Advertising has expanded over hundreds of years to become the main driving force behind the modern economy.
For centuries, companies have been using advertising to promote their brands and services, promote brand awareness, and boost sales.
With the latest technology, digital marketers must stay up-to-date with the latest digital advertising trends to stand out from competitors and boost the success of their business.
The third decade of the 21st century will see the technological possibilities of the industry entering a new age.
From AI to virtual reality, the future of advertising seems promising, and this is precisely why you should be getting familiar with the most recent advertising statistics.
In this 25 Essential Advertising Statistics article, we have compiled a list of some exciting advertising statistics to help you learn how brands are using advertising to connect with customers and emerging trends you should know about the advertising world. Let’s dig right in!
Fascinating Advertising Statistics
- The retail sector in the U.S has the highest digital advertising spending, with an annual expenditure of over $33 billion.
- Political advertising expenditure in the U.S reached $8.5 billion. (Forbes).
- In 2020, ad spending in the U.S declined by 8%. (Search Engine Land).
- About one-third of the global population uses social media.
- More than half of the viewers ignore advertisements on TV unless they are relevant. (Statista).
- Video marketing is the most popular and commonly used form of advertising on the internet accounting for 35% of all online ad spending. (HubSpot, Forbes).
- Social media advertising, today, is the second largest market in digital ads accounting for 33% of all digital advertising spending in 2022.
- The average online advertising cost of small businesses using Google Ads is between $9,000 and $10,000 per month.
- Facebook made over $25 billion in advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2021.
- An Instagram ad has the potential to reach 1.3 billion users.
- Companies in America spend millions of dollars in fines for running false ad campaigns.
- In 1998, Nike hit $9.2 billion in revenue through advertising.
- The Asia-pacific advertising market is poised to become the number one market in the future.
- Ad spending on social media will reach over $173 billion in 2022.
Also Read: 18 Essential Branding Statistics
General Advertising Statistics
Let’s have a look at these 25 Essential Advertising Statistics:
1. 53.3% of global advertising is done through traditional media
Traditional media such as television, newspaper, radio, and magazines are the outlets that existed before online advertising.
Today, 53% of companies worldwide allocate most of their marketing budgets to traditional media to spread brand awareness and attract new customers.
Television is the world’s largest media channel, with a share of 33.5% of ad spending, followed by the newspaper industry (10%) and radio (5.5%).
2. The prediction of TV advertising spending in the U.S is to reach $68.35 billion in 2022
Cashed-up marketers are willing to spend large amounts on ads and still think that TV is the best platform for advertising.
However, as more audiences shift to digital media and advertisers seek more multichannel operations, it is getting harder for TV to work for your business.
That is why there are rare chances that TV advertising spending will surpass pre-pandemic levels of financing in the next five years.
3. Google Dominates the search engine market with a share of over 92%
According to Google AdWords statistics, Google holds the largest search engine market share at 92.7%. The majority of Google’s revenue generates through its advertising.
Other major platforms include Bing (3.04%) and Yahoo (1.39%). However, geographically targeted search engines like Yandex and Baidu beat Google in their respective regions.
4. 1/3 of the global population are social media users
According to Our World in Data, there are 2.4 billion social media users, which equals one-third of the world’s population. Out of the 7.7 billion world population, 3.5 billion are online.
Considering this, it is not surprising that 75% of small businesses use social media to promote their products and services.
5. Facebook and Google have the biggest share of total digital revenue in the United States
According to advertising statistics from Statista, both Facebook and Google are the two most dominant forces on the market, holding the largest market share of the U.S total digital ad revenue.
In 2021, Google boasted 28.6%, while Facebook had a 23.8% share in the revenue Instagram included.
6. 31% of people find the business they are looking for through an ad
There are many different ways people use to find a business online. 31% of people click on an ad, 27% specifically search for a brand or product, 21% to the company’s website, and only 9% perform a discrete online research to find it.
7. A 30-second Super Bowl ad costs more than $5 million
According to Super Bowl advertising statistics, an average advertiser spends more than $5 Million on a 30-second ad.
The success of an ad is determined by the online views, website visits, and social media mentions rather than solely through the TV commercial statistics.
8. 40% of the consumers’ research brands and products on social media
Online shoppers place a lot of stock on social media while making their purchasing decisions. From Facebook and Instagram to Twitter and Pinterest, 40% of online consumers rely on social media platforms to gain information about the brands or products they want to buy. (Source: Global Web Index).
9. The retail and automotive sectors have the highest advertising outlay
The retail industry of the U.S spends around $17 billion on advertising, followed by the automotive sector with $14 billion.
These two industries also topped the list in digital advertising. As per the latest advertising stats, retail accounts for 12.9% of digital ad spending, while automotive accounts for 12.6%. (Source: Statista).
10. 89% of marketers use Facebook for the brand marketing
Despite the tough competition with big players Google and Amazon, Facebook is still the most popular advertising platform used by 89% of marketers.
With more than 1.6 billion daily active users, Facebook is the best social media channel for marketers and businesses to increase the visibility of their business and generate quality leads.
