While economists debated economic headwinds throughout 2024, U.S. search advertising revenue smashed records, soaring to an unprecedented $102.9 billion. This jaw-dropping figure wasn’t just impressive on its own—it represented a massive $14.1 billion jump from 2023’s total. Talk about a growth spurt.

Despite economic debates, U.S. search ad revenue exploded to a record-breaking $102.9 billion—a staggering $14.1 billion leap from 2023.

The search segment helped propel total U.S. digital advertising to a staggering $258.6 billion, according to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report conducted by PwC. Search ad revenue grew nearly 16% year-over-year in 2024, tripling the growth rate seen in 2023. Yeah, you read that right—tripling. Last year’s growth was a measly 5.2% by comparison.

Globally, search platforms raked in over $316 billion, up 12% from the previous year. Some marketers apparently got cold feet in Q4, though, with reports suggesting a potential dip in spending during the final months.

Search advertising maintained its crown as the largest piece of the digital ad pie, claiming 39.8% of total U.S. digital ad revenue. That’s a slight increase from 39.5% in 2023, but still below previous years’ dominance. Search’s market share has actually been on a slow decline since 2020, when it commanded 42.2% of digital spending.

Other formats tried to steal search’s thunder in 2024. Social media ads exploded with 36.7% growth, reaching $88.8 billion. Video advertising surged 19.2% to $62.1 billion. The consistent growth across all four quarters showed remarkable quarter-over-quarter stability despite market fluctuations. Even podcasts got in on the action, growing 26.4% to $2.43 billion. Not too shabby for the new kids.

Several factors fueled 2024’s record-breaking numbers. The presidential election and Olympics created perfect advertising storms. Consumers kept shifting to digital platforms, dragging ad dollars along with them. And despite rising costs and complexity, advertisers still can’t quit search ads—they simply work too well. Retail media networks also contributed significantly with 16.3% revenue growth in the previous year.

Google maintained its iron grip on the search market with around 82% market share, while Amazon’s advertising business continued its meteoric rise. One thing’s certain: search advertising isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.