Internet advertising market generated $30.7 bln in 2003

Veronis Suhler Stevenson presented their forecast of media industry developments in 2004, while noting that the growth of keyword search advertising led to the entire Internet ad sector growing by 20.2%. However, VSS warns, keyword-driven advertising cuts into the sales of banner ads and other graphical advertising, quite often used for branding. Total consumer Internet spending increased 16.1% to $30.7 bln in 2003, driven primarily by a sharp rebound in advertising expenditures following two consecutive years of declines, as well as continued strong growth in Internet access and content spending. Online advertising spending increased 20.2% to $7.3 bln in 2003, due to increasing use of keyword search advertising, which more than offset declines in banner ads and other forms of graphical image advertising. Overall spending in the consumer Internet market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.4% from 2003 to 2008, reaching $52.7 bln by 2008, as economic expansion drives up advertising spending, Internet households grow and consumers become more willing to pay for online content.