. In Western Europe, by comparison, total spending excluding online fell by 1%, according to the IAB.

Search saw the biggest boost, at 17.9%, followed by display (15.3%) and classifieds and directories (5.7%).

As a result, search solidified its lead as the No. 1 online format, accounting for 46.5% of all online ad spending.

eMarketer expects Western European ad spending to grow 2.8% in 2012, on the strength of several elections and sporting events such as the London Olympics and the United European Football Association (UEFA) tournament. For the year, total spending will reach $117.6 billion
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