Size isn't everything. That's the conclusion of the largest study of web ad effectiveness so far. Bigger may be better in general, but location on the page has a strong impact. Ad units embedded inside the editorial have a stronger impact on readers which means web marketers need to pay more attention to their media planning and placement on the page.

Yet again, having the right digital strategy means more than simply being online. For over 5 years our Digital Media Planning Academy has coached planners why "right consumer, right environment, right time and right mindset" are all key for getting the best value from a media buy, and this research of 3.9m people confirms why the attention to detail is key.

Here in the UK, online ad spend overtook TV advertising exactly to the month we'd predicted a few years back. At 23.5% of all UK adspend it's risen about 5% year on year, but is rising about 20% vs the UK advertising industry average (which suffered a massive fall of over 15% in the same period).

This month our national focus turns on China, where Baidu continues to top the charts - but with figures a big leap up from when we were last in Shanghai. As the centre of the web economy continues shifting east, look out for Chinese tech start-ups heading into Europe and a shift in web development with China taking over from India as the coding engine room for many agencies.

If you're a client of Digital and your colleagues would like our research, simply forward this link: http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/digitalbriefings.

Best from all @ Digital


Danny Meadows-Klue
Founder and Chief Executive
Digital Strategy Consulting

Top 10 internet properties: China
Baidu tops the chart of internet properties in China, August-September 2009

Battle of the search engines: UK visits
Over 80% of UK visits with Google, September 12 2009

Battle of the search engines: UK searches
Over 90% of searches with Google, September 12 2009

Broadband penetration across Europe
Fixed broadband penetration continued to grow in 2008, March 2009

Web ad effectiveness ranked by format
Advertising effectiveness research reveals which formats achieve best uplift on key 'awareness' metric; biggest not always best; rectangles top charts, buttons score lowest

Average cost per lead by sector: US
The technology sector has greatest CPL in the premium category, August 2009

UK web adspend overtakes TV
The UK online ad sector grew a healthy 4.6% to £1.75 billion in the first half of this year. Figures out today from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the IAB confirmed online bucked the trend in the recession - with the rest of the advertising economy tumbling almost 17% over the same period. That's consistent with growth rates about 20% above the total ad sector. Online advertising took 23.5% of all UK adspend in the first half of the year, extending its lead over other media and confirming it is now significantly larger than the television ad industry. The UK remains the most mature online advertising economy in the world with the highest market share of ad spend going online.
30/09/2009
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Internet to take 15% of global ad spend next year
Internet advertising is expected to account for about 15% of global measured advertising spending in 2010, up from an anticipated 13% in 2009, according to new report. The study, from GroupM, found that growth in display ads has fallen over the past several years as supply has run ahead of demand.
25/09/2009
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Number of online display ads rises 11%
The number UK advertisers running online display campaigns has risen, as companies capitalise on lower ad prices during the recession. The research, from Nielsen Online, indicates that the number of online display ad campaigns grew 11% in the second quarter compared to the same 2008 period.
03/09/2009
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Google launches display ad exchange
Google has launched an exchange service that lets advertisers and website owners buy and sell ads based on an online auction system. The system, called 'Ad Exchange' will emulate Google's existing AdWords scheme, and marks the culmination of the search giants $3.1bn takeover of display ad firm DoubleClick in 2008.
18/09/2009
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Google lets third party networks bid on AdSense publisher sites
Google is opening up its ad platform AdSense by allowing other display advertising companies to place promotional content on AdSense publisher sites.
01/09/2009
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Battle of the three screens: Time spent watching video
Video adding to screen use, not simply migrating audiences. TV continues to grow and remains at a seasonal all-time high, Q2 2009

Battle of the three screens: Time spent watching video
An early snapshot of US consumers suggests viewing on the rise across all three screens (TV, Internet and mobile phone), Q2 2009

Battle of the three screens: TV, PC and mobile viewing by age group
Snapshot of audience attention across three screens: monthly time spent viewing media by age group, Q2 2009

Video viewing on TV, PC and Mobile: By gender
Gender balance similar across TV, Internet and Mobile, Q2 2009

