Report: Online/Internet Services Top Ad Category for August

The top three ad banner categories for August remained the same as July’s, according to BannerTrack, NetRatings’ syndicated ad research service. The No. 1 ad category was Online/Internet Services.

Retail Shopping was No. 2, and Promotions (incentives, coupons, sweepstake offers) No. 3. Taken together these three categories accounted for 60% of all banner advertising impressions with at least a 5% reach, estimated for the month of August at 2.9 billion impressions, compared to 3.5 billion impressions for July, the company said.

E-mail was the largest product category for Internet Services with 75% of that category’s advertising. Books/CDs topped the shopping category with 19% (down from 62% in July) and Automotive came in a close second with 18%(up from 6.5% in July). Sweepstakes led the promotional pack with 70% (up from 67.2% in July). Noteworthy, NetRatings said, was that financial advertising was up from 3.72% in July to 6% in August.

The top 10 ad banners for the week of Sept. 13, according to NetRatings’ BannerTrack service, were:

1. Goto.com: Type in what you’re looking for
2. Bonus Mail: Are you into free stuff
3. Catalog Link: Gift ideas for the love of your life
4. Catalog Link: You don’t have to go great lengths
5. Catalog Link: Free catalogs
6. Deja News: Who’s your favorite artist?
7. BonusMail: What’s your new favorite CD?
8. Autoweb.com: Get the best deal now
9. Verio: www.your-name.com
10. CDNOW: Get a compilation CD

Rankings are based on measurement of Web activity by a representative panel of more than 3,500 Internet users 18 years and older who access the Web from home.