Record High Predicted For US Online Ad Spending
eMarketer predicts that US online advertising spending will hit $18.5 billion by 2008, with this year setting a record high of $9.1 billion – topping the previous high set in 2000 by $1 billion.
Senior analyst, David Hallerman said: “The interactive ad industry is growing and broadband is the driver. Our research shows that high-speed users spend more time and money online. With broadband usage reaching critical mass, companies are now investing more heavily in paid search and rich media while spending less on other forms of media.”
eMarketer is not the only research group predicting growth in this industry. Jupiter Research said that online advertising in the US is set to nearly double to $16.1 billion by 2009 (see US Online Advertising Set To Double By 2009) and PricewaterhouseCoopers said that although the internet is currently the smallest of the six advertising mediums it tracks, it will remain the fastest growing and worldwide is expected to reach $18.9 billion by 2008 (see Entertainment And Media Set To Hit $1.700 Billion).
Currently paid search leads above all other media online, accounting for nearly 40% of web advertising spending. eMarketer predicts that rich media will continue to see increasingly high growth as more companies invest in online branding opportunities.
In a separate report, Jupiter Research said that paid search spending in the US will more than double by 2009 to $5.5 billion (see US Paid Search Spend To Double By 2009)