French press sites raked in advertising revenue of €183 million in the first half of this year, an almost 64 percent increase over last year, Le Figaro reported Thursday.

In the first trimester of 2008, advertisers' investments grew by nearly 73 percent and increased by 85 percent year-on-year since the first half of 2007, according to the APPM (a company that promotes publications) and TNS Media Intelligence.

Global online ad sales for the same time period amount to €1.8 billion, a 38 percent increase, according to Le Figaro. Furthermore, press sites already make up 10 percent of the worldwide online ad market.

Editors may be reassured by this steady growth, since their marketing strategy may involve promoting the presence of their companies online in order to boost advertising revenue as traditional media migrates towards the Internet.

The daily press in France is the premier industry to benefit from the marketing craze for digital publicity. Daily media outlets gain around €105 million in online revenue. Meanwhile, magazines gain almost €78 million, which may be explained by its late decision to get on board the “digital train,” Le Figaro reported.