Online marketing budgets near $26 billion in 2010

According to a latest report from eMarketer, internet advertising expenditures reached nearly $26 billion in 2010, further highlighting the importance of B2B online marketing.

For the first time, internet-based channels have exceeded spend devoted to traditional newspaper marketing. The source reports that online marketing expenditures hit $25.8 billion during 2010, while newspaper budgets shrank to $25.7 billion. This is a tremendous difference from previous year, when companies spent nearly $5 billion more on newspapers ($27.6 billion) than the web ($22.7 billion.)

The gap between the two formats is only expected to develop. The source predicts that in 2011, online marketing spend will reach $28.5 billion, while newspapers will trail by nearly $4 billion at $24.6 billion.