將網路流量轉換為廣告營收：以雙向網絡效應觀點

Abstract

隨著科技進步，許多新公司、國際品牌和廣告商都蜂擁到網路，在網路上他們可以利用蓬勃發展的電子商務和貨幣化擴散的網絡效應。然而，由於對於廣告的寬容度和隱私問題，許多學者對於Web 2.0網站廣告收入的經營收入模式都持懷疑的態度。本文以一個雙向網絡效應的觀點，對於瀏覽者行為和特定屬性網站所產生的流量和收入，研究廣告效果與網站設計的相互作用。我們的研究目的有三個面向：（1）找出影響入口網站廣告收入的因素為何;（2）指出網站內容和廣告收入之間的平衡，這是一種權衡─應該增加瀏覽者的黏性，還是提高廣告數量以增加收入；（3）確認點擊率（CTR）對於廣告主是否是一個有效衡量網站廣告投資的指標。研究資料的網站流量和廣告收入來自台灣一個重要的入口網站，樣本期間從2006年1月至2008年12月，我們也將網站流量裡的瀏覽者特性分為三種類型：資訊蒐集、娛樂休閒、線上購物。分析結果顯示，常用的點擊率指標並沒有顯著影響廣告收入；然而，瀏覽者的黏性才是影響廣告收入的重要指標。此外，瀏覽者的黏性和網站上的內容質量具高度相關，也會產生更高的廣告收入。

Tech startups, national brands and advertisers are flocking to internet community. They are taking advantage of the tremendous growth of e-community building and monetizing the diffused networking effects. However, because of ad tolerance and privacy issues, many researchers are skeptical of the revenue model that operates solely on the basis of advertising revenue generated by Web 2.0 sites. This paper takes a platform perspective by focusing on browser’s behavior and its interplay with website design to investigate advertising effectiveness on designated traffic flows and the revenue generated by web portals. Our research objective is threefold: (1) to determine the factors that impact a web portal’s advertising revenue; (2) to identify the balance between websites’ quality content and advertising revenue, which is the trade-off between browsers’ stickiness to the website and aversion to advertisements; (3) to determine whether the click-through rate (CTR) is a valid metric for assessing advertisers’ investment in a website. Samples of website traffic and advertising revenue from January 2006 to December 2008 were generated from a leading web portal in Taiwan. Data on website traffic were classified into three types of browser traffic: for information search, for digital entertainment, and for online shopping. The analysis results indicate that the prevalent CTR does not significantly influence advertising revenue. Browser’s stickiness, however, is the key predictor of advertising revenue. In addition, browser’s stickiness and quality content on the website are highly correlated, a relation that generates higher advertising revenue.