<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Internet advertising is having a banner year \u2014 its best ever, in fact.\nWe already saw a record first quarter for the industry. Now, according to a biannual report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, online ad revenues climbed to an astonishing $17 billion in the first half of 2012, or around $2.83 billion every month.\nThat represents 14% growth compared to the first half of 2011. It's not quite as good as that number's 23% growth, but impressive in a still-shaky economy nonetheless. Ten years ago, when Google AdSense and AdWords were just ramping up, online ads accounted for less than half a billion dollars per month. \nSearch advertising such as AdWords \u2014 traditionally the strongest sector \u2014 is still in the lead, accounting for 48% of all online ad sales. That's a significant uptick from last year; in fact, search revenues grew by 19%.\nBanner ads (21%) and Craigslist-style classifieds (8%) are slipping slightly, while video ads are holding steady at 7% of the total spend.\nAnd the much-touted mobile advertising market? At $1.2 billion over six months, mobile ads are growing fast \u2014 nearly doubling since the first half of 2011. But they still only account for as much of the total as video ads.\nThe study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, is compiled directly from information supplied by online ad sellers, and is widely considered the most accurate gauge of the industry's health.\nHow big can the online ad business get? Let us know your take in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/10/11/online-ads-record/>