The economy may still seem sour to some, but for those raking in ad revenue online, business is booming, A report issued this week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Price-Waterhouse Coopers for 2011 reveals that revenues soared to a all-time high of $31 billion.

This is a 22% increase over 2010’s revenues, which itself had been a record-breaker at $26 billion.

The report also finds that fourth quarter revenues for 2011 hit a best-ever at $9 billion, marking a 15% boost over the third quarter 2011, which came in at $7.8 billion, and a 20% growth year-over-year in comparison to 2010’s $7.4 billion.

Other highlights of the upbeat report:

• Mobile experienced the fastest growth of all categories – triple-digit growth year-over-year – up 149% to $1.6 billion in full-year 2011 from $0.6 billion in 2010.
• Digital video, a component of display-related advertising, saw a significant uptick of 29% year-over-year, bringing in $1.8 billion in revenue in 2011 compared to $1.4 billion in 2010.
• Search revenues in 2011 totaled $14.8 billion, up almost 27% from $11.7 billion in 2010.
• Display-related advertising revenues in 2011 totaled $11.1 billion or 35% of 2011 revenues, up 15% from $9.6 billion in 2010, and
• Retail advertisers continue to represent the largest category of internet ad spending, accounting for 22% in 2011, or $7.1 billion, up from 21% ($5.5 billion) reported in 2010.

Tags: 2011, ad, revenue, spending