Battle of the three screens: Mobile video viewed by age
Nearly a third of all mobile video viewed is by 24-35 year olds, Q2 2009

£6-a-year broadband tax 'to become law'
A controversial broadband tax is set to become law before the next election, charging 50 pence a month to everyone with a fixed line telephone.
24/09/2009
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US visitors flock to UK news sites
US visitors accounted for 54% of the growth in traffic to UK news websites in the year to August, with referrals from the Drudge Report bringing more than 10% of US visitors, according to new data.
23/09/2009
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Bing gains further ground on Google in US
Microsoft's new search engine Bing now accounts for over 9% of search engine traffic in the US, gaining further ground on Google, according to new research. The data, from comScore, put Bing's search engine US Internet search market at 9.3% during August, up from 8.9 percent in July.
22/09/2009
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1 in 20 Brits would pay for online news - survey
Just one in twenty (5%) of Brits who read a free news website at least once a month would stick with the site if charges were introduced, according to a new poll.
21/09/2009
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Broadband growth areas "to create new digital divide"
Growth in localised, high-speed residential broadband services is beginning to open a new chasm between urban and rural areas in terms of internet access, according to a new study.
10/09/2009
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Vodafone 360 takes on Apple's App Store
Mobile network Vodafone has launched a mobile web store that will let its customers download a range of applications and web-based services to use on their phone.
28/09/2009
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Twitter confirms further funding boost
Twitter has confirmed that it has closed a "significant round of funding". Co-founder Evan Williams said in a blog post that the site had secured money from five investment firms. The companies are: Insight Venture Partners, T. Rowe Price, Institutional Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Morgan Stanley.
28/09/2009
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Twitter rules out ads this year
Twitter has ruled out running ads on its micro-blogging platform this year, and will launch new products relying solely on its recent venture capital fund injections.
24/09/2009
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Facebook provides data to Nielsen to improve ad measurement
Facebook plans to work with internet research firm Nielsen to provide better measurement to advertisers. The move will see the social network run polls asking users about their attitudes and purchase intent based on display ads Facebook runs on its site.
23/09/2009
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MySpace syncs with Twitter
MySpace has begun testing a new service that lets users sync their MySpace status updates with their Twitter feed. The new opt-in service lets users sync their status so that any update created on MySpace will appear in their Twitter feed.
23/09/2009
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Facebook privacy ruling forces closure of Beacon ad scheme
Facebook has closed its 'info sharing' online ad scheme amid privacy concerns. The Beacon system shared information about users' information on third-party partner sites in Facebook news feeds.
23/09/2009
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Twitter valued at $1bn ahead of funding boost - report
Twitter is reportedly in the process of raising more venture capital which will value the two-year-old business at $1bn (£600m). The Telegraph reports that Insight Venture Partners is believed to be the lead investor in the $50m funding round.
18/09/2009
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Facebook makes profit for first time
Facebook has started making more money than it's spending, for the first time since it was created in a Harvard dorm room nearly six years ago. The social networking giant attributed its new-found profitability to an upsurge in users over the past year.
16/09/2009
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Facebook adopts Twitter-style '@' tagging
Facebook is taking a leaf out of Twitter's book by adding a new "@"-based tagging system for status updates. The feature lets users quickly create a link to a friend in a status update, by placing the '@' symbol before their name, in the same manner as the system offered by Twitter.
11/09/2009
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Twitter rule tweaks opens door to ads
Twitter has updated its terms of service, hinting that the micro-blogging site may allow ads in the near future. Writing on Twitter's official blog, founder Biz Stone said: "We leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open, as we've said before."
11/09/2009
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TweetDeck opens to MySpace, aims to become social media hub
TweetDeck has launched of a new version that supports MySpace updates, as the popular Twitter client expands its efforts to become a 'real-time browser'.
10/09/2009
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Teens finally catching the Twitter-bug
Despite its notable popularity amongst older users, the number of youngsters accessing Twitter is growing at "breakneck pace", according to new research.
07/09/2009
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Twitter now 'more popular than BBC' online
Twitter has surpassed the 50 million monthly visitors mark for the first time, and is now one of the Top 50 most popular websites in the world, according to new data. In July, the micro-blogging platform website attracted 51.6 million unique users, up 7.1 million from June, according to new research from comScore.
Source: http://www.comscore.com, 01/09/2009
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Yahoo launches $100m global brand campaign
Yahoo! is launching a global brand campaign to promote its newly revamped core products, including its media portal, email, search and online sharing tools.
23/09/2009
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ComScore and Omniture offer audience tracking service
Online research company comScore has partnered with web analytics firm Omniture, to measure online traffic for advertisers and publishers. The deal will see comScore integrate Omniture's system of using cookies to track unique visitors with its own panel-based audience measurement tools.
22/09/2009
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Google and Amazon enjoy fastest growing brand value
Google and Amazon have enjoyed the biggest growth in their brand value, according to a new poll. The two internet giants were the big winners in Interbrand's annual Best Global Brands listings, reporting the highest gains in brand value.
