IAB reports ad revenues at all time high in first half of 2012

In the first six months of 2011, online ad revenues in the U.S. reached $14.9 billion. A 14% year-on-year rise sees the total for the first half of 2012 reach $17 billion - an all-time high.

The biggest contributor to revenues was search ads. Overall they represented nearly half (48%) of revenues in the first half of 2012, up 19% year-on-year.

Unsurprisingly, the IAB found that mobile generated significant growth, up 95% to $1.2 billion in the first half of 2012 compared to $636 million in the first half of 2011.

"The tremendous growth of mobile advertising revenue over the past year is an indication of the importance of location to advertisers and mobility to consumers," said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US. "Bringing the power of the internet to mobile devices has opened up a world of possibilities to both consumers and marketers."

Other highlights from the IAB's report include:

- Retail advertisers accounted for 20% of total revenues ($3.4 billion), the largest category;

- The Automotive category brought in $2.2 billion for the first half of 2012, up to 13% from 2011's 11%;

- Digital video brought in just over $1 billion in the first half of 2012, up from $900 million in the same period during 2011.

Tags: advertising revenues, IAB, interactive ads, Interactive Advertising Bureau, online advertising, seach ads, U.S., video ads