Survey: Younger, Lower Income Web Users Are Heavy Ad Clickers

A new survey suggests younger and lower income Web users are more likely to click on certain ad formats than older and wealthier ones.

The study by iPerceptions found 31 percent of respondents under 25 said they are likely to click on a video ad. That’s compared to 21 percent for those aged 25 to 24, and 14 percent for 35- to 44-year-olds.

Additionally, the research found 36 percent of those who click on text ads have an annual income below $50,000. The finding echoes a study commissioned by Starcom and AOL, “Natural Born Clickers,” that found the typical heavy clicking household earns below $40,000.

Among all ad formats, text are most likely to draw users’ clicks, with 25 percent of all respondents saying they would be likely to click a link. “We know Google is doing something right,” said Jonathan Levitt, VP of marketing at iPerceptions.

The only other format in the same league is the right side banner, which 20 percent of respondents say they’re prone to click. Ad formats drop off from there. When asked if they’re likely to click on a top-banner, 12 percent of respondents said yes. Video ad units garnered 11 percent likelihood, interactive units 7 percent, and interstitials 4 percent. “The world is suffering from banner blindness; people don’t click on banner ads anymore,” said Levitt. “Video ads are not popular with most consumers.”

The regular audiences of a Web site are most likely to click on ads. Thirty-three percent of weekly visitors to a Web site said they are likely to click on text ads, and 29 percent of daily visitors said so. By contrast, 15 percent of monthly visitors said they are likely to click, and 17 percent of first-time visitors professed a likelihood of clicking.

iPerceptions surveyed 14,000 visitors to a number of media sites in August. The firm looked at five types of online ads: Text links, right-hand banner ads, top banners, video, and interactive ads.