Web ad spend to double by 2012

JupiterResearch forecasts that US online-advertising spending will nearly double by the year 2012, with search and display advertising accounting for much of the expenditures.

In "U.S. Online Advertising Forecast: 2007-2012," Jupiter projects total online-advertising spending will increase from $19.9 billion this year to $35.4 billion in 2012.

Major drivers fueling this spending include growth in display inventory, increased paid-click volume and better targeting technology.

JupiterResearch found static-image and text advertising will be the two most popular display formats in 2007, comprising more than two-thirds of online-display revenue. Text and static ads have grown this year because of the large increase in remnant impressions available across social-networking sites.

However, new publishers will continue to improve the advertising mix, shifting toward rich-media and video formats over the next few years.