Internet ad revenue hits high in ’10

U.S. Internet advertising revenue jumped 15 percent to $26 billion in 2010, setting a record high and proving that more companies are opening up their coffers to reach people online.

The new figures released on Wednesday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC also reported record online ad revenue increases in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 19 percent to $7.5 billion.

“We now have had five consecutive quarters of growth since the great recession impacted interactive advertising in 2009,” Sherrill Mane, senior vice president, industry services at the IAB, said in a statement.

The report found that the most popular form of advertising was search, which represented 46 percent of revenue and increased 12 percent from 2009.

Digital video advertising accounted for 5 percent of total ad dollars spent online in 2010, or $1.4 billion.

Display advertising, which also includes video, jumped 24 percent to almost $10 billion last year.

The fastest growing form of advertising in 2010 was sponsorships, which soared 88 percent to $718 million.

“More time spent online, especially with increases in digital video and social media, has certainly helped to fuel the continued growth,” David Silverman, PwC assurance partner, said in a statement.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – (Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

(This story was corrected by the IAB to say “19 percent” in the 2nd paragraph instead of “16 percent”)