Online Advert Spending Outstrips TV Advertising – a Paradigm Shift

The following guest post was written by Christopher Angus.

Online advertising has outstripped TV advertising for the first time ever, the “paradigm shift” is reportedly due to faster broadband speeds and the sheer amount of time people are spending online. I personally also believe that internet advertising provides a far higher return than traditional media. Google reports this at nearly 2.3 times above offline advertising. Online advertising revenues amounted to approximately £1.75 billion in the first half of this year, while TV advertising “only” managed £1.6 billion.

Internet marketing seems to be a truly “recession proof” industry – I think that this is down to business owners being able to target exactly which profile type of customer they need and being able to track the exact ROI down to the last penny. Another factor that should also be taken into account is the amount of money that businesses spend on Search Engine Optimisation. Almost any good SEO Company will also report an increase in revenue during the recession.

What’s genuinely different about Internet advertising is that almost any business can reach customers on a worldwide basis, whatever the budget whilst creating a decent return on investment. As more business managers and owners realise the amazing returns that can be created quickly and efficiently, profits will start to fall as Internet advertising prices and returns fall as competition grows.

Internet advertising is also changing the entire shape and form of the media. Traditional media such as TV and print advertising are almost in free-fall, with large well trusted news sources in dire financial trouble. Take for example ITV and the NYTimes, these traditional media outlets need to adapt or die as the whole market and consumer behaviour is morphing into a slick efficient machine. No longer will huge media companies be commanding hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single ad, rather it will be hundreds of thousands of tiny income streams that will make up the majority of the revenue.

Whether businesses are considering Pay-Per-Click or SEO, they need to act quickly and decisively as the wave has arrived and it needs to be ridden or businesses will be simply left behind.