Learn About the Brief History of Internet Advertising in India

Today, Indian internet advertising is developed, mature and competitive. However, that was not the case 20+ years ago. It took a long time and many efforts to bring our internet infrastructure to become one of the world’s most sophisticated digital marketing ecosystems. Characterised by hyper-localisation, AI-driven personalisation, and a “mobile-only” mindset. After all, the landscape of internet marketing in India has evolved from a niche experiment for tech-savvy city dwellers to a multi-billion-dollar engine that drives the national economy. Therefore, it is fair to trace back the first steps that led to this revolution, and Adivorous is here to bring that history to you in this post.

Pre-Internet Advertising Era: First Steps

There are a few of us who remember the Dial-Up and Directory Era, which lasted from approximately 1995 to 2005. In particular, the journey began on August 15, 1995, when VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) launched public internet services. In these early years, internet advertising was rudimentary, consisting mostly of static banner ads and directory listings.

However, the next year brought a plethora of industry-altering changes in the form of new internet advertising-focused websites. During the time from 1996 to 1999, portals like Rediff.com, Indiatimes, and IndiaMART emerged as the first “digital billboards.” Furthermore, in 1999, K. Vaitheeswaran founded Fabmart, which became India’s first e-commerce pioneer, years before the current giants like Amazon and Flipkart.

However, what really modernised the digital marketing landscape was when Google launched AdWords in 2000. Thus, introducing the concept of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to Indian businesses. Which eventually led to marketing being primarily “push-based.” Now what does that mean? Well, here brands focused on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and bulk email/SMS marketing, which were often seen as intrusive due to low consumer awareness.

Rise of Internet Advertising in the Social Media and E-Commerce Era

During the period between 2006 and 2015, the decade saw the transition from “web surfing” to “web living.” Meaning, it was no longer the space of niche hobbies and quick search. The entry of global social giants and the birth of local e-commerce changed the consumer’s relationship with the internet. People were sharing their daily lives on the web, buying products online, and it was the best time for internet advertising.

The e-commerce market really took off with the launch of Flipkart in 2007 (initially for books), and Snapdeal in 2010 created a reason for Indians to trust online transactions. But the real boost for digital marketing in India came when Facebook (2004) and YouTube (2005) reached critical mass in India by 2010. Brands began creating content specifically for social media. Many of the working masses today grew up with Facebook and YouTube being their first social media experience.

While the viral phenomenon of social media was still not that visible, a single marketing campaign was about to begin a viral marketing trend that took over the Indian television landscape. In 2009, on the heels of the iconic IPL, Vodafone introduced white, egg-headed characters. Though they appeared on TV, they became India’s first “viral” digital icons, dominating social feeds and downloads ever since.

Later, in 2012, Google introduced the Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF), launched by Google India, which helped normalise the “Sale” culture online. This paved the way for later, more popular e-commerce sales like Flipkart’s Big Billion Day and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival Sales.

Internet Advertising Was Never the Same After the Mobile-First Revolution

In September 2016, the internet consumption by the Indian was never the same. That year, Reliance launched Jio, which offered ultra-cheap 4G data to all its subscribers. This was the single most transformative event in the history of Indian internet advertising. Now, we are not talking about a few million, but almost a billion people have started to use high-speed internet. Is opened the floodgate of new users that digital marketers can now target.

Within months, millions of people in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities came online and even started to stream, play online gaming, buy from e-commerce sites, and much more. Jio helped to bring Indians up to speed with the global standard of internet consumption practices. With this many brands, both large and small, now have the opportunity to reach a fresh audience through new generation internet marketing.

But to reach even more audience in the far corners of the country, digital marketers need connect with them culturally. To do that, marketing shifted from English to regional languages (Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, etc.) to cater to the “next billion” users. On the other hand, brands also started to take advantage of short video platforms like YouTube’s Shorts, Instagram’s Reels and of course TikTok, before it was banned. This gave rise to Influencer Marketing, where credibility shifted from Bollywood stars to “micro-influencers” in small towns.

Moreover, e-commerce also saw rapid changes after 2022, with food delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy making restaurant food at home normal. Not only that, but quick commerce also took over the market with leading names like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, to name a few. Later, brands like Mamaearth and Sugar Cosmetics bypassed traditional retailers, using Instagram and Facebook as their primary storefronts. Now, social media has become the place of both connection and purchase.

Internet Advertising is Now Taking a Big Leap in the AI Era

When ChatGPT became widely available in 2024, it changed Indian internet advertisingforever. Especially, in 2025, thanks to the Ghibli filters, even the most untech-savvy person got to know about ChatGPT. Furthermore, all Android-powered phones come with the preinstalled Gemini app to make AI use easier. Thus, in 2026, internet marketing in India has matured into an AI-first industry. The focus is no longer just on “reaching” the user, but on “anticipating” their needs.

Marketers now are relying less on SEO and changing their strategy to target AI users, who get their answers from the chatbots. For this, they are implementing Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to ensure their products are recommended by AI assistants. They are also making their marketing campaigns hyper-personalised. For example, campaigns like Cadbury’s “Not Just a Cadbury Ad,” which used AI to let local shopkeepers feature Shah Rukh Khan’s face, have paved the way for personalised mass marketing.

However, such highly targeted marketing has also increased privacy concerns. Especially, recent data breaches have made the public sceptical towards giving their data online. Therefore, the Indian government implemented the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. This led digital marketers to shift from third-party tracking to “Zero-Party Data” (direct consumer consent) for better transparency. Now, let us see the Indian internet evolution milestone:

Conclusion

In India, internet adoption was slow and limited to a more privileged section of society for a long time. However, with the advent of 4G, everything changed. Today, we are living in a time where streaming movies and games online is no longer a distant memory. With more people now online, internet advertising is even more effective at reaching their goals. While data privacy is a legit concern, digital marketers are taking legit steps to reach more audience safely.

FAQs

1. What was the “Jio Effect” on Indian digital marketing?
   • The “Jio Effect” refers to the sudden accessibility of cheap 4G data in 2016. It expanded the digital audience from 300 million to over 800 million, forcing marketers to pivot from an urban-centric, English-only approach to a vernacular-first strategy that reached rural India.
2. Is SEO still relevant in India in 2026?
   • Yes, but it has evolved into GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Instead of just ranking on a search results page, marketers now optimise content to be the “source of truth” for AI chatbots and voice assistants (like ChatGPT or Gemini) that users rely on for quick answers.
3. Why is “Vernacular Marketing” so important now?
   • Statistics show that 9 out of 10 new internet users in India prefer consuming content in their local language. Brands that do not offer advertisements, customer support, and shopping interfaces in regional languages risk losing over 70% of the potential market share.
4. How did the DPDP Act change internet advertising in 2026?
   • The Digital Personal Data Protection Act made “consent” the core of digital marketing. Marketers can no longer track users across the web without explicit permission. This has led to a rise in Community Marketing and Loyalty Programs, where brands build direct relationships with customers to collect data ethically.