The research - which was based on a survey of 1500 online consumers - shows that just less than half prefer specialised sites and 26% like sites to focus on a single topic or genre such as sport or health. Just over 10% favoured 'affinity' sites targeted at specific consumer groups such as young families.
Jupiter concludes that media sites that have failed to achieve a dominant position in their categories must change strategies 'and deliver more focused content'.
The survey found that these specialist sites can compete successfully against the general purpose portals and to maximise potential they should form 'invisible networks'.
According to Jupiter these networks 'allow sites to deliver critical mass to their advertising and commerce partners by pooling large shares of smaller audiences while at the same time retaining the higher revenues associated with specialised audiences'.
The research was revealed at the Jupiter Consumer Online Forum earlier this month in the US which was organised to explore the 'intersection between the internet and traditional media, entertainment, and communications companies.'
Around 1,600 internet and business executives debated a range of issues including 'how to build online brands and beat back the fast followers' and 'how consumer-content can drive transactions and revenues'.
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