For the first time, online advertising in the UK broke the £4bn barrier and grew by 12.8% in 2010, according to a report.
A study by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers found that online advertising spending increased three times as fast as in the previous year.
The IAB said that Britons spent 25% of their total time online on social networks, which saw display advertising growing almost three times it was the previous year. Video advertising grew 91% and advertising on mobile devices almost doubled.
The top three categories of Internet advertisers were shared by consumer goods manufacturers, finance providers and entertainment companies.
IAB chief Guy Phillipson said the market was "almost back in its pre-recession heyday" and online spending in the UK was higher than he expected it to be.
He said, "In 2009, brands really began to understand how to use the internet. That has improved in 2010 – a year when budgets have also grown."
