Thursday, February 19, 2009

Multiplying web pages mean diminishing returns

Another wake up call for the media industry in the Wall Street journal which asks the question

What does the Internet display-ad market have in common with Zimbabwe?


The answer?

Both are printing nearly-limitless amounts of their main currency, vastly diminishing its value and undermining their future.


A damning rebuff for the internet business model? Quite possibly.The piece argues that as the volume of web pages expand so does the need for carrying ads and more ads mean falling prices.

The cost per thousand views of display ads on big Web sites sold through ad networks -- rather than sales forces of individual sites, which usually handle premium inventory -- fell 54% in the fourth quarter compared with the year earlier, estimates PubMatic, which offers online services to publishers.


It is a worrying trend and is no doubt being magnified by the recession but it may be worth focusing on basic economics if the problem is to be fixed.

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