Advertising Placements by Industry and Top Sponsored Links, March 2006

 

The industry breakdown of ad placements and unit types and top 25 companies placing sponsored links. The data are provided by Nielsen//NetRatings.

Advertising Breakdown by Industry, Monthly Comparison
Industry	Total Impressions March 2006 (M)	Total Impressions February 2006 (M)	Change from Previous Month (%)
Automotive	4,298.8	3,344.0	28.55
Business to Business	7,073.0	7,612.9	-7.09
Consumer Goods	7,905.2	7,079.6	11.66
Entertainment	6,867.7	4,241.7	61.91
Financial Services	63,310.6	49,072.2	29.02
Hardware and Electronics	5,007.3	4,300.5	16.44
Health	4,338.9	3,335.5	30.08
Public Services	13,093.5	11,893.3	10.09
Retail Goods and Services	42,417.5	36,796.6	15.28
Software	5,393.7	4,419.0	22.06
Telecommunications	34,158.4	29,009.4	17.75
Travel	8,922.2	7,152.6	24.74
Web Media	43,415.3	35,867.9	21.04
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 2006

Advertising Breakdown by Industry, Ad Unit Types
Industry	Flash (Generic) (M)	Rich Media (M)	Sponsored Link (M)	Standard Image (M)	Standard Image/Text Link (M)
Automotive	1,775.3	333.7	292.7	1,259.6	637.7
Business to Business	692.6	72.1	2,669.5	1,968.0	1,670.8
Consumer Goods	2,467.1	525.7	1,822.4	2,534.8	555.2
Entertainment	2,701.6	510.3	356.4	2,277.6	1,021.9
Financial Services	9,685.1	386.5	4,937.4	11,007.7	37,293.9
Hardware and Electronics	1,538.9	67.8	470.7	1,311.9	1,618.0
Health	2,074.2	99.8	911.5	1,099.4	154.0
Public Services	1,293.0	55.8	2,160.9	3,249.1	6,334.7
Retail Goods and Services	2,958.4	304.0	14,032.2	13,228.7	11,894.1
Software	1,972.7	53.1	1,044.9	1,956.6	366.4
Telecommunications	9,998.2	129.6	873.2	19,757.2	3,400.1
Travel	2,690.2	198.1	3,148.9	2,301.6	583.3
Web Media	8,252.8	75.1	15,921.0	10,507.8	8,658.6
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 2006

Top 25 Companies by Sponsored Link Impressions, Number of Impressions
Company	Sponsored Link Impressions – March 2006 (M)	Sponsored Link Impressions – February 2006 (M)	Change from Previous Month (%)
eBay, Inc.	2,672.2	2,365.3	12.98
NexTag.com	772.4	722.8	6.86
LowerMyBills.com, Inc.	735.3	556.1	32.22
Yahoo Inc.	598.0	457.6	30.70
NextSTUDENT	537.8	672.8	-20.07
Amazon.com, Inc.	493.2	433.0	13.90
Target Corporation	461.3	466.7	-1.16
InterActiveCorp	438.0	480.6	-8.85
Orbitz	426.1	429.4	-0.78
BizRate.com	401.5	400.5	0.25
Microsoft Corporation	302.7	263.6	14.84
Shopzilla International	279.7	285.2	-1.92
Interchange Corporation	277.8	255.2	8.85
Cendant Corporation	277.2	211.6	31.03
Shop.com	268.3	159.9	67.75
Pickamortgage	235.5	232.6	1.27
Time Warner Inc.	229.3	225.6	1.66
Covad Communications Company	218.9	182.5	19.94
TradeComet.com LLC	217.0	137.2	58.20
Vonage Holdings Corp	215.9	221.0	-2.29
Dell Computer Corporation	210.4	212.4	-0.92
TopConsolidator	209.3	219.3	-4.56
RapidPennyStocks	183.5	52.8	247.40
ToSeekA.com	168.1	1.0	17322.18
eWoss.com	153.2	134.5	13.89
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 2006

Top 25 Companies by Sponsored Link Impressions, Top Three Search Terms
Company	No. 1 Search Term	No. 2 Search Term	No. 3 Search Term
eBay, Inc.	ebay	craigslist	gmail
NexTag.com	dell	ipod	pogo
LowerMyBills.com, Inc.	mortgage+rates	mortgage+calculator	consolidation+loans
Yahoo Inc.	ups	ride,on,toys	zip+codes
NextSTUDENT	fafsa	student+loans	private+student+ loan+consolidation
Amazon.com, Inc.	3d+studio+max+ demo	ipod	toys+r+us
Target Corporation	games	prom+dresses	crash
InterActiveCorp	airline+tickets	hotels	expedia
Orbitz	airline+tickets	orbitz	american+airlines
BizRate.com	airline+tickets	john+cena+photos+ or+pictures	airlines
Microsoft Corporation	maps	google+earth	games
Shopzilla International	john+cena	furniture	pictures+of+ women+with+ bruised+faces
Interchange Corporation	porn	toys+r+us	eminent+domain
Cendant Corporation	car+rental	car+rentals	american+airlines
Shop.com	maps	games	love+poems
Pickamortgage	current+va+ motgage+rates	current+va+ mortgage+rates	va+homeloan
Time Warner Inc.	mapquest	white+pages	movies
Covad Communications Company	dsl	high+speed+ internet	satellite+internet
TradeComet.com LLC	boobs	tattoos	clip+art
Vonage Holdings Corp	comcast	verizon+dsl	sbc
Dell Computer Corporation	dell	digital+cameras	digital+camera
TopConsolidator	student+loans	private+student+ loan+consolidation	student+loan
RapidPennyStocks	online+stock+ trading	stock+market	stocks
ToSeekA.com	free+porn	abortion	verizon
eWoss.com	pictures+of+ women+with+ bruised+faces	world+map	grips+for+revolvers
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 2006

 

Methodology: Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance’s Cloudprober technology tracks online advertising activity across over 2,000 sites and subsites.

Definition of Terms

 

• Standard Image/Text Link:

 

• Ads that are comprised of many components, typically both image and text beneath the images, all of which link to the same destination URL.

• Standard Image:

 

• Animated or static image ads; GIF or JPEG file format-based ads. HTML ads are also classified under this category.

• Flash (Generic):

 

• Macromedia’s vector-based authoring tool that outputs file formats used to display interactive elements. Requires a plug-in (Flash Player). Generic Flash (Shockwave Formats – .swf) files used for standard Flash banners.

• Rich Media:

 

• A method of communication that incorporates animation, sound, video, and/or interactivity via a proprietary ad platform. Vendors include Bluestreak, Eyeblaster, Klipmart, PointRoll, and Viewpoint Unicast.

• Sponsored Link:

 

Text-based ads that often appear as a result of a keyword search either on a search engine or associated site. These ads are often displayed alongside natural search results but identified under specified headers (e.g., “Paid Sponsor”, “Sponsored Link”, “Sponsored Sites” or “Sponsored Results”).