Online ad spending is set to exceed spending for print ads this year for the very first time, according to a new report from eMarketer.

Online advertising is projected to reach $39.5 billion in sales, while print will total $33.8 billion. Online spending will jump almost 25% (23.3% to be exact) in 2012 alone. And the numbers keep climbing – online ad spending is expected to hit $52.8 billion in 2014 and $62 billion in 2016, leaving traditional media, like newspapers and magazines, in the dust.

The principal analyst for the eMarketer study, David Hallerman, says, “Advertisers’ comfort level with integrated marketing is greater than ever, and this is helping more advertisers … put a greater share of dollars online.”

It should come as no surprise, considering more shoppers are going online to make purchase decisions, find retailers, and engage in transactions. According to Pew Research Center, almost 60% of customers use the internet to research a product before making a purchase, and 66% of those consumers have made at least one online purchase in the last year.

Online advertising also offers features traditional print advertising can’t, like precise tracking and instant feedback.

At MediaRevo, we know how crucial online advertising is because we spend every single day immersed in it. When we launched an intensive pay-per-click campaign for Toyota of Hackensack, their Toyota Certified Used Vehicle sales quadrupled within just one year by leveraging the power of paid search, banner ads, and Facebook advertising.

Find out more about online advertising and proven success strategies at MediaRevo advertising.