Online Ad Spending Expected To Increase, Time To Monetize The Web

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02/06/2007 -03:00 AM

Marketing firm Outsell’s 2007 ad spending report shows that online ad spending is expected to grow almost 18 percent this year and, as I’ve said before, now is the time to monetize the Internet.

Among the findings of the report, which surveyed more than 1,000 ad executives, are that advertisers are expected to boost their spending on sponsored content by 38 percent, on trade or b-to-b Web sites by 30 percent and on Webinars by 28 percent. Advertisers are also moving their money into vertical search, to grow by 18 percent, and their own Web sites, to grow by 17 percent.

But the survey also found that advertisers are planning to reduce spending slightly on pay-per-click advertising, in part, because of the click fraud problems that have surfaced. This serves as a message to publishers that now is the time to find meaningful ways to measure Web metrics and to come up with a meaningful system for pricing online advertising. As advertisers gravitate away from print and into the online arena, publishers should stop offering online advertising as an addendum to print and look for ways to fully monetize the Web for what it is worth.