92% Of Web Consumers More Disposed To Open Ads In Niche Sites

Marketers should get accustomed to the fact that, when looking for particular information, consumers prefer visiting sites that are already in their personal list of top venues and rarely turn to websites that are not specific to their interests.

I came across Mediasyndicator’s 2012 Vertical Engagement Report this morning, which showed that 92% of people access online content through websites that are strongly relevant to their interests.

The study proves that popular major portals such as MSN, Yahoo and AOL are not the traditional websites a consumer would choose to open when searching for information. What’s more interesting is that, despite their broad reach, such websites are now being replaced by niche sites.

This is because nearly half of consumers now use interest-specific websites as sources of more reliable and useful information. About 32% of the respondents in the survey, which was commissioned by YouGov, also consider that they offer more engaging content.

Online adverts are more likely to catch the attention of 39% of people aged between 18 and 24 only when they are related to their interests. This result should particularly come to the attention of marketers, given the great importance of this age group in the digital space, and teach them more about youngsters’ preferred websites. They also need to embrace tactics that will ensure their brand’s presence on such sites.

Social media is also a major driver of consumers’ online behaviour, with 52% of the people saying they were likely to click on an advert that has a level of social endorsement.