Internet Advertising Revenue Down 5.3 Percent, but Still Strong on Search Sites

Posted 10/05/2009 at 2:30pm | by Bart Salisbury

0

Comments

Print

The downturn in the economy is sparing few, as Internet ad revenues took at 5.3% drop during the first half of 2009. According to a recent report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the drop in ad revenues was most keenly felt during the second quarter of 2009, which totaled $5.5 billion compared to the second quarter of 2008’s $5.7 billion. While the trend is downward, Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB believes, given the seriousness of the economic decline, Internet ads are “one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected.”

Despite this recent downward trend, advertisers aren’t soured on the Internet. According to David Silverman, a partner in PricewaterchouseCoopers, LLP: “While the overall advertising market has continued to be impacted by current economic conditions, marketers are allocating more of their dollars to digital media for its accountability and because consumers are spending more of their leisure time online.”

Of the revenue generated by Internet ads comes from search engines, which accounted for $5.1 billion of the 2009’s first half revenue of $10.9 billion. Display-related ad revenues contributed another $3.8 billion.

Image Credit: Interactive Advertising Bureau