In the first half of 2012, internet advertising revenues climbed to an all-time high of USD 17 billion, representing a 14 percent increase year-on-year, according to a IAB report. This performance is compared to the landmark USD 14.9 billion reported for the first six months of 2011. Also marking a 14 percent year-on-year increase, second-quarter internet ad revenues for this year hit USD 8.7 billion, up from USD 7.7 billion during the same time period in 2011.
The report also shows that mobile generated significant growth – almost doubling year-on-year figures – up 95 percent to USD 1.2 billion in half-year 2012 from USD 636 million the comparable period in 2011. Digital video, a component of display-related advertising, saw an increase of 18 percent year-on-year, to over USD 1 billion in revenue in the first two quarters of 2012 compared to USD 900 million in the first six months of 2011.
Search revenues in the first half of the year totaled USD 8.1 billion, up 19 percent from nearly USD 6.8 billion during the same period of 2011. Display-related advertising revenues in the first half of the year amounted to USD 5.6 billion, accounting for 33 percent of 2012 half-year revenues, up 4 percent from USD 5.3 billion in the first half of 2011. Retail advertisers constitute the largest category of internet ad spending for the first half of this year, claiming 20 percent of the total revenues at USD 3.4 billion, while automotive brought in USD 2.2 billion for first-half 2012, marking an uptick to 13 percent versus 11 percent of category spend reported for half-year 2011 at USD 1.7 billion
