More good news for the online ad industry: the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for 2010 and Q4 2010 posted record growth for both periods. The figures, prepared by PwC US, shows that revenues for 2010 reached a record $26 billion, up 15% from 2009. Fourth quarter revenue also hit new highs at $7.45 billion, up 16% from Q4 2009 and 19% from Q3 2010.

Search Wins the Day; Sponsorship Posts Most Growth

The most popular ad format in 2010 was search which represented 46% of revenue and saw 12% growth from last year. However, sponsorships saw the most growth with an 88% increase over last year and 142% increase in the fourth quarter alone.

Also, efforts by Google and Yahoo to boost display-related ad revenues appear to be working. This category, which includes digital video commercials, banners/display ads, sponsorships and rich media, totaled nearly $10 billion with an increase of 24% over 2009.

This report is the fifth consecutive quarter of growth since 2009, IAB also noted.

Enter Mobile

This report was also the first year to break out mobile revenues. That clocked in between $550 and $650 million for the year. Indeed, signs are growing that the industry is viewing the mobile category as worthy of a separate line item. A survey by Jumptap shows that while the majority, 60%, of mobile marketers with near-term campaigns in the pipeline are planning to draw their mobile budgets from their current online marketing budget, 20% say that mobile will be an entirely new line item.

In December 2010, Andrew Osis, chief executive of Calgary, Canada based Poynt, told Reuters that across its markets, the message received from advertisers was that they are creating separate mobile budgets.

The sums spent on mobile ads are still small, he says, but they clearly indicate growth and demand by companies.