This is good news for web publishers, according to the AOP, because targeting this technically experienced and sophisticated audience can provide more effective results for advertisers.
Traditionally, advertisers have designed campaigns to attract the maximum volume of traffic, but this report strengthens the argument that effective web advertising must aim to attract a responsive audience, rather than simply a high volume of traffic.
"This research is part of a wave of activity to help grow the overall share of advertising that the internet is taking," said Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing at Guardian newspapers and head of the AOP's research group.
"The aim is to help advertisers understand some of the nuances of the online landscape: both in terms of the different types of users that different types of sites attract, and in terms of the different ways that people react to advertising, depending on where they see it."
The research has found that the better the relationship between the site and the user, the better the user's response to advertising. Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed said that they pay more attention to adverts on sites that they trust.
Sixty-four per cent of those surveyed also said that they preferred advertising that was related to the site content, indicating that advertisers and publishers should consider the context of their adverts.
The research focused on 20 leading sites - including vogue.co.uk, economist.com and topgear.com - investigating users' reactions to adverts in different web environments.
"For smaller sites, the best route to attracting the elite audience is to have the characteristics that the audience found attractive in particular - distinct content, and a relationship of trust with their readers," he told dotJournalism.
"Obviously, many of the sites featured in the research also had the benefit of a relationship with an existing, offline brand - and that is something that many smaller, online-only sites can't match."
The AOP represents many of the UK's leading web publishers including Emap, the Economist Group and BSkyB.
Related articles:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story827.shtml
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story825.shtml
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story813.shtml
http://www.journalism.co.uk/profiles/profile7.shtml
See also:
http://www.ukaop.org.uk
http://www.vogue.co.uk
http://www.topgear.com
http://www.emap.com
http://www.economistgroup.com
http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=bsy.uk&script=11931&item_id='home.html'
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