• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 31, 2010

Despite a national economy that few would call recovered, digital ad spending grew 47% during the first half of the year, according to a new report from ad technology firm The Rubicon Project. From just the first quarter of the year to the second, CPMs across the Rubicon 20 Index -- which include NBC Universal, Time Inc., and Gannett -- rose by an average of 25%. Overall, the Rubicon 20 Index grew 47% -- on a trend line basis -- from the start of 2010 to the mid-point of the year.

"Ad spend and revenue have both been strong and growing in 2010," said Kara Weber, vice president of marketing at the Rubicon Project. "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," Weber added, "it's more important than ever for publishers to define their strategies to compete in a challenging market, taking advantage of new opportunities like RTB while fighting to protect the value they've created with high-quality content, well developed audiences and a carefully cultivated advertiser base."

Year-over-year, U.S. Web users are now receiving 15% more display ads, according to recently released data from comScore Ad Metrix. By comScore's estimate, total U.S. display ad spending for the first quarter of the year reached $2.7 billion.

Overall, according to Borrell Associates, online ad spending is poised to grow nearly 14%, from $45.6 billion in 2010 to $51.9 billion in 2011. By next year, local online advertising should grow by almost 18% -- from $13.7 billion in 2010 to $16.1 billion in 2011.

According to Borrell, targeted display advertising will grow nearly 60% in 2011, reaching $10.9 billion. While national advertisers are expected to ramp up their use of targeted display by about 50%, local advertising will more than double to over $2.3 billion in 2011.

Led by significant growth in China and the Middle East, Rubicon is also seeing publishers grow online audiences beyond U.S. borders, and a correlating increase in advertisers' digital budgets.