Search, Banner and Video Ads Get Most Advertising Dollars

The bulk of this year’s online ad spending in the US will go to fuel only a few ad formats, mainly search, banners and video. Not only will they take most of ad spending  of the 2012 online ad budget, estimated by eMarketer.com at about 40 million US dollars, but these three types of ads will claim 80% of budgets throughout 2016.

Search will maintain its top position among ad formats, but its share of overall online advertising budgets will slowly decrease from 2012 to 2016, the remaining funds being invested online video ads which will almost double their share, from 7.9% in 2012 to 15% in 2016.  Video is by far the fastest growing online ad format, with a powerful increase,  nearly 55% this year, after a similarly big growth of 42.1% in 2011. According to eMarketer predictions, video ads will maintain a strong double digit year-to-year growth throughout the 2012-2016 period.

Although among the top dollar bringers in the online ad games, video is not the only format that will report growth overt the next four years. Several other formats will keep scoring strong and steady increases in spending, trend powered by the prospect of a major national election and summer Olympic Games in 2012 which will both lead to increases in rates.

Search will remain top earner in online ad spending mostly due to its already its near-universal adoption rates among consumers. This ad format remains extremely popular for both desktop and mobile web advertising. The other two significant and powerful trends in overall online advertising remain the steady position and strength of banner ads across desktop and mobile devices, and the increase in video ad spending on both platforms, the highest growth rate reported across all formats over the next four years.