The IAB has released the data they have for digital ad revenue for the first half of 2015 and it is certainly looking good. The total revenue is up 19% over this period and for the first time ever, the second quarter revenue actually beat the fourth quarter revenue from the previous year. This is a significant sign as it shows just how much growth there was and that we can expect a very good fourth quarter for the year.
There is really no sign of this growth ending either, which will be encouraging for many digital marketers. Of course, as this continues, the cost of ads will continue to go up as well, which marketers may not be as pleased with. The fact is, however, that digital advertising has been shown to provide such a high and predictable return on investment (when done properly) that most savvy marketers will be more than happy to continue focusing their marketing dollars in this direction.
The biggest boost, according to the report, came from mobile which was up by over 50%. Mobile ads pulled in $8.2 Billion for the first half of the year, which is a 54% jump. Mobile now accounts for about 30% of all the interactive ad revenue for the first two quarters of the year, which is huge (it was just 23% for the 2nd quarter of 2014).
The mobile ads are primarily broken up between search and display ads, but display is pulling ahead. In 2014 display ads accounted for 47% of mobile and search was 51%. In the first half of 2015, however, display accounts for 52% and search just 44%. If this trend continues we’ll see a far higher investment into display ads, which is something that website owners can take advantage of.
The reason for this is likely due to the fact that more and more people are using mobile devices to actually browse the web rather than just search for specific pieces of information. As people continue to spend more time on mobile devices they will continue to see more advertisements from display networks.
Social media ads are another area where a significant amount of growth is being seen. This, of course, is not surprising at all. Social ad revenue went up significant and account for about 16% of the total ad revenue. As more and more social networks continue to expand and improve their advertising options this growth is almost certainly going to continue.
Overall the report from the IAB looks very good for most marketers. The second half of the year is also looking good with a lot of potential for the holiday season. If you’d like to see the entire report, it can be downloaded HERE.
