Internet advertising revenues in the US remain strong, with Q408 revenues hitting $6.1 billion, and revenues for the year topping $23 billion, according to the 2008 Internet Advertising Revenue Report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), writes MarketingCharts.

Despite a difficult US economy, the report indicates that interactive advertising’s continued growth - though at a slower pace - confirms marketers' increased confidence in the value in reaching consumers online.

Key report highlights:

• Full-year 2008 revenues totaled a record $23.4 billion, exceeding 2007's performance ($21.2 billion), by $2.2 billion, or 10.6%.
• Q408 revenues of $6.1 billion mark the first time the interactive advertising industry achieved, and surpassed, $6 billion in a single quarter. The figures represent a 4.5% increase from Q308 total of $5.8 billion and a 2.6% increase from 2007's fourth quarter, which had revenues of $5.9 billion.
• This is the fifth consecutive year of record results.

Search Drives Revenue Growth

Search remains the main driver of revenue growth according to the report, showing a 19.8% increase over 2007. display banner advertising, the second largest format, accounted for 21%, followed by classifieds (13%), lead generation (7%) and rich media (7%) of 2008 Q4 revenues.

Digital video, though still a small overall contributor, more than doubled its revenue with an increase to $734 million from $324 million in 2007, indicating that marketers and consumers are embracing the platform.