The term "austerity" was almost omnipresent in British culture last year, with budget cutbacks being discussed on a regular basis by just about everyone.  Only it seems the search industry came out more than okay, as a new report from Econsultancy indicates the UK marketplace for SEO came to be worth roughly $680 million.

Indeed, Econsultancy’s 2011 SEO Agencies Buyer’s Guide in part stated, "Econsultancy estimates that the UK marketplace for SEO was worth 376m [$587 million] in 2009 and that it grew by 16% during 2010 to a value of 436m [$680 million]."

That’d represent an impressive increase almost any year, well ahead of the rate of inflation.  That it occurred during the middle of an international recession is all the more significant for the SEO industry.

As for where things might head in 2011, it’s hard to imagine a decrease in spending will occur as the economy recovers.  Jake Hird, Senior Research Analyst at Econsultancy, observed in a statement, "[T]he SEO market continues to flourish, as it is a proven and highly effective method of delivering return on investment by successfully driving traffic and increasing sales."

And with regards to how the standard SEO process might change, Econsultancy created the chart below to act as a guide of sorts.

Let’s hope 2011 turns out well for everyone in the industry.