Yahoo outstrips rivals as preferred portal

Hong Kong - When it comes to portal front pages, Yahoo Hong Kong dominates the market at 71.4% ahead of its nearest rival MSN Hong Kong with a 3.3% share, according to Hitwise data.

Alfred Tsoi (pictured), managing director for Yahoo Hong Kong, said Yahoo is widely recognised as a must-visit portal.

"We help make the most of the internet, delivering users with an online starting point that's most relevant, fulfilling and fun."

He said 2009 marks the company's 10th anniversary and the team is very thankful for the community's continued loyal support.

Tsoi observed as more Hong Kongers embrace internet, advertisers are also changing the way they use internet to reach out to their audience.

He said advertisers love to promote their branding with the use of banner ads, while keyword search and sponsored search have been their must in capturing sales leads for hard core promotions. 

He believed having a principal position in both search and display advertising is critical to creating that long-term value to advertisers. 

Tsoi added they have already taken important steps to transform Yahoo from selling primarily just their owned-and-operated inventory to an advertising platform company that delivers comprehensive, integrated, and targeted solutions both on and off Yahoo's network.  

Yahoo Hong Kong's core audience are affluent, educated and mainstream economic drivers including bloggers ranging from 3 to 93 years old as well as users between 25  to 35 looking for a stable relationship on personals, for auctions or e-commerce.  

According to Synovate Asiabus, almost 70% respondents set Yahoo Hong Kong as their default homepage with almost 80% most often use Yahoo search.

Advertisers on Yahoo Hong Kong range from global brands, banking industry, government authorities, education sector to personal care.

Top 10 Portal Frontpages  (Week ending 28 March)

Source: Hitwise Hong Kong