European Online Spending to Top $22 Billion by 2012: Forrester

European spending on online marketing will double in the next five years, from around 7.5 billion euros ($10.3 billion) in 2006 to more than 16 billion euros ($22.1 billion) in 2012, according to Forrester Research Inc.

In five years, online marketing — including e-mail, search, and display advertising — will represent 18% of total media budgets, the report continued.

The report also found that:

* Overall marketing spending is growing again in Europe in 2007 after several slow years. Fifty-four percent of companies have set their 2007 budgets higher than their actual spend for 2006.

* Spending on display advertising — for example, banners, buttons, and pop-ups — will grow from 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in 2006 to 5.6 billion euros ($7.7 billion) in 2012

The forecast is based on data from more than 25,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK and interviews with 24 major European marketers