Yesterday was billed as Cyber Monday for online retailers, the virtual version of America’s traditional ‘Black Friday’, a day when shoppers take to the streets and splurge like no other day of the year. Cyber Monday in the UK was expected to fall yesterday, with pay per click advertisers and search engine optimisers bracing themselves for records amounts of web traffic. But did it live up to expectations? More About Cyber Monday

So far, the indications are that it did with e-tailers ramping up their buy online discounts to entice the growing numbers of us content to shop online for our Christmas presents and other festive essentials rather than brave the crowds on the high street. Last year, £320 million pounds was spent online in December, a figure looking likely to be eclipsed this time round if predictions are to be believed. One Internet body predicted a massive £28 million national spend yesterday lunchtime, as the countdown to the big day drove us online in search of deals like Play.com’s 50% off and the 20% discounts commonly seen on brand name sites including Debenhams and M&S.

A second big surge was also predicted to take place after working hours, between 6pm and 9pm, although employees conscious of tougher economic times were amongst the new group set to log on from their desks rather than venture out and shop on the high street.

Initial data from comScore Networks showed a 9% increase on 2007 figures, although some retailers warned of the need to balance this out against a slower December overall.

Daniel Jupp, MD of pay per click and SEO agency Top Position said online advertisers not taking advantage of Cyber Monday need to put their festive SEM campaign into overdrive. “Paid search on AdWords or Yahoo offers a great instant boost to marketing efforts, particularly at this time of year when shoppers go online in their droves. Festive pay per click can be as simple as one themed ad group or as complex as multiple time-sensitive campaigns. With instant results it’s never too late to set up a paid search campaign but now is the time to bite the bullet and increase brand presence on the search engine results pages.”

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