21/09/2009
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Google snaps up anti-spam firm reCaptcha
Google has bought anti-spam firm reCaptcha for an undisclosed sum, as the search giant looks to further expand its ability to organise the world's data. reCaptcha helps protect sites from spam and fraud by assuring a response is not generated by a computer.
18/09/2009
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Skype founders to sue eBay as sale hits snag
A company owned by the founders of Skype has filed a copyright suit against eBay and the investor group that has agreed to buy the internet telephony phone service.
17/09/2009
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Google tests page-flipping tool for publishers
Google is testing a new format that is supposed to make reading online stories as easy as flipping through a magazine, opening new contextual ad opportunities for publishers in the process.
16/09/2009
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Adobe buys Omniture for $1.8bn
Adobe has bought online ad firm Omniture for $1.8bn, as the graphic design software giant expands further into the online advertising arena.
15/09/2009
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John Lewis takes on ASOS with website revamp
John Lewis has updated its website as the department store chain looks to boost its online sales by £70 million within two years. The revamped site features more than 100 new brands and a luxury label offering.
15/09/2009
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Nokia buys slice of social network Plum
Nokia has purchased 'certain assets' of micro-social networking site Plum Networks, as the world's largest handset maker looks to further expand into the software arena.
15/09/2009
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Huge demand forces Spotify to revert to invite-only accounts
Popular music-streaming service Spotify will only accept new accounts from people with official email invites, the company has said. Spotify has reverted to its original 'invite-only' policy for creating new accounts due to huge demand for the music-streaming service.
14/09/2009
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Google planning micro-payments for publishers
Google is developing technology to help publishers charge its readers for online content. The search giant is working on software that will allow newspapers to charge users for certain online content using a system of micro-payments.
11/09/2009
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Comment: Google lifeboat to rescue newspapers? Think again
So Google could have micropayments for newspaper content live within a year? That will grab the attention of newspaper owners everywhere. It will seem like this could save the newspaper and magazine industry; the most unexpected life-raft, from the most unusual lifeboat.
11/09/2009
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Google 'super-sizes' search box
Google has increased the size of the search box and fonts on its home and results pages, giving users more space to enter their queries. The search giant said it hopes the move will make it easier for people to use the service and select results.
10/09/2009
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Beringea gets £30m boost, eyes digital start-ups
UK government-backed Capital for Enterprise, a venture capital fund of funds, has given Beringea a £20m funding boost to target digital start ups.
08/09/2009
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News Corp unites outlets under global newswire
News Corporation is planning on launching an internal wire that will make its content instantly available to all the media giant's outlets worldwide, according to a new report. Citing an internal briefing, The Guardian reports that the 'NewsCore' service will operate like a global wire service for all the company's newspapers, TV networks and websites.
08/09/2009
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Google in buying mood as CEO says "worst of recession is over"
Google is back on the acquisition trail and the search giant's boss sees an end to the recession in sight , according to a new interview. Speaking to Japanese site Nikkei (and translated by Dow Jones Newswires), Google CEO Eric Schmidt, said "the worst of the recession is behind us" and that Google has begun "seriously looking at acquisitions" again.
04/09/2009
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Pfizer hit by record fine for fraudulent marketing
The world's biggest drug maker has been fined a record amount by US regulators for fraudulent marketing. Pfizer was fined a total of $US2.3bn (£1.4bn), the largest healthcare fraud settlement in US history, for trying to sell drugs for uses not approved by the regulators.
04/09/2009
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YouTube planning movie rentals?
YouTube is reportedly talking to Hollywood studios about renting new-release movies online. Citing people close to the talks, The Wall Street Journal reports that discussions were most advanced with Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Corporation's movie studio, Time Warner's Warner Bros and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
03/09/2009
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HMV buys 50% stake in online music store
HMV has bought half of online music store 7digital, as the entertainment retailer looks to expand its digital services. The deal will see HMV buy a 50% stake from the venture capital firms that backed 7digital for £7.7m in cash.
03/09/2009
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Music videos return to YouTube as royalty spat ends
YouTube is to start streaming thousands of music videos in the UK again, as the site finally agreed a deal with songwriters' association PRS for Music Britain over royalty payments.
02/09/2009
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eBay to sell 65% of Skype for $2bn
eBay is to sell the majority of its stake in internet telephony service Skype to an investment group for nearly $2bn.
02/09/2009
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YouTube to share ad revenue with users
YouTube has begun sharing profits with users who post popular videos on the site. The Google-owned site is extending its YouTube Partnership Program, offering more individuals with one off popular videos a chance to earn thousands of dollars a month.
01/09/2009
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Unilever ditches agency for user-generated Peperami ads
Unilever is letting the public pitch creative for its next Peperami ad campaign, dropping its agency in the process. The firm is offering $10,000 for the best idea submitted to the website Idea Bounty.
01/09/2009
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Mobile

