Michael Barrett, Geocities' 35-year-old ad director, concedes that the image of GeoCities as a high-traffic, low-value enterprise is the "initial perception about building your brand in a self-publishing environment." But he counters that argument by pointing out that "there's a user passion that you don't get at slick, professionally produced sites. And it's reflected in a much better click-through rate." He claims that 4 percent of visitors click through ads on GeoCities' pages, as opposed to the industry standard 1 percent. "Top national advertisers are less concerned with the quality of the material than the fact that it means something to someone, and that they can tap into that enthusiasm," he claims.
Maybe so. Of course, pro wrestling has enthusiastic fans as well and it's not exactly considered prime real estate for advertisers. GeoCities is "not getting a Wall Street Journal demographic," agrees Peter Storck, head ad analyst at Jupiter Communications. "It remains to be seen how valuable the ad space around amateur content is."