• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, May 16, 2005

The overall number of online display impressions declined to 91.4 billion in April, from 97.1 billion in March, according to new data from Nielsen//NetRatings' AdRelevance unit. Web media ads accounted for 20 percent of all April impressions--the same proportion as in April 2004, but more than in March, when such ads accounted for 19 percent of all online display impressions, and February, when they represented 17.9 percent.

Ads hawking investment advice, credit assistance, loans, and other financial services accounted for 19 percent of online impressions--down slightly from last April, when they were responsible for 20 percent of display ads, as well as March, when they accounted for 20 percent of online ads, and February, when they represented 20.6 percent of online ads.

Retail goods and services marketers accounted for 14 percent of online ads--less than the 15 percent of ads purchased by retailers in April 2004. Impressions from telecoms were responsible for 13 percent of online ads--more than last month's 10 percent, March's 9 percent, and 10 percent one year ago April.

Travel ads represented 6 percent of online impressions, down from 7 percent one year ago; such ads also represented 7 percent of display advertising in March.

Where did marketers place their Internet ads? The three most popular destinations were once again sites devoted to e-mail, portals, and search engines, and general and national news sites. E-mail sites garnered 18.2 percent of impressions last month--slightly lower than last April's 18.6 percent. Portals and search engines captured 15 percent of impressions--down from last year's 19.5 percent--and general and national news sites accounted for 12.6 percent, which was greater than last year's 9.1 percent.

Specifically, MSN Hotmail garnered 7.7 percent of ads--a decline from last year's 9.6 percent, while Yahoo! Mail captured 7.3 percent of impressions, down from last year's 7.8 percent. Relative newcomer Myspace continued to grow in popularity with advertisers, claiming 4.4 percent of online ad impressions--up from 3.7 percent in March.