11. Instagram is the most popular platform for influencers
Despite the tough competition with big players Google and Amazon, Facebook is still the most popular advertising platform used by 89% of marketers.
With more than 1.6 billion daily active users, Facebook is the best social media channel for marketers and businesses to increase the visibility of their business and generate quality leads.
12. Instagram’s advertising reach outperformed Facebook in 2021
Over the last few years, Instagram’s use and popularity has skyrocketed, and it is worth knowing that Instagram’s advertising reach outdid Facebook in 2021, as people are engaging more frequently with Instagram than other channels.
The ad reach of Instagram’s has grown by over 60% over the last two years, which is an impressive jump.
13. 98% of users report using trying products they see on Pinterest
Pinterest advertising statistics indicate that an overwhelming majority of online shoppers rely on Pinterest to search for unique products. More than 98% of internet users report that they most likely try the products they see on Pinterest.
14. Brands will be investing more in social media ads in 2022
After Search advertising, social media advertising is the second biggest market in the digital ads space with worldwide revenue of $153 billion.
This number is expected to hit $252 billion by 2026, which is why brands are trying to get more creative and competitive and spending more to create high-quality ads to stand out.
15. 72% of users prefer accessing product information via video
Videos are one of the most powerful ways to reach your target audience. According to video advertising statistics, 72% of consumers like to know about the product via video.
16. People watch over one billion hours of YouTube every day
YouTube has experienced incredible growth as it is the second most visited site and a massive platform for Google ads.
The latest YouTube advertising statistics show that more than one billion hours of videos are watched daily on YouTube. 18-to 49-year-olds reportedly spend 74% more time watching content on YouTube and 4% less time watching TV.
17. Social media video ad spending will grow to $24.35 billion in 2022
Yes, you read it right! According to Social Trends Report 2022, short videos are rapidly gaining popularity.
Thanks to the rise in Instagram reels, snappy video content, and TikTok videos, advertisers now have more reasons than ever to experiment with video advertising.
It is projected that by the end of 2022, U.S social network video ad spending will grow by 20.1% year over year to $24.35 billion.
18. The healthcare and pharmaceutical industry in the U.S spent over $11.2 billion on digital advertising in 2021
During the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry was one of the most flourished industries.
The safety-related messages around testing, medical supplies, telemedicine, and re-opening doctor’s offices contribute to the boost in pharmaceutical advertising.
In 2021, healthcare and pharma spent more than $11.2 billion on digital advertising. Although it is still competing with the top-tier industries in terms of ad spending, the growing interest in medical safety and health will give it a further boost in the coming years.
19. Asia-Pacific is becoming the top advertising market in 2022
Although North America ranks as the top player when it comes to advertising, it still is. However, the drastic economic rise in Asia has led to a record increase in advertising activity in those regions as well.
According to eMarketer, the latest advertising stats indicate that Asia-Pacific is all set to become the top player in the advertising market.
20. Email advertising offers an astounding return on investment (ROI)
Most people think that email is dead! But, if done right, it can produce remarkable results. The average ROI of email advertising is $32 for every $1 spent ad.
According to an eMarketer study, the median marketing Roi is 122%, 4x higher than any other digital marketing channel.
The ROI for email marketing can go up to 4400%, which is $44 for every dollar spent on an email marketing campaign.
21. Mobile advertising expected to cross $339 million by 2023
The Mobile marketing is becoming increasingly popular as people mostly browse information about products and services on their phones.
Mobile advertising statistics show that 78% of the local mobile searches result in an in-store purchase, while 61% of the customers prefer to buy from mobile-friendly sites.
Additionally, 52% of the PPC ad clicks come from mobile users. Based on these statistics, mobile advertising will exceed $339 million by the end of 2023.
22. In 2019, 763.51 million people worldwide blocked unnecessary Ads
Smart ad designing is becoming inevitable because people are constantly looking for ways to improve their browsing experience.
It is not like consumers hate all advertisements, some just want to filter the intrusive and repetitive ads instead of blocking them all.
In 2019, 763.5 million people worldwide blocked irrelevant ads to improve their browsing experience and prevent tracking.
23. Small businesses spend between $9,000 and $10,000 on Google ads
Small and medium businesses advertising statistics reveal that the most competitive PPC key phrases related to the legal and financial industries, along with the insurance services.
These businesses can easily spend $9,000 and $10,000 per month on Google advertisements.
24. Each Google Ad costs $1.60 through a small business, and in return, their revenue is $3
When it comes to pay-per-click financing on internet ads, businesses usually make double what they spend on Google Ads.
Sometimes a small company spending only $1.60 on ads will get a revenue of $3, and it’s all because of the interesting advertisements, but if your company’s revenue is seriously lower than this, maybe it’s time to add some twist to your ads.
25. Location-based marketing is a growing online advertising trend
Most people look for content online, which is the big reason businesses are using location-based content to target their desired audiences.
In addition to focusing on geographical regions, companies are now spending more search terms “near me” or “close to be me.”
Read: Home Invasion Statistics
Shefali Jain is a Content Editor & Writer at National Planning Cycles.
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes.