Surge in growth for online mobile ads

Global spending on mobile Internet ads surged 82.8 percent to $8.9 billion in 2012, an industry survey showed Tuesday. The Internet Advertising Bureau said the figures highlight "a strong positive growth story taking place across mobile advertising formats." "Mobile is coming into its own as a powerhouse advertising medium," the IAB's Anna Bager said. "The massive and continuing acceleration of mobile's international impact provides new and exciting frontiers for content and communication." More than half of spending was for search ads, or paid ads linked to Web search queries; display ads accounted for 38.7 percent and messaging ads 8.5 percent, the IAB said. The survey said the Asia-Pacific region accounted for some 40.2 percent of revenues, compared to 39.8 percent for North America and 16.9 percent for Western Europe, A key factor for mobile advertising growth is the adoption of advanced fourth-generation mobile networks, which encourage people to spend more time using the Internet on mobile devices. A separate report last month by the research firm eMarketer said Google captured more than half of the mobile Internet advertising revenues worldwide last year and is expected to boost its share in 2013, and that Facebook's share is growing rapidly.