Advertising on newspaper Web sites in the United States reached $796 million in the second quarter, an increase of 19.3 percent from last year, according to preliminary estimates from the Newspaper Association of America.

Not surprisingly, the 13th consecutive quarter of growth in the double-digits saw Web site advertising continue to grow, now at seven percent of total newspaper ad spending, compared to 5.4 percent last year, the NAA stated.

Total ad spending, however, was not so sunny, as print ads at U.S. newspaper companies dropped 10.2 percent, hitting $10.5 billion in the second quarter. As Web site advertising is still a small slice of the overall ad spending pie, the dip in print ad sales means overall sales dropped 8.6 percent for the quarter, down to $11.3 billion.

NAA President John Sturm looked at the bright side and said in an NAA statement that newspaper Web sites “continue to have a positive impact on the industry's revenue stream during a time of transition.”

See the SFN related article: Online advertising growing in importance