According to a new report released by the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) this morning, U.S. and Canadian advertisers spent $5.75 billion on search engine marketing last year. That number is up 44% compared with spending in 2004. The report goes on to project spending of up to $11 billion by 2010.

The report is based on a survey of more than 550 search marketers conducted by Radar Research and Intellisurvey last November and calculated the spend based on payments to search engines, search marketing agencies and in-house search marketing employees.

“This report confirms our belief that Search Engine Marketing has almost single-handedly revived a flagging online advertising marketplace after the stock market crashed in 2000” said Kevin Lee, Chairperson of SEMPO. "As consumers have become increasingly reliant on search engines to navigate the Web, investors have shown a renewed interest in the digital technologies -- and in search marketing in particular."

As usual, pay-per-click advertising led the spending, accounting for 83% of the total spend. Organic search, which has not yet become part of the strategy for many large companies, lagged far behind, logging just 11% of spending.