The truth of most forecasts lies not in their numeric precision but in their direction and trajectory. For years consumer time with the internet has not brought commensurate ad dollars to the medium. The recession, grudging recognition of consumer behavior and years of evangelizing finally appears to be changing all that.
Metrics aggregator eMarketer is forecasting “double-digit” growth for online advertising. The firm sees the paid search market growing almost 16 percent this year to just over $12 billion. The lion’s share of that, of course, will go to Google. Online video advertising, however, is projected to gain the most on a percentage basis. A proportionally smaller chunk of that than paid search will also benefit Google.
Much of this online ad spending growth is being fueled by brand and agency budget shifting from traditional media to online. But it’s equally happening at the small business level.
According to the IAB, online ad spending in the first quarter was almost $6 billion.
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