I always like it when I find research that confirms my earlier statements, like when I called cost-per-click ads evil. MediaPost recently pulled together a number of ad research studies and distilled some of the goodness in one place.
Among the more interesting results:
Fulgoni’s research found that online ads have a positive impact even without clickthroughs. There is a lift in site visitation of 4 to 6 percent from display ads, even without a click. The increase in lift over a control is 65 percent in the first week and 45.7% in weeks 1 to 4.
“Even with no clicks or minimal clicks, online display ads can generate substantial lift in site visitation, trademark search queries and lift in both online and offline sales. The only reason we have the focus on clicks is that they can be measured.
Told you so.
Eat Sleep Publish is a Seattle-based blog that explores the difficulties and opportunities currently facing the publishing industry. 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Good post Jason. It’s nice to say I told you so. I also posted about this topic today, along with some other reports/surveys. Thought you might enjoy:
Data On The Web Display Ad Market
Link to to the MediaPost article seems to be incomplete. Here’s the proper link.
Thanks JohnB, fixed the link in the post!