Indian matrimonial websites top online advertisers' list

Matrimonial websites in the country have emerged the biggest online advertisers in the June-August period of this year. Personal or matrimonial sites issued 378 of the 3,778 online display ad campaigns released in India in the three months, garnering a share of 13 per cent, according to the Nielsen Online AdRelevance June-August 2009 report from The Nielsen Company.

Travel booking services and education sectors were the next most active contributors to online advertising, with approximately 8 per cent share of online campaigns during the period.

Consim Info was the top advertiser in the personal or matrimonial sector (in terms of number of campaigns), accounting for more than half of the advertising activity in this sector. In the travel sector, MakeMytrip is the category leader, contributing 23 per cent to the total online ad activity in the sector.

“Display advertising is expected to substantially expand in India, as internet penetration accelerates and given the substantially lower costs involved in advertising online. It is an industry that has seen rapid growth in the past couple of years and has the potential to give traditional forms of advertising a run for their money. Keeping tabs on ad spending and campaigns in this space is definitely going to help marketers plan their strategies accordingly,” said Karthik Nagarajan, associate director (online division), The Nielsen Company.

Consim accounted for 8 per cent of the campaigns during the period and People Interactive accounted for 4 per cent. Info Edge is the third-biggest player (3 per cent), advertising mainly for their employment business.

The report added that Times Internet, Yahoo and Sify were among the leading publishers for online display advertising in India. Up to 24 per cent of all online campaigns during the period included Times Internet properties. For Yahoo, the figure was 21 per cent.