• February 4, 2005

Online advertising will account for 4.6 percent of all U.S. advertising this year, up from an estimated 3.7 percent in 2004, according to Merrill Lynch's recently released monthly report on advertising and publishing. Previously, the company predicted that online ad dollars would represent 4.2 percent of all U.S. advertising in 2005. Merrill Lynch also now forecasts that by 2009, online advertising will climb to 7.4 percent of the total U.S. advertising spend, up from a previous estimate of 5.3 percent.

Paid search will represent 39.8 percent of total online ad dollars this year and 43.8 percent by 2009, predicted Merrill Lynch. Both estimates are downward revisions from the company's previous forecast that paid search would come to 43 percent of this year's online ad spend and 55.5 percent of that of 2009. Merrill Lynch attributed the lower figures to the "success of other formats."

-- Wendy Davis