UK Web Analytics Market 'Up 9%' in 2009

The UK web analytics market grew by 9% to £85m in 2009, according to research published in the most recent edition of the Econsultancy Web Analytics Buyer's Guide.

The guide is aimed at companies which are investigating the market for web analytics providers, and contains profiles of 20 leading suppliers. It also provides detail on the issues and trends affecting this sector, as well as guidance about how to select the right technology.

By the end of last year, total UK revenues for web analytics vendors (including software licences, hosted solutions and consultancy services) totalled £42m, while the remaining £43m was spent client-side on internal staff and third-party agency and consultancy services.

The report claims that vendors are seeking to differentiate their services as the market consolidates, and that the industry is becoming increasingly saturated with fewer players owning the majority of market share.

'2009 was a very big year for the web analytics industry, with the recession forcing companies to become more efficient and to take measurement more seriously,' states Research Director Linus Gregoriadis. 'The acquisition of Omniture by Adobe also put the spotlight on this sector, and underlined the strategic importance of digital measurement.'

The trend for integrating web analytics with other data sources, such as CRM software, is also highlighted in the report; as is the increasing role analytics has to play in business intelligence.

In addition, companies are also stepping up their use of mobile web analytics, which Econsultancy says mirrors a huge rise in the number of people accessing the Internet while on the move.

However, the lack of investment in skills and education continues to hold back businesses from reaping the maximum benefits from the technology.

'Companies using web analytics are typically getting more from the technology because they have realised that they need to invest in analysts who can translate the data into something useful for their businesses,' adds Gregoriadis.

Web site: http://econsultancy.com .