Search advertising is the oldest form of digital promotion, with roots in Google’s rise during the late 1990s. Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) were disciplines that brought legitimacy to digital marketing departments. The sustained performance of search to this day is a big part of why Google remains such a powerful digital ad platform.
We expect a resurgence in search ad spending. Growth will be 9.3% this year, but that rate will more than double to 19.0% in 2023, then moderate to 14.3% in 2024.
Search ad spending in Canada will account for 44.5% of digital ad spending this year. That’s down from 49.7% five years ago, as display formats—especially in social media and video—gained a larger share of the digital market. Display formats will account for slightly more than half (54.2%) of the digital market this year.