Online Advertising Works

Over the past few years businesses have bemoaned the that they have recouped little if any of the money they spend advertising on the Internet. However, a just released survey by the Emerging Technologies Research Group shows that online advertising can indeed be effective, and that people are buying products as a result of ads displayed online.

The survey was conducted between February and April, 1997. Of those who are currently using the Internet, 27% said they had made an online purchase in the past 12 months. Thirty-nine percent of those purchasers bought a product or service after clicking on an advertisement. Overall, 36% of all Internet users have clicked on an online ad.

Estimates show that there are roughly 31 million American adults on the Internet. Given the above survey figures, that would equate to roughly 8.5 million Americans who purchased something over the Internet in the past year.