US search ad spending decreases amidst the COVID-19

Similar to other sectors, the search advertising business is expected to face a significant downfall from the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the research firm, eMarketer expects US ad spending to fall between 20.2% and 29.4% on a year-over-year basis.

In the first half of 2020, eMarketer predicts the spending on search ads to drop by 8.7% and 14.8%. This means that spending on search ads would fall somewhere between $23.81 billion and $25.52 billion in the first 2 quarters of 2020.

According to eMarketer, Google is leading the pack when it comes to US ad search spending, garnering more than 70% of the accumulated net worth. In the year 2019, the search giant made $134.8 billion in advertising.

The company is expected to report its financial report for the first quarter of 2020 in May. However, eMarketer anticipates a significant shortfall in the reports – due to the current scenario.

eMarketer also predicts travel advertisers and the entertainment industry to cut back on their search ad spending with a dramatic margin.

The first quarter of 2020 saw a flat year-over-year for US search ad spending, with major decreases initiated in March. It is expected that the trend will continue in the second quarter as well.



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