Among the information in the just-released second annual “Online Advertising Report Year In Review” by AdKnowledge: the increase in e-commerce sites is fueling the growth of Web advertising; CPMs continue to soften; WebTV’s market share has tripled; and Microsoft now owns more than 50% of browser market share.
The report indicates growth in every site category with the number of sites seeking advertising increasing 38% during 1998 from 1,033 in December 1997 to 1,424 in December 1998. Two of the fastest-growing categories of sites were classifieds and shopping/ transactionals; these e-commerce-driven categories accounted for more than one third of the new sites established in 1998.
The report shows online advertising rates continue a downward trend. For the second year in a row, average CPMs (cost per a thousand impressions) were down 6%. The average CPM in December 1997 was $37.21, a number that declined to $35.13 by the end of 1998. However, two of the larger categories, computers/technology and shopping/transactions, actually increased their CPM rates in 1998. These categories were part of 1998’s e-commerce growth trend and also had limited ad space.
The report reveals that WebTV’s market share has tripled from .6% in December 1997 to 2.9% in December 1998. Additionally, when WebTV’s market share of 2.9% is combined with Microsoft Internet Explorer’s share of 47.8%, Microsoft now owns more than 50% of the browser market share.
AdKnowledge, Palo Alto, CA, is a provider of Web advertising management products for agencies and marketers. The report is a compilation of 1998 online advertising statistics pulled from more than 1,400 Web sites and samples of ads served across hundreds of sites.
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