Internet Ad Revenue Grows By 21%

The Internet Advertising Revenue Report reveals that Q4 2003 accounted for 30% of the total 2003 revenue and marked the highest quarterly revenue in reporting history. Greg Stuart, IAB president said: “In light of a seeming malaise in the advertising industry at large, we are gratified that the dynamism that our industry continues to demonstrate is clearly not being lost on marketers and advertising agencies.”

Keyword search contributed to 35% of revenue in 2003, this is up from 15% in 2002. Classified made up 17%, again up from 15% in 2002. The only sector to see a decline this year was ad banners which fell to 21% from 29%.

Consumer brand advertisers made up the largest category of spending at 37% of 2003 revenues, this is up from 32% in 2002. Computing advertisers followed in second place by contributing 20% to ad spending. Pete Petrusky, director, PWC said: “The increased strength in consumer spending categories relative to other sectors underscores the acceptance of online advertising by traditional advertisers and consumers alike.”