Ad budgets' shift to online is reaching an "inflections point," after which, within five years, internet advertising will become a $55 billion global market, according to investment bank Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy, AdWeek reports. Rashtchy says his forecast of 27 percent compound annual growth could be a conservative one. "Online is on its way to a 10 percent share [of adspend] much faster than we anticipated, and we believe we are now approaching an inflection point when spending growth could accelerate," he wrote.

Advertisers are mixing their search and brand advertising strategies online, he writes, and major players such as Absolut, General Motors and Ford are earmarking 20 percent of their marketing budgets to internet marketing.

The demand will drive "high single to low double-digit" online ad price increases in 2006, according to Piper Jaffray.