Internet advertisng nears £1 billion for first six months of 2006

Figures released by Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reveal that online advertising now has 10.5% market share and is now:

• Double the size of outdoor (5.1%)
• Double the size of consumer magazines (4.6%)
• Three times the size of radio advertising (3.4%)
• Half the size of the TV advertising market

Whilst TV, press, radio and direct mail have all experienced declining revenues online advertising expenditure is up to £917.2 million compared to £630.5 million for the same period last year.

Once again the Internet is the fastest growing advertising medium in the UK and is expected to overtake the spending on national press by the end of 2006.

Whilst all major online ad formats have performed well, Paid-for-search (PPC) in particular has seen a surge in spending up some 57.7%  to £531.3 million accounting for 57.9% of total online revenues. In terms of advertiser profiles, recruitment and finance remain at the forefront which probably reflects the fiercely competitive nature of these sectors.

The full report can be read on the IAB website.