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IAB: Paid search was 48 percent of total digital spend in 2016

Spending declined on the desktop but grew by nearly $6 billion overall because of mobile.

Greg Sterling on April 27, 2017 at 10:32 am

Paid search advertising accounted for roughly $35 billion in 2016, split almost evenly between the desktop and mobile. That’s according to the IAB’s 2016 revenue report, released yesterday.

On a percentage basis, desktop paid search declined by 10 points and was down by a little under $3 billion in real dollars. However, overall paid search revenues were up vs. a year ago by almost $6 billion.

Mobile ad spending surpassed spending on the desktop for the first time, and represented 51 percent of digital ad spending in the US; in Q4 2016 it was 53 percent.

Total digital ad spending was $72.5 billion in 2016, up 22 percent from 2015. Mobile was responsible for growth across all digital formats: search, display, video, social and so on. Overall, mobile spending (across formats) came in just under $37 billion in 2016.

Growth of mobile ad spending in the US

Read a more complete breakdown of the IAB report on Marketing Land.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.