A study just published on search engine advertising reveals that UK-based Internet companies are spending more than twice the amount per user as their American counterparts. In the USA, advertisers in 2006 will have spent $37.78 online for each Internet user. In the UK, advertisers will be spending $83.33 for every person who uses the Internet. So why is there such a large discrepancy? Do the advertisers in the USA know something companies in the UK don’t? Or are the British firms one step ahead? In the depths of the report you find a possible reason. According to Atlas Solutions who conducted the research lack of effective measurement may well be to blame. And that could be a British trait. One thing I’ve noticed at conferences on Internet marketing is how the US marketers measure everything, whereas many of the British marketers I meet talk about measurement, but don’t do it. Could it be that the US advertisers have more data at their fingertips and therefore know that they don’t need to spend so much? If so, it’s worthwhile noting that measuring your web site fully and completely is the only way to know whether or not you are doing the right thing.