Online advertising growing faster than anticipated

Bloomberg reports that online advertising will grow faster than anticipated for 2006. This growth is outpacing newspaper and TV spending.

The move to online advertising is happening faster than analysts anticipated as companies devote more of their budgets to the Internet than traditional media.

The market for online ads will increase 32 percent to $16.6 billion next year, fueling growth at companies including Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Heath Terry said in a research report. He had previously forecast 21 percent growth.

Advertisers are running to the net faster than print and television because that’s where their target audience is. Law firms and professional services businesses should follow their lead.

Despite moderate increases in the cost of sponsored links, it’s still dirt cheap for target practice areas and locales when compared to the costs of other advertising.

Via John Battelle’s Searchblog