IAB: Internet ad revenue increase 26%

2007 may not have been a banner year for advertisers but it wasn't a loss, either. According to the IAB's recent Internet Advertising Report, online ad revenues in the US reached $21.2 billion in 2007. This is an increase of 26% for the year.

by Kristina Knight

The report lists Q4 2007 revenues increasing 13% year over year.

55% of the spend was accounted for in consumer-related advertising while financial services accounted for 15% of the spend. In the consumer-related category, online retail accounted for 47% of the spend followed by automotive (21%), Leisure/Travel/Hotel/Hospitality (13%), Entertainment (9%) and Packaged Goods (8%) rounded out the category

David Silverman, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which conducted the survey, said, "Interactive advertising is not just the future, it is the here and now. It represents a meaningful and growing component of US advertising and marketing spend."

Search spending continued to increase in 2007, accounted for 41% of the online spend. Display ads (34%), Classified ads (16%) and Lead Generation (7%) continued to have a strong showing as well.

Telecoms also had a strong advertising showing in 2007. According to the report, telecoms accounted for 8% of the revenue total ($1.7 billion). That is the same percentage that telecoms brought in in 2006. Media, meanwhile, accounted for 6% of the spend ($1.3 billion).