According to early reports from Ad:tech05, the online ad industry is alive and kickin. DMNews.com

“Expectations are high. More than 6,500 registrants are anticipated through the show’s close April 27, a 50-percent-plus jump from 4,000 at last year’s ad:tech in San Francisco. On the exhibitor side, all the online blue chips are here: 170 of them, from suppliers in search marketing to banner specialists, Web analytics firms to interactive agencies. Also, there are portals, ad serving networks, market researchers, affiliate marketers… But what stands out is the preponderance of companies offering search marketing expertise. Included in the ranks are 24/7 Real Media, Accipiter, Adknowledge, adMarketplace, advertising.com, Avenue A/Razorfish Search, BlowSearch, Business.com, Did-It.com, Enhance Interactive, eXact Advertising, Fathom Online, FindWhat.com and its eSpotting brand, icrossing and Impaqt. Other search exhibitors include iProspect, Kanoodle, Kellysearch.com, Lycos, Revenue.net, Search Engine Optimization Inc., SearchAdNetwork, SearchForce.com, SearchIgnite, SearchRev, Semphonic, SendTec, SideStep, SLI Systems, SmartSearch Marketing, ValueClick Search…”