ValueClick Study: Ad Networks Outperform Automotive Sites

Ad campaigns targeting a large network of Web sites generated higher click-through response than automotive specific Web sites — for reaching prospective automobile buyers, according to survey findings released by ValueClick Inc.

“For marketers seeking an alternative to higher priced inventory constrained automotive sites, this research demonstrates a clear alternative in ad networks,” said in a statement Matthew Boyd, senior vice president of ValueClick.

The survey found that the majority of automotive site visitors are not in the market purchase a car, and those who are in the market spend than less than 1% of their time at automotive Web sites.

Web sites in such categories as careers and education, dating and social networking, sports and recreation, health and fitness, among others, performed better than predicted for generating click-through responses, according to survey findings.