Internet ad revenues surged to a landmark $20.1 billion in the first half of 2013, according to a recent report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
That's an 18% increase over last year's first-half ad revenues of $17 billion.
Maintaining an upward trend, 2Q13 internet ad revenues also increased—18% year over year—reaching $10.3 billion, up from $8.7 billion in 2Q12.
Below, additional key findings from the report.
Revenue Concentration
- Online advertising revenue continues to remain concentrated with the 10 leading ad-selling companies, which accounted for 70% of total revenues in 2Q13, down from 73% in 2Q12.
- Companies ranked 11th to 25th accounted for 12% of revenues in 2Q13, up from 9% in 2Q12.
- Companies ranked 26th to 50th accounted for 7% in 2Q13, down slightly from 8% in 2Q12.
Ad Format Trends
- Search accounted for 43% of 2Q13 revenues, down from 47% in 2Q12, as mobile devices shifted search-related revenues away from the desktop computer.
- Display-related advertising accounted for $3.1 billion, or 30% of total revenues.
- Display-related advertising includes display/banner ads (19% of revenues), rich media (3%), digital video (7%), and sponsorship (2%).
- Mobile revenues totaled 16% of 2Q13 revenues, up 149% from 2Q12.
Industry Trends
- Retail advertisers remain the largest category of internet ad spending, accounting for 20% of total revenues in the first half of 2013, consistent with the 20% reported in 1H12.
- Financial Services advertisers accounted for 14% of revenues in 1H13, up slightly from 13% in 1H12.
About the Research: The IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report was released in October 2013 and includes data directly obtained from from companies generating internet/online/mobile advertising revenues, as well as supplemental data from publicly disclosed information.
