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Online Ad Revenue Grew 34 percent to $16.8 billion in 2006
Over 20 percent digital revenue growth projected for business media companies in 2007.
from AICPA Custom Media Solutions

U.S. online advertising revenue climbed 34 percent to $16.8 billion during 2006, setting a new record for the third consecutive year, according to estimates released last week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), an industry trade group.

Last year's online ad spending totaled nearly $4.8 billion during the fourth quarter — the most recorded for any three-month period during the 10 years that the Interactive Advertising Bureau has been tracking the Internet's growth as a marketing medium.

The fourth-quarter volume represented a 32 percent increase from the same time last year.

Advertisers have been steadily shifting more of their budgets online to follow the increasing numbers of consumers who are spending more time on the Internet instead of watching TV or reading newspapers and magazines. Online ad revenue in the United States has more than doubled from $7.3 billion in 2003, the IAB said.

Driven by advertisers’ desire for immediate and measurable return on investment, business media companies are creating easily measurable online revenue opportunities in many forms including banner ads, Webinars, sponsorships and blogs to name just a few.

American Business Media President Gordon Hughes told Media Business magazine recently that he expects digital revenue to increase 22 percent to 25 percent for business media companies in 2007. These companies will generate 14 percent of their overall revenue from e-media, he said.

"All signs point to a steady increase in the level of spend by traditional advertisers that are using online advertising as an important part of their media mix," said David Silverman, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, an accounting firm that helps IAB compile the 2006 ad data.