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Health A Hot Topic On The Internet
by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, September 24, 2008 8:15 AM
Health A Hot Topic On The InternetcomScore, Inc. recently released results of a study showing that the health information site category has grown 21 percent during the past
year, more than four times the growth rate of the total U.S. Internet population. In June, more than 1.5 billion display ad views were seen by nearly 54 million people via sites in the health
information category. WebMD Health topped the list of display ad publishers, delivering 290 million display ad views and reaching nearly 15 million people at an average frequency of 19.3
times per visitor during the month. Three other health networks boosted the overall growth of the category, each attracting more than ten million visitors:
- Everyday Health
with 14.7 million (up 63%)
- Revolution Health Network with 11.3 million visitors (up 182%)
- AOL Health with 11.1 million (up 88%)
John Mangano, senior
director, comScore Pharmaceutical Marketing Solutions, said. "... sites have become vibrant online communities... sharing experiences and advice, rather than simply being one-way information
resources... Improved site functionality, increased content personalization, and consumer acceptance of the Internet... for health information... breathe new life into the health information
category," While Everyday Health and Revolution Health Network both achieved significant organic growth on their core Web sites, their recent partnerships with several smaller health
sites, as well as some strategic acquisitions, have also contributed to their respective gains.
Top 10 Health Information Sites (Unique Visitors July 2008 vs. July 2007 Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations)
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Jul-2007Jul-2008 %
ChangeTotal Internet: Total Audience180,078189,1345Health - Information56,86569,00821
WebMD Health 16,829 17,277 3 Everyday Health 9,009 14,703 63 Revolution Health Network 4,014 11,329 182 AOL Health*
5,913 11,095 88 About.com Health 6,947 8,682 25 Yahoo! Health 7,445 8,496
14 MSN Health 8,833
7,813 -12 NIH.Gov 8,545
7,315 -14 Righthealth.Com 2,424 6,160 154
Quality Health Network N/A 5,822 N/A
Source: comScore Media Metrix * July 2007 AOL figures reported in the above chart are for AOL Body while the July 2008 figures are for AOL Health Though the number of unique visitors exposed to advertising at both Revolution Health Network and AOL Health were significantly lower than for WebMD Health, they were reached with a
higher frequency. Also noteworthy is that despite Weight Watchers International delivering ads to just 2 million unique visitors, each ad-exposed visitor saw an average of 31 display ads during the
month, the highest frequency among the top ten publisher sites in the category.
Top 10 Health Information Publishers (June 2008 Total U.S. Home/Work/University Locations) ?
PublisherTotal Display Ad Views*(MM)Share of Display Ad
ViewsAdvertising Exposed Unique Visitors (000)Average Frequency Health - Information 1,556
100.0% 53,556 29.0 WebMD Health 290 18.6% 14,992 19.3 Revolution Health Network 201 12.9% 8,320 24.1
AOL Health 186 12.0% 8,780 21.2 Everyday Health 154
9.9% 10,355 14.8 MSN Health 109 7.0% 7,751 14.1 About.com Health 98
6.3% 7,242 13.5 Lifescript.Com 92 5.9% 3,406 27.0 Weight Watchers International 61 3.9% 1,962 31.0
Yahoo! Health 59 3.8% 7,902 7.5 AARP Sites 34
2.2% 1,696 20.3
Source: comScore Ad Metrix, September 2008 * Excludes house ads and very small ads For more information on comScore Pharmaceutical solutions and this Study, please visit here.