Consim Info is the top advertiser in the personal or matrimonial sector (in terms of number of campaigns) accounting for more than half of the advertising activity in this sector during Jun-August this year. In the travel sector, MakeMytrip is the category leader, contributing 23 per cent to the total online ad activity in the sector. Education is the third most advertised sector in the online space, led by Amity University (14 per cent).

Said The Nielsen Company associate director - online division Karthik Nagarajan, "Display advertising is expected to substantially expand in India, as internet penetration accelerates and given the substantially lower costs involved in advertising online. It is an industry that has seen rapid growth in the past couple of years and has the potential to give traditional forms of advertising a run for their money. Keeping tabs on ad spending and campaigns in this space, it is definitely going to help marketers plan their strategies accordingly."

In terms of number of campaigns, the top two advertisers are Consim and People Interactive - both predominantly advertising for their matrimonial/personals business. Consim accounts for eight per cent of the total number of campaigns during June-August 2009 and People Interactive accounts for four per cent. Info Edge is the third biggest player (three per cent) advertising mainly for their employment business.

According to the Nielsen Online AdRelevance report, Times Internet, Yahoo and Sify were among the leading publishers for online display advertising in India. 24 per cent of all online campaigns during June-August 2009 included Times Internet properties. For Yahoo, that number was 21 per cent.