Google launches UK ad campaign

Google is launching its first major advertising campaign in the UK in an effort to win market share from Microsoft.

The search giant is renowned for having achieved global success largely without the help of advertising.

But with rival firms now stepping up their efforts in the search sphere, Google is hitting back with a campaign that will run across six countries.

The move could be good news for those seeking digital media jobs, especially if it encourages other search engines to launch new promotional activity.

Focusing on the 1.7 million businesses Google claims are using its services, the Gone Google campaign will be run across print ads, billboards and digital screens.

"It is the first and very highly visible integrated ad campaign that we have run," said Dave Armstrong, head of marketing at Google Enterprise for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

According to figures from comScore, Google sites accounted for 64.9 per cent of searches carried out in the US in September this year, while Yahoo! sites took an 18.8 per cent market share.

Microsoft was in third place with a share of 9.4 per cent of search activity.

Posted by Stanley Jack

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