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Web Display Ad Activity Is Rising.

A new survey, courtesy of Nielsen Online, has shown that online display ad activity in the UK is up by 21% compared with last year. The activity of advertisers, campaigns and ad creatives used by businesses for their online display ad proposals were up considerably in the first 4 months of this year compared with the same period last year.

Nearly 25% of the adverts were for businesses in the retail and finance sectors. Over 5,900 advertisers ran a total of 11,000 campaigns every month over the 4 month research period. About 32,000 of these ads were used by businesses according to Nielsen Online.

The communications director for Nielsen Online, Alex Burmaster, said, “The strong increase in the level of display advertising activity is reason enough for online publishers and media owners to be optimistic about the year ahead.”

A recent comScore report revealed that Facebook was the top UK online display ad publisher in April this year and accounted for 21.6% of all display ads. Other top publishers to note include Microsoft, eBay, AOL, Yahoo and of course Google – according to the figures by comScore.

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Facebook Overtakes Yahoo As Third Most Visited Site.

According to ComScore, Facebook has overtaken Yahoo as the third most visited UK site after its unique audience rose to 23.4m users in April.

The social network’s growth knocked Yahoo out of the top three, despite the latter reporting 8% growth in users over the past year. But the portal giant saw a monthly decrease of 1% in April.

Robin O’Neill, head of online trading at GroupM, said Facebook’s audience share and its portion of ad spend were “not even close” because brands and agencies are yet to realise the social network’s potential.

“There’s a lot of potential for growth as brands are coming around to that way of thinking, but it hasn’t had the amount of money spent that you could associate with the portals because we haven’t got to grips with its speed of growth,” said O’Neill.

According to the research, Google remained the most visited site with 33.5m UK users in April, followed by Microsoft sites at 29.4m.

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Digital Britain Is “Essential” For The Future Of Britain.

The long awaited Digital Report was launched this month with strong support from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

“Investing in areas such as broadband access for every home and business and the move from analogue to digital technology will bring benefits across the board, driving growth, enabling businesses to thrive, and providing new opportunities and choices for households right across the country,” said the Prime Minister. “It is an essential part of building Britain’s future.”

Key among the major headlines announced by Andy Burnham’s successor were the details of the Government’s revised plans for the license fee. “A strong BBC is more important than ever. It is an enabler of digital Britain,” said Bradshaw, before announcing that the BBC will no longer have exclusive rights to the license fee after 2013.

Another major announcement unveiled by Bradshaw was the introduction of a new broadband tax. Having re-affirmed the Government’s commitment to universal broadband for all, Bradshaw argued that left to market forces, only 2/3 of the UK would be able to reap the benefits of broadband. As a result, the Government will introduce a “national fund funded by a small levy”. This levy will equate to £6 per year per household, according to Lord Carter.

Bradshaw also confirmed the appointment of lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox as the Government’s digital inclusion champion.

Responding to the announcement, shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt called the report a “colossal disappointment”. Focusing on the Government’s new levy, Hunt argued that it would be insufficient, saying that it would raise £150 million per annum, meaning it would take twenty years to cover the cost of broadband roll out.

Commenting on the report, Nick Stringer, head of regulatory affairs at the IAB, says: “The Digital Britain report acknowledges the contribution digital advertising – in particular targeted advertising - will make in helping to monetise online content. The IAB welcomes this as well the significant importance the Government attaches to self-regulation and education in promoting transparency and protecting internet users’ online privacy.

“We particularly welcome the Government’s support for the IAB’s Good Practice Principles for behavioural advertising, as well as www.youronlinechoices.co.uk, our new portal to help educate users.”

The announcement follows the publication of the Digital Britain interim report, published in January. Last week Lord Carter announced that he will step down from his role this summer.

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Mums Are Key To Online Success

According to the latest research from eMarketer , Mums play a key role in the online audience due to their influence over household spending.

In the US, research shows that 18 per cent of the online audience comprises mothers with children aged 18 or under.

Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer, says: "Keeping up with their children puts them on the leading edge of new technologies and online activities. They are among the most savvy of all internet users."

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Google Questioned On Email Security

Google has been asked to explain why it is not making its Gmail e-mail service more secure.

In an open letter to Google boss Eric Schmidt, security experts, lawyers, and privacy advocates ask why Gmail users are "needlessly" being put at risk.

The 38 signatories want Google to start using the secure version of the HTTP protocol to protect Gmail users.

In response, Google said it was considering trials of the secure system with a select group of users.

News Source – BBC, IAB, NMA