Online newspaper advertising is still a relatively small portion of overall advertising income for newspapers, but its continued growth indicates how important it is, and how integral it will be in the future.

Advertising on newspaper Web sites has grown in the double digits for 13 quarters in a row, since the Newspaper Association of America started reporting online ad spending in 2004, and now makes up seven percent of overall newspaper ad spending in the United States, compared to 5.4 percent in the second quarter one year ago.

“As newspapers transform themselves into multimedia platforms offering a diverse portfolio of print and digital products, publishers continue to deliver the award-winning, innovative content that makes newspapers the most trusted source of news and information. Advertisers know that newspaper Web sites are ideal for reaching online users with the most attractive demographics,” stated John F. Sturm, NAA President and CEO.

Economic swings in the economy have always affected print advertising revenue, he said. Partner the fluctuating economy with structural changes in newspapers, and print ads are sure to take a few hits.

“Yet, newspaper companies are continuing to take aggressive measures to prepare for the future as they contend with a challenging economic environment that is having an impact not only on newspaper advertising, but revenue for other media as well,” Sturm stated.

Among the major print components in the second quarter, classified, retail and national ads were all in recession – classified advertising declined 16.4 percent to $3.4 billion, while retail fell 6.4 percent to $5.2 billion and national was down 7.9 percent to $1.8 billion.

Taking a closer look at the classified print categories in the second quarter, all major areas of classified ad income were found to be in a slump.

Real estate advertising decreased 20.7 percent to $966.8 million, recruitment dropped 18.5 percent to $995.4 million, automotive declined 19.3 percent to $756.3 million and all other classifieds were down 1.8 percent to $716.1 million.

See the SFN related article: Online newspaper advertising up 19 percent in Q2