The amount on online advertising is projected to overtake that spent on either newspapers or free-to-air television for the first time in 2013.

According to new data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia, online ad spend had generated double-digit growth through every quarter of 2012, even while the general advertising market had been seen to slacken.

The Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) tracks ad spends across online, mobile, and video, dividing the online advertising into three categories: general display, search and directories, and classifieds.

The data showed that, over the three months to September, the online sector expenditure registered a growth of 10 per cent, year on year, totaling $813.2 million.

A recent report from the Commercial Economic Advisory Service Australia (CEASA), showed the amount of money spent on online advertising was on track to overtake advertising on both newspapers and free-to-air TV in 2013.

According to the CEASA report, the first six months of this year, saw $1.63 billion spent on online advertising, as against the $1.5 billion spent on newspaper advertising with around $1.65 billion spent advertising on free to air television over that same period.

The OAER report showed search and directories expenditure surged 15 per in the September quarter, as against the September 2011 quarter, while classifieds advertising expenditure rose by 7 per cent, and general display 1 per cent.

Search and directories was the leader in the sector, with 53 per cent of total market share, with classifieds taking 21 per cent share, and general display 26 per cent.

The online general display advertising market also faced the issues affecting the broader media advertising industry, reporting growth of just 1 per cent to $210 million in the three months to September, according to official industry data.
 
Across the broader digital sector, including search advertising and classifieds, the industry clocked a 10 per cent growth to $813.3 million, an increase of $71 million as against the same quarter last year, according to the report.

According to IAB chief executive Paul Fisher, the double-digit growth in total digital spending bucked the trend across the broader media industry and interactive advertising was still on track to overtake both newspapers and television to become the No 1 medium next year.

He added, in 2013, it would hit $3.5 billion to be more than 25 per cent (of all advertising), and (interactive advertising) would surpass newspapers and TV to become No 1.