Quarterly Revenue From US Online Advertising Nears $2 Billion

US internet advertising revenues almost broke the two billion dollar mark during the first quarter of 2000. The news from the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Internet Ad Revenue Report that the figure for that period reach $1.953 billion comes less than a year after the $1 billion per quarter mark was reached.

Revenues were reported to have grown 9.9% compared to the previous quarter and 182% year-on-year. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which compiles the report for the IAB has now expanded the categorisation of the types of ads being used, with classifieds, rich media and keyword searches being added to the existing banner, sponsorship, interstitials and email categories.

Banner ads remain the predominant form of internet advertising, making up 52% of the total in Q1. They are followed by sponsorships, which make up 27%, while the other categories trail some way behind, making up 1-5% each of the total.

The leading category for online adspend in the US is consumer-related business, which accounts for 31% of the total. Other leading areas include financial services and computing (15% each) and new media (12%).

Tom Hyland, chairman of PricewaterhouseCooper’s New Media Group said, “An indication of the health of the online advertising industry is that there are no major surprises here. In fact, the higher rate of growth on a higher base, while not totally unexpected, points to the robustness of the medium as it matures.”

Internet Advertising Bureau: www.iab.net