Internet Advertisers Target Women

Advertisers are beginning to notice that the Internet, long regarded as a hangout for men, is becoming is becoming a place where they can reach women as well.

According to Web measurement firm Media Metrix, women represent 48 percent of all Internet users, but studies by Jupiter Communications, NFO Interactive, and NetSmart America all predict the number of women will surpass the number of men online, if it hasn’t already.

The November statistics from Media Metrix found the types of Web sites with the highest composition of women included toy retailers, women’s portals (iVillage, Women.com, etc.), greeting card sites, retail savings sites, and health sites. Sites with a lower concentration of women tend to fall into the following categories: technical content, financial information, sports, news, and streaming media sites.

According to Charles Buchwalter, VP of Media Research for AdRelevance, the ad data reflect the extent to which the online world is beginning to mirror its brick-and-mortar counterpart in appealing to consumers who have both the greatest spending power and the most enthusiasm for the shopping experience.

“The fun and convenience of going online is becoming increasingly important to a wide range of American women, from stay-at-home moms and career women to teens and students,” he said. “When you consider how important these demographics are to advertisers, the Internet may not turn out to be ‘the great equalizer’ after all. On the contrary, women seem well on their way to outnumbering men in a medium that until recently was almost exclusively their own.”

Sites With High and Low Concentrations of Women*
Sites With Higher Concentration of Women				Sites With Lower Concentration of Women
Site	Unique Users (000)	Percent Women		Site	Unique Users (000)	Percent Women
ToysRUs.com	2,901	65		cnet.com	2,794	35
eToys.com	2,887	62		zdnet.com	2,423	33
ivillage.com	2,440	69		espn.com	1,323	27
women.com sites	2,089	69		windowsmedia.com	1,308	36
coolsavings.com	2,026	65		broadcast.com	1,266	36
kbkids.com	1,912	73		sportsline usa	1,063	32
egreetings.com	1,848	64		money central	960	34
onhealth.com	1,812	63		hp.com	891	33
freeshop.com	1,787	66		usatoday.com	887	35
valupage.com	1,723	65		nfl.com	723	26
* women 18 and over Source: Media Metrix

Promotion through Internet advertising is one way sites geared toward women build an audience. A look at the campaign schedules of the ten most popular women’s sites by AdRelevance reveals a trend toward cyclical advertising, with bursts of impressions delivered in short three- or four-week intervals. At the high points of their cycles, these sites are ranked among the top 20 percent of online advertisers. In fact, onhealth.com and iVillage both ranked in the top 1 percent of all online advertisers at the peak of their most recent schedules.

By combining data from Media Metrix and AdRelevance, it shows that women’s sites are advertising mainly on sites with a high concentration of female visitors.

Demographic of Media Buys
Advertiser	Impressions	Percent Women	Index
women.com sites	7,100,000	66	159
ivillage sites	41,000,000	49	118
valupage.com	19,000,000	48	116
Kbkids.com	3,100,000	48	116
etoys.com	8,300,000	47	113
toysrus.com	3,500,000	47	113
egreetings.com	1,900,000	46	111
onhealth.com	69,000,000	45	108
freeshop.com	4,100,000	44	106
coolsavings.com	8,300,000	34	82
Source: AdRelevance

Why is the female audience so desirable? According to a survey conducted by Women.com, Harris Interactive, and Proctor & Gamble, women control 80 percent of all purchasing decisions, and 73 percent of women regularly access product and service information online. Nearly 90 percent of the women surveyed said they were the primary healthcare decision-makers.

The top advertising-supported women’s sites attract a distinct set of advertisers. Women’s sites deliver a much higher portion of impressions for pet supply vendors, personal care product manufacturers, home and garden manufacturers, and kids and family Web sites.

Shares of Ad Impressions
Industry Segment	Women’s Sites	All Sites	Difference
Pet Supply Vendors	14.6%	0.4%	14.2%
Personal Care Products	7.4%	0.4%	7.0%
Department Stores	7.3%	9.0%	-1.7%
Home & Garden	7.0%	0.5%	6.5%
Kids & Family Sites	5.7%	0.2%	5.5%
Full Service Telecommunications	5.1%	2.4%	2.7%
Software Manufacturers	4.0%	1.9%	2.1%
Drug & Toiletry Vendors	3.7%	2.2%	1.5%
Health & Fitness Web Sites	3.4%	1.9%	1.5%
Book, Movie & Music Vendors	3.1%	1.5%	1.5%
Source: AdRelevance