An upgraded forecast of the online advertising industry was released this week by digital researcher eMarketer. The report, which was cited on Billboard.biz by author, Mike Shields, shows that online spending will grow at the rapid pace of 10.8 percent in 2010, reaching $25.1 billion.

Much to the delight of online advertisers, this surge of growth is a signal that the ailing market of 2009 has finally found its legs again. Previous numbers forecasted by eMarketer were much more conservative, estimating only 5.5 percent growth. But given the strengthening U.S. economy and an unforseen spike in online ad spending in Q1 2010, the estimates were dramatically revised.

Although the online advertising platforms are being increasingly diversified, the behemoth search industry – including ad exchange networks – still stakes its claim as the number one source of online advertising revenue. In 2010, eMarketer estimates that the large search related companies, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL will comprise 58.5 percent of total online ad revenue.

Not surprisingly, Google will continue to lead the industry by leaps and bounds. In Q1 of 2010, Google’s revenue jumped 21 percent, further pointing to the stabilization of the market as a whole. eMarketer reported that 49.3 percent of online dollars are dedicated to search advertising, Google’s central business. Furthermore, search will continue to lead the industry in terms of ad revenue for years to come, putting Google in a great place to continue with steady growth.

Aside from search advertising, eMarketer is predicting that video advertising is the up-and-coming rage in the web marketing industry. Their predictions show that online video advertising will represent one third of the almost $14 billion that will be entering the market from 2010-2014.

via billboard.biz