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Targeted content has grown in importance to advertisers, with content-specific "synthetic channels" offering better returns through the more effective placement of their advertisements.

Get Rich With A Niche

When it comes to online advertising effectiveness, the tradeoff between reach and efficiency makes for a challenge for advertisers.

Jeremy Liew, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, had a couple of his posts on ad networks regarding reach, efficiency, and other topics combined into a nice, lengthy read on VentureBeat. He contends a growing need for ad networks exists, and the ones to fair best will deliver as targeted an audience as possible.

Liew used the term "synthetic channel" to describe a network of sites dedicated to a single topic. Sites that identify with a topic offer the advertiser higher revenue potential, even though these sites may not have the reach of a broader portal.

He gave an example of Autoblog, The Washington Post, and MySpace as potential destinations for a Toyota ad campaign. Even though Autoblog would have the lowest reach, its audience of car enthusiasts makes it more likely to deliver better revenue per thousand page views.

The message seems clear for site publishers, and really isn't a new one. Focus on a topic and master it as effectively as possible to make the website a destination for a core audience. A niche won't grab the same number of visitors as a MySpace or a Yahoo, but it could be productive enough to be valuable to advertisers.