T-Mobile and Orange merger creates UK's biggest mobile network
T-Mobile and Orange are to merge their UK businesses, creating a mobile phone giant with 28.4 million customers. The deal between Orange-owner France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK will create a business with sales of £8.2bn.
08/09/2009
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BBC tests mobile search function
The BBC has launched a beta search function on its mobile website homepage, incorporating TV and radio shows on the iPlayer. The tool lets users search the mobile site for news, sport, radio and television sites, while devices that support the iPlayer also allow users to search for TV and radio shows.
07/09/2009
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Spotify app goes live on iPhone and Android
Music streaming service Spotify has launched an app for the iPhone and the Android mobile platform.
04/09/2009
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Nokia partners Facebook for 'lifecasting' tool
Nokia is partnering with Facebook to launch a "lifecasting" tool, letting users post locations and status updates from their phones to Facebook.
04/09/2009
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iPhone set for China launch
Apple has struck a deal announced with China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile service provider, to become the first authorised seller of the iPhone in China.
01/09/2009
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Nokia plans 'mobile bank accounts'
Nokia is planning to launch a mobile financial service targeting consumers, mainly in emerging markets, with a phone but no banking account. The Nokia Money service is based on the mobile payment platform of Obopay, a privately-owned firm that Nokia invested in earlier this year.
01/09/2009
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Orange buys Unanimis to boost ad revenue
Orange has bought digital sales company Unanimis in a deal thought to be worth £15m. Orange is hoping the purchase will boost revenue from its mobile and internet websites, which attract 12m unique users per month across its internet and mobile websites.
01/09/2009
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Apple approves Spotify iPhone app
Apple has approved the Spotify iPhone application, allowing users to stream music to their handsets, despite many regarding the two companies as rivals. The application will be free, but will require the user to have a premium Spotify subscription, which costs £10.
01/09/2009
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Broadcasting

PS3 now drives 10% of traffic to BBC iPlayer
Sony's PS3 games console now accounts for 10% of all viewing of the iPlayer, according to the BBC. The broadcaster has just launched a new version of its PS3-compatible iPlayer, which was initially introduced last year.
10/09/2009
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Project Kangaroo finally finds a home at Arqiva
Former Eurosport UK managing director Pierre-Jean Sebert has been appointed CEO of Arqiva's new video-on-demand service that will be built on the infrastructure of the former Project Kangaroo. The transmission company plans to use the assets to launch a new video-on-demand service to UK consumers in the coming months.
01/09/2009
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