Online advertising revenues continue to climb upwards, according to June 2012 figures from the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Revenues in Q1 set a new peak of $8.4 billion, representing a 15% increase from Q1 2011′s $7.3 billion. Despite this solid growth rate, it actually represents a slowdown from Q4, which grew at a more rapid 20.4% year-over-year, to $8.94 billion.
Q1′s Peak Follows New Highs Reached in 2011
The Q1 growth comes after April 2012 figures, also from the IAB and PwC, showing that internet advertising revenues reached a record $31.74 billion in 2011, representing a 21.9% increase from $26.04 billion in 2010. This was the most rapid year-over-year growth since 2007 (26%), and drove online ad revenues past cable TV ad revenues (including national networks and local cable TV), which were $30 billion. Looking back over the past 10 years, the April report notes that online ad revenues have a compound annual growth rate of 20.3%, with 29 of 36 quarters since 2003 seeing positive growth.
