Internet ads rise 38 percent to record levels

Even with the increase of Internet advertising, there are still other trends at work that need to be examined. Perhaps Baidu is such a good example because they are trying to base a community around their search engine?

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - The marketing dollars targeting potential consumers surfing the Web is set to rise for a fourth year, if the recent growth of online advertising continues apace.

In the first quarter, online advertising soared 38% as advertisers devoted a record $3.9 billion to target consumers on the Web, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In fact, the dollar amount marketers spent in the first three months represents 80% of the dollars spent during all of 1999 - the bubble years of the Internet era.
“Consumer habits are continuing to change and mature,” adds David Silverman, a partner with responsibility for assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Companies are effectively learning to devote more of their advertising budget to this fast-growing advertising platform in order to reach the right audience at the right time.”

Annual spending on online advertising has been rising since 2002, when $6 billion was spent on Internet marketing. In 2003, advertisers spent $7.2 billion. In 2004, $9.6 billion was spent. Last year, marketers spent $12.5 billion on the Web….. Source: MarketWatch

[tags]internet,record,ads,online advertising,percent[/tags]