By M. Christian

YNOT – According to The Interactive Advertising Bureau, online ad revenue shot up to $8.4 billion for the first three months of 2012.

Even though growth overall has slowed since 2011, the 15-percent increase is the highest ever for a first quarter.

“The total represents a 15 percent rise in digital ad revenue compared to Q1 2011,” Kate Kaye wrote in a report. “In the first quarter 2011, that $7.3 billion represented a 23 percent increase over Q1 2010. Still, 15 percent is twice the rate of growth when comparing Q1 2010 to Q1 2009 — which the IAB measured at 7.5 percent.”

The IAB based its report on a wide range of ad types, including display, mobile ads, search and other formats.