Internet Activity Shows Building Brands Pays Off
Auckland, 2 February 2000: The number of ad impressions delivered by the top advertising domains grew significantly from Q3 to Q4, according to the annual review of Internet activity from Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet measurement service from ACNielsen eRatings.com.
Yahoo!, the largest advertising domain on the Web, delivered ad impressions to more than 42 percent of the active Internet users in December, compared to 39 percent in September (Table 1).
Table 1. Top 10 Advertising Domains, End of Q3 as
Compared to End of Q4
Sep-99
Dec-99
Rank Domain Reach % Rank Domain Reach %
1 Yahoo.com 38.7 1 yahoo.com 42.4
2 Aol.com 27.4 2 aol.com 36.3
3 Msn.com 22.2 3 msn.com 28.7
4 Netscape.com 18.7 4 netscape.com 16.8
5 go.com 15.4 5 lycos.com 16.6
6 Geocities.com 13.6 6 go.com 16.5
7 Lycos.com 11.1 7 bluemountain.com 13.4
8 Ebay.com 10.3 8 geocities.com 11.8
9 Excite.com 8.9 9 ebay.com 11.3
10 Looksmart.com 7.2 10 excite.com 10.3
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, January 2000
"Internet advertising made steady increases from Q3 through Q4. In fact, ad impressions jumped 63 percent from November to December alone, and was the largest monthly increase during this period," says Brian Milnes, Managing Director Pacific, ACNielsen eRatings.com.
Holiday shopping sites
led the fastest growing properties in the U.S. during the
last quarter of 1999, with eToys topping the list, followed
by Sears, JCPenney and The Gap (Table 2). UPS found its web
site affected by the holiday season, as gift orders were
delivered.
Table 2. Fastest Growing Properties Among Top
100 Properties During
Q4
Property Sep-99 Oct-99 Nov-99 Dec-99 % growth
1.
Etoys 872,183 1,833,065 4,060,897
4,693,226 438.1
2. Comet Systems
780,776 1,288,291 3,460,421 4,159,167
432.7
3. BizRate 445,406 699,851
1,234,688 1,815,476 307.6
4. Sears
Roebuck & Co 506,389 743,542
1,111,608 1,746,148 244.8
5. CBS
1,244,722 1,818,519 4,204,237 4,191,478
236.7
6. JCPenney 715,429
1,253,266 1,712,633 2,216,625 209.8
7. Auralis 590,704 961,109
1,006,092 1,772,573 200.1
8. The Gap
Inc. 628,413 828,547 1,410,573
1,847,281 194.0
9. CJB.NET 574,820
1,310,772 1,489,016 1,683,527 192.9
10. Alexa 814,535 1,716,577
2,151,308 2,294,231 181.7
11. Buy.com
781,091 996,682 1,675,191 2,076,033
165.8
12. Launch 704,595 1,404,062
1,657,913 1,760,800 149.9
13. Mplayer
Entertainment Network 1,652,955 2,130,935
2,874,217 3,874,917 134.4
14.
Macromedia 2,530,196 5,003,443 6,254,560
5,826,428 130.3
15. United Parcel
Service 751,298 806,018 1,102,650
1,715,421 128.3
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings,
January 2000
As seen throughout the holiday season, brand rules on the Web. The top 10 domains for the season are a mix of the best known Web names (Amazon, eToys) and time-honored "brick and mortar" names (Toys R Us, Barnes & Noble) (see Table 3).
Table 3. Nielsen//NetRatings
E-Commerce Sites During the Holiday Season
Based on Total
Visits
Domain Total Visits
1.
Ebay.com 128,858,697
2. Amazon.com 48,959,535
3.
Etoys.com 14,463,273
4.
Barnesandnoble.com 12,965,303
5.
Cdnow.com 12,377,844
6. toysrus.com 12,106,833
7.
sony.com 8,081,621
8. buy.com 7,420,125
9.
kbkids.com 6,328,258
10. jcpenney.com 5,892,491
11.
qvc.com 5,846,332
12. egghead.com 5,193,455
13.
beyond.com 4,563,815
14. ubid.com 4,562,820
15.
quixtar.com 4,532,455
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings,
January 2000
“When local data becomes available through Nielsen//NetRatings in late March, it’ll be interesting to see whether New Zealand is following this international trend,” says Milnes. “This research is a positive indication for well-known Internet companies like 7am and for “clicks and mortar” plays like FlyingPig.co.nz, but lesser known pure-play Internet brands will have to work harder.”
The Nielsen//NetRatings audience measurement service collects data from more than 38,000 panelists as they use the Internet. The Nielsen//NetRatings panel is the world’s largest media research sample of at-home Internet users currently under measurement. Nielsen//NetRatings uses unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the industry.
Ends