Fairfax Digital has announced it will sell online display advertising for eBay.
The online trading site’s display ads were previously handled by Tempest Media, but eBay vice president Simon Smith said there were strong brand and audience synergies between eBay and Fairfax Digital, which were instrumental in Fairfax Digital’s success.
“This agreement means greater opportunity for advertisers to leverage eBay’s significantly higher than industry average click through rate and highly engaged audience, with each user spending an average of almost two hours per month on the site,” he said.
Fairfax Digital chief executive Jack Matthews said the inclusion of eBay in the Fairfax Digital advertising sales portfolio augments the company’s position as Australia’s leading online advertising network.
“Beyond allowing us to meet the increasing demand for advertising inventory, this agreement gives advertisers enhanced capabilities to reach consumers while they are in the process of making purchasing decisions,” he said.
The news comes just over one month after Sensis announced it would challenge the Australian dominance of eBay by launching online auctions on its Trading Post website.
Trading Post hoped to position itself as a “true Australian alternative” to eBay, with several points of difference designed to lure consumers away from the US giant.
In May this year, B&T reported that sellers on the Trading Post online auction would require an Australian address, blocking overseas traders, that listings would be free with Trading Post only taking a cut of successful sales.
Buyers from the Trading Post are also able to pay using a variety of methods, which Sensis is keen to contrast with eBay’s attempts to make consumers use the PayPal system.
eBay.com.ay had 5.2 million unique visitors in May 2008.
