The Internet video advertising industry – online video advertising networks, media serving platforms, auctions and exchanges – is on track to make $1.4 billion in revenues in 2011.

This is based on CPM (cost per thousand view) fees, transaction fees and other fee-based revenue, indicating an impressive 67.5 percent p.a. growth rate, according to AccuStream Research.

176 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in May 2011 for an average of 15.9 hours per viewer, according to the comScore Video Metrix service.

The more than 8 out of 10 U.S. Internet users (83.3 percent) who watched online video, mostly did so on Google Sites (mainly YouTube.com), which attracted 147.2 million unique viewers during the month.

Two recent studies indicate that around 75 percent of online retailers based in the United States are deploying video on their websites.

Firstly, the e-tailing group’s ’13th Annual Mystery Shopping Study’ reveals that nearly 75 percent s of U.S. online retailers had video on their websites in the fourth quarter of 2010 (up from 55 percent a year early).

Just over 8 out of 10 U.S. Internet users (82.5 percent) viewed online video in February 2011. The most popular online video site was YouTube – making Google the leading provider of online video with 141.1 million unique viewers, followed by Microsoft with 48.8 million uniques and Yahoo! with 46.7 million viewers.

Facebook.com came in fourth with nearly 46.7 million viewers, while VEVO ranked fifth with 45.9 million viewers.

Research by Ernst & Young shows that interactive media was the fastest growing sector within the media and entertainment industry in the 2006 to 2010 period. Interactive media companies’ average profitability was 35 percent during the period, with profitability growing by 15 percent.

Traditional media companies, meanwhile, have seen their profitability wither, and their profitability DECREASE over the past four years. Publishers experienced an average 1 percent decline in profitability (based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization or ‘EBITDA’) in the 2006-2010 time period, whilst television networks’ profitability dropped by 4 percent, and music companies’ profitability dropped by 5 percent.

Online video may be becoming more professional than ever, but that hasn’t stopped the growth – or popularity – in user generated content (UGC) video.

According to AccuStream Research, UGC video sites, networks, channels and brands attracted 230 billion views last year in the United States, 146.9 percent more than in 2009.

YouTube may get the most video viewers, but Hulu serves the most video ad impressions, displaying nearly 1.1 billion ad impressions in January 2011.

Indeed, Hulu accounts for more than double the volume of ad impressions as its second place rival, Tremor Media Video Network, which had 503.7 million ad views in January.

Google/YouTube.com was the top online video content property in January 2011, with 144.1 million unique viewers during the month. Online music video site VEVO assumed the #2 ranking with 51.0 million viewers, followed by Yahoo! sites with 48.7 million viewers.

Rounding out the top five were Viacom Digital with 48.1 million viewers and AOL, Inc. with 44.5 million viewers.

Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States are set to increase their advertising budgets in 2011, according to Ad-Ology’s 2011 Small Business Marketing Forecast.

Nearly half of SMBs will increase spending on advertising (up from 29 percent in 2010) and 50 percent plan to devote more resources to trade shows. Almost a quarter (24.9 percent) will invest more in direct mail and 19.2 percent will spend more on newspaper advertising.

Almost half of U.S. small businesses (45.5 percent) plan to increase resources for online video in 2011, up from 28 percent in 2010. Over a third (36 percent) will boost spending on mobile marketing (up from 21 percent in 2010).

According to Ad-Ology’s 2011 Small Business Marketing Forecast, small businesses are also embracing ‘deal of the day’, coupon and other group-buying sites. 15 percent say that group deals and social coupon sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial are beneficial to their business.