Average CPM rates slipped four percent in 1999, yet
the number of sites seeking to advertise grew 135
percent last year, probably due to the booming
e-commerce business, according to Online Advertising
Report data released Monday by Engage Technologies‘
AdKnowledge.
The report, compiled from statistics on more than
3,000 Web sites, looks at key indicators of the health
of the online advertising industry. AdKnowledge has
been gathering and reporting this information for more
than three years.
The data show that, although average CPM rates for
online advertising fell in 1999, they didn’t fall as
much as in 1998, when average rates declined six
percent. Since 1997, when AdKnowledge started
collecting these statistics, average CPMs have dipped
nine percent. The average CPM rate in the fourth
quarter of 1999 was $33.75, according to the report.
Still, the industry is showing tremendous growth, due
to the number of sites seeking to buy advertising. At
the end of 1999, 3347 sites were seeking advertising,
which was 135 percent more than at the end of 1998.
The figures showed a whopping 306 percent growth since
the beginning of 1997.
Newer formats and sizes of advertising continue to
grow, as well. Java and HTML ads are the most widely
used, but audio and video ads grew by 40 percent and
52 percent, respectively. Other rich media formats
like Emblaze by
Geo and Active Ads by Thinking
Media each saw the number of sites accepting them
double in 1999.
Smaller ad sizes are also growing in acceptance. The
number of sites accepting 88 x 31 pixel ads grew by
116 percent and 120 x 60 pixel ads grew by 77 percent.
Still, the 468 x 60 pixel ads remained the most widely
accepted banner size in 1999.