More users purchase a product advertised on a media site they frequent than on a social-media site or a general Web portal, according to a survey by Harris Interactive and the Online Publishers Association set to be released Tuesday. The online survey of more than 2,900 people showed that 8% of respondents had bought something after seeing an ad on a media site, while 5% had made a purchase after seeing an ad on a portal and 2% had done so based on a social-media advertisement. The OPA is the trade group for online publishers such as ABC News and the Weather Channel as well Wall Street Journal Digital, the publisher of this blog. 

The study indicated that users were more likely to believe that advertisers on media Web sites were more reputable and that such feelings were related to trust the users had in the sites.

“I imagine there’s a screening process that allows only the best of the best to advertise,” one of the study participants told the researchers in describing the advertising on the site. The idea was a common one among interviewees, said Stuart Schneiderman, the research director of the OPA. “They will say they believe ad sales teams for these sites do due diligence,” he said. “Even if that’s more perception than reality.”

What’s behind such attitudes toward advertising on media sites? Pam Horan, president of the OPA, theorized that users develop a deeper relationship with media sites because they are already more tailored to their interests.

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