Amidst all the hoopla concerning Microsoft’s proposal to Yahoo, and Google’s ensuing response, it becomes easy to forget what all the fuss is about. After all, Yahoo is somewhat of a fallen giant in just about every respect of the term. So, it becomes of utmost importance to examine whether or not Yahoo’s advertising strength is really appealing enough to warrant a $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft, and if this potential merging of Internet powers should worry Google much at all.
According to recent figures released by comScore, it appears that there is strong evidence supporting Yahoo’s ad appeal. Data from comScore Ad Metrix ranked the top U.S. Web properties based on the number of display ad impressions delivered in November 2007. The press release defines display ads as “any rich media or static images that are served and loaded into a Web browser, but do not include video streams, text or paid search ad impressions.”
Yahoo Sites sat atop the list for November, with 18.8% of all display ad views, followed by Fox Interactive Media with 16.3%. Microsoft Sites trailed at third with 6.7%, while Time Warner Network (5.8%) and Facebook.com (1.5%) rounded out the top five.
These top five properties account for 49.1% of all display ad views in the U.S.
Google Sites were seventh on the list with just 1.0% of all display ad views in November.
In terms of display ads served per visit, Fox Interactive Media led the pack with 47.5, followed by Bebo (27.2), CBS Sports (22.4), Viacom Digital (20.6), and Yahoo Sites (20.5). Google only had 1.3 display ads served per visit.
Additional data provided by Nielsen Online, in conjunction with JP Morgan and other sources, lend further support for Yahoo’s online ad strength. Yahoo raked in nearly $1.38 billion in ad revenues last year, compared to $480 million for MySpace.com and $423 million by MSN.
Yahoo also boasts a high CPM of $12.65, compared to $4.42 for MSN.
Yahoo’s huge user base, as well as its attractive advertising numbers, offers a glimpse into the allure it has in Microsoft’s eyes. Especially in terms of display advertising, it’s clear that a Microsoft-Yahoo behemoth would have a head start on Google.
Sources:
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2045
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?
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