E-Mail Sites Generate Big Revenue
According to a recent study conducted by Nielsen//NetRatings, e-mail sites are tops in terms of advertising revenue-generating Web site categories in the U.S. In July 2007, e-mail sites generated $260.4 million in ad revenue.
General community sites followed with $93.6 million, while portals and search engines were third with $75.1 million.
General/national news ($74.3 million), finance ($37.5 million), entertainment ($37.0 million), sports and recreation ($36.0 million), local/regional ($26.6 million), home and garden ($25.4 million), and shopping and auction ($23.8 million) rounded out the top 10 list.
The revenue figure for e-mail sites refers to ads outside of the e-mails themselves.
E-mail is prime real estate because of the frequency with which users visit their inboxes. An eMarketer report also notes that e-mail sites are a great fit for viral campaigns. After all, if a user sees an ad they like while looking at their e-mail, sending it to their friends is only a few clicks away.
Still, online users in the U.S. spend more time viewing online content than participating in online communications, including e-mail activities, according to an Online Publishers Association (OPA) study.
So, while it seems logical to immediately see content sites as a top destination for advertisements, it all comes back to the target demographic in mind, as well as the nature of the ad campaign.
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