Revenue from in-app advertising is growing at a faster rate than browser-based advertising on mobile and PCs, according to research from App Annie and IDC.

Advertiser spending on mobile in-app advertising grew by 1.6 times between 2012 and 2013, while PC online display advertising increased by 1.1 times. Mobile display advertising saw a 1.5 times increase.

In February 2014, 42 per cent of publishers surveyed said they used paid advertising within their apps.

The analyst firms forecast that mobile in-app advertising will continue to take share from PC advertising revenue as advertisers shift their spending.

Between 2013 and 2017, revenue from mobile in-app advertising is forecast to grow by 3.8 times, compared to 1.3 times for PC online display advertising. Mobile display advertising is expected to see 3.7 times rise over the same period.

Mobile in-app advertising revenue is projected to pass PC online display advertising by 2017 in the key markets of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and US.

Ad networks are the most commonly-used method for publishers to sell in-app ads, with more than 80 per cent saying they used this approach. However, mediation platforms and real-time bidding exchanges appear to becoming more significant.

In terms of markets, the US is predicted to maintain its position as the leading source of mobile app-related revenue with a 3.5-times growth between 2013 and 2017. India will see an even bigger rate of growth (8.7x), largely driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones.