The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) said $US423 million was spent on Internet advertising in the second quarter of 1998.
The IAB said it was the ninth straight quarter of growth for online advertising, and represented a 20 percent increase from the second quarter of 1997.
But the numbers came under attack from outside analysts, who suggest the numbers are at least a third too high. Chris Charron, an analyst at Forrester Research, projects only $US1.3 billion will be spent this year on Internet advertising. The IAB's numbers suggest that closer to $US2 billion will be spent by online advertisers.
IAB officials expressed puzzlement that its numbers would cause controversy.
"I'm perplexed, confused and not clear on why people continue to think this data does not reflect the marketplace," said Rick LeFurgy, IAB chairman, on a conference call. "We do not associate with the advertisers, we don't report what sites are doing what, we have no incentive to fudge numbers."
"From the IAB's standpoint, we stand by our numbers," LeFurgy said. "If we felt the numbers were not accurate, we would not do this."
Still less than one percent
Overall, Web advertising continues to make up less than one percent of overall advertising spending.
The report, conducted and presented by PricewaterhouseCoopers at the IAB's annual membership meeting at @ad:tech's New York Forum, showed that computer and consumer advertising makes up about half of all Web ads. Most ads are banner ads, and an estimated 95 percent of the advertising is paid for by cash, while the remaining 5 percent are barters or trades, according to the report.
The "Advertising Revenue Report" was started by the IAB in 1996, and comprises data from more than 200 companies representing more than 1,200 Web sites.
The data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet, and includes online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers and all other companies selling online advertising. The IAB said full details of the study will appear next week.
Martha L. Stone is a frequent contributor to ZDNN.
