WebProNews

The UK Leads Europe In Social Networking

Close to half of all people in the UK will be members of a social networking site within four years, a new report indicates.The study found that the UK has the highest number of users in Europe who are members of sites such as MySpace and Facebook. At least 9.6 million people in the UK use these sites and that is expected to increase to 27.1 million by 2012.

A Third Of UK Internet Users Bank Online

Online financial services are used by about a third of the total U.K. online population, according to a new comScore report.Thirty-three percent of UK Internet users did online banking in January, accounting for 10.9 million customers who used at least one online account in the first month of the year.The most popular online banking brand was the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with 2.9 million visitors, driven largely by the 2 million people who accessed NatWest's online banking service.

Hitwise Reexamines AdWords UK Change

As UK businesses brace for Google's policy change on trademark bidding, there's a growing amount of evidence that they'll be hit hard.  Today, Hitwise's Robin Goad provided several solid examples.

UK Cracks Down On "Flogs"

Companies that create fake blogs in order to hawk products violate what most people would consider basic truthfulness.  Starting May 28th, they may also be violating UK law.

Google Book Search Gets Traffic Boost

Some of the features Google introduces do little more than collect dust, while others become extremely popular.  The Books Viewability API appears to be part of this second set, as traffic to the UK version of Google Book Search has increased by a dramatic amount since its introduction.

Social Networks, YouTube Led UK Searches Last Year

It's hard to believe data about 2007 is still being released, but a new Hitwise report is interesting, nonetheless.  It seems that social networks and YouTube were quite popular last year, with related terms dominating a list of the top ten UK searches.

Spouses Play Online Spy Games

Twenty percent of married Internet users in the UK have admitted to reading their spouses emails and text messages according to a survey from Oxford University.A majority of respondents (94%) disapproved of their partners having cyber-sex, while 88 percent disapproved of sharing personal information about the other partner online. Flirting online was unpopular with 85 percent of married Internet users. Discussing relationship problems to others was frowned upon by 89 percent.

Hitwise Weighs In On AdWords UK Change

The spread of a particular policy towards trademarks has some AdWords users in the UK worried.  And if new data from Hitwise is accurate, they should be.

Online Ad Spend In The UK To Surpass TV

The Internet will surpass television as the largest advertising medium in Britain by the end of 2009, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the World Advertising Research Centre.The report says that Britain has the most developed online advertising market in the world and was worth $5.6 billion in 2007.

Ofcom Finds Kids Sneaking Around Social Networks

Social networks are practically crawling with kids, according to a new report from the UK's Office of Communications.  What's more: the children are often on them in violation of the networks' rules, and their parents pay little attention.