Mobile & Social Ads Power First-Half US Digital Revenues Of $23B [IAB]

Today, the IAB announced first half ad revenues for the U.S. market of $23.1 billion. This represents modest 15 percent growth over the first half of 2013. Second quarter revenues were $11.7 billion, up from $10.3 billion the previous year.

The numbers suggest full-year digital advertising spending of around $49 billion. Roughly 71 percent of revenue is concentrated at the top, within online ad sellers/networks.

Mobile and social advertising showed much more significant growth than digital advertising overall.

Mobile revenues for the first half were $5.3 billion, up from $3 billion a year ago (76 percent growth). Advertising on social platforms (PC and mobile) came in at $2.9 billion for the first six months. This represented 58 percent growth.

Below are a few category spending highlights from the first half:

• PC search revenue: $9.1 billion 
• Mobile search revenue: $2.7 billion
• PC display: $6.5 billion 
• Mobile display: $2.5 billion
• Video: $1.5 billion 
• Social: $2.9 billion (PC + mobile) 

The top five digital-ad spending industries were: retail, financial services, automotive and telecommunications.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.