The amount of investment on internet advertising in the UK has overtaken the total advertising expenditure of national newspapers for the first time. The milestone has been tracked by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Biannual Study today. According to its findings, internet ad spend in the UK broke the £2 billion mark last year, after a 41.2% surge in growth.

The internet now commands 11.4% share of all national advertising up from 7.8% in 2005.In 2006, online display advertising (including banners, skyscrapers and online sponsorships) rose 35% year-on-year to £453.7 million. Paid-for search increased by 52% to £1.2 billion of total online ad spend or a 57% share. Last year the paid-for-search segment grew by 79% the previous year ” indicating signs of a slow down for the channel. On the other hand, online classified advertising was up 45% to £379 million. This is in contrast to traditional press classified advertising, which experienced a significant decrease of 7.8% year-on-year.The IAB conducted the study in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC). While it is important for the IAB, journalists and members of the industry to focus on investment figures, there is a danger in losing perspective on what really matters ” the return (from brand equity to sales revenue) advertisers get from online advertising. Online is not a more effective medium because it captures a larger share of advertising investment than outdoor or national newspaper; it is effective because of its’ inherent ability to be an accountable communications and commercial platform for brands. new media, online advertising, uk online advertising,web liquid