Report: Desktop Search Poised for 'Significant Decline' This Year

The switch to mobile is hitting the search advertising business in the United States, according to a report from eMarketer.

The researcher predicts a "significant decline" of 9.4% or $1.4 billion in desktop advertising this year. Revenues for desktop search are expected to continue to decline over coming years; by 2018, they will be down 33.1%. On mobile, it's the opposite: Search revenues rose 120.8% last year and are projected to grow another 82.3% in 2014

U.S. revenues for mobile search will total $9.02 billion this year, versus $13.57 billion for desktop search. Some 76.4% of Google's search ad revenues came from desktop. eMarketer predicts that share will fall to 66.3% in 2014 as desktop search revenues fall $770 million. A $1.76 billion increase in mobile search, however, will more than make up the difference. Read more...