Press Release: IAB Announces 2nd Consecutive Quarterly Increase in Net Ad Revenues
IAR: IAB Finds Ad Revenues up 7% in Q1

This just in: more cause for optimism that the online ad sector is turning around. The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers report that for the first quarter of this year, online ad revenues grew by an estimated 7 percent over the previous quarter to $1.7 billion, which is 11 percent higher than the first quarter of last year. The press release indicates this is an estimate based on an extrapolation of the revenues of the biggest 15 online ad sellers and not a thorough census of all publishers, as the IAB normally reports on, which will be completed for Q1 by next month.

1996-2002 Online Ad Revenue
Click here for 2002 IAB report

This is only the second quarter of upward growth since a sustained decline began in Q4 2000, when the industry peaked with a quarterly earning estimate of $2.1 billion, bottoming out in Q3 2002 at $1.45 billion. If this year were to stay flat at $1.7 billion per quarter, that would equal $6.8 billion for the year, less than revenue seen in 2001, although regular seasonality gives good reason to believe this upward trend will continue.

The Internet Advertising Report cites gains in paid search and rich media as helping to buoy the industry's recovery, rewarding the industry players who stuck it out through the tough times.