Online advertisers targetting markets in Asia-Pacific can look to
South Korea and Hong Kong for some encouraging news, according to the
Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Index, which found surfers in the
two markets had the highest click rates for banner ads.
The news comes as debates over the effectiveness of online advertising
continue and advertisers opt for braver, larger ad sizes to attract
shrinking ad dollars.
According to ACNielsen eRatings.com Hong Kong managing director, Hugh
Bloch, South Koreans, along with other surfers in Hong Kong, "had the
highest click rate for ad banners, meaning that banners are still a
relatively effective way to catch these consumers' attention as they
breeze through web pages".
"Asia-Pacific countries are showing the most dynamic internet usage
patterns in the world in terms of high levels of usage, click rates on
ad banners and duration visits," added Bloch.
Still the most active internet users in the world, South Koreans led the
region in terms of page views for March, but barely paused on each
page.
"Interestingly, the average click rate for top banners increased
globally in March, a worthwhile footnote to the recent debate over the
effectiveness of online advertising."
A three-day internet cable cut in Taiwan during March caused a decline
in the time spent online, number of sessions and number of page views
for the month. However, the report added that Taiwan still ranked
highly.
A/P COMPARED TO US AND GLOBAL AVERAGE
Rank Country Number of Average
(Number of Page Views Click Rate
Page Views Per Surfing for Top
Per Month) Session Banners
1 South Korea 92 0.62
2 Hong Kong 63 0.69
4 Japan* 52 0.37
Global Average 43 0.41
6 Singapore 55 0.24
7 US 35 0.36
9 Taiwan 55 0.50
16 Australia 39 0.27
20 New Zealand 30 0.23
* Japan data from February 2001
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
