By Steve Rubel - Over the next several years it's going to get harder to reach the most influential online consumers through an Internet advertising staple: the banner ad. "What?" you say. "That's heresy. The IAB just reported first-quarter online ad revenue hit a new high of $3.9 billion." Dig deeper, however, and you will find there is a tectonic shift quietly taking place.
Slow growth at top sites - Audience growth at most of the top sites is slowing. According to a recent comScore Media Metrix report, Yahoo is still the largest site on the Web but its audience is growing at an anemic 5%. The same is true for the other top portals, with the exception of Google.