Spend on digital advertising soared 47 per cent in the first half of this year, a report from the Rubicon Project shows.

The Q2 2010 Online Advertising Market Report reveals that – despite growing concerns around privacy legislation and data risks – industry growth is being driven by audience buying, increase in spend from international markets and automation.

The Rubicon Project, the international advertising technology company, also shares insight into what’s next for the digital ad landscape, in the tenth instalment of its Online Advertising Market Report series. 

The Rubicon 20 Index gives a measure of performance across a number of factors (including CPM, revenue and traffic volume) on a roster of 20 of the Web’s most heavily-trafficked properties. At the beginning of Q2, CPMs across the Rubicon 20 Index have rose by an average of 25 per cent, compared to quarter one, 2010. Overall, the index has grown 47 per cent, on a trend line basis, from the start of 2010 to the midpoint of the year. 

Kara Weber, vice-president of marketing at the Rubicon Project, said: "Ad spend and revenue have both been strong and growing in 2010. Given the proliferation of solution providers and industry players to the market, all working to increase the overall flow of revenue from offline to online, this increase is no surprise.

"That said, it’s more important than ever for publishers to define their strategies to compete in a challenging market, taking advantage of new opportunities like real-time bidding while fighting to protect the value they’ve created with high-quality content, well developed audiences and a carefully cultivated advertiser base.” 

Key forecasts and trends addressed in the report include:

• Growing online audiences beyond US borders and the correlating increase in advertisers’ digital budgets, led by significant growth in China and the Middle East; 
• The evolving role of Google in the online display advertising market, from the perspective of publishers, agencies and demand-side platforms (DSPs); 
• Real-time bidding (RTB) and DSPs as means to increase efficiency of media spend and the growing share of inventory flowing through non-direct channels; 
• Privacy serving as a source of tension throughout the Internet ecosystem; 
• Yield optimisation as a result of data, science, network effect and automation. 

To access the full Q2 2010 Online Advertising Market Report, as well as past published reports, free, visit: www.rubiconproject.com/market-intelligence