Over the last three years, a number of sites have become recognised as the first port of call for many Internet users. Such sites - effectively gateways to the wider web for millions of users are often called portal sites. The three largest such sites, according to Forrester Research, are Yahoo!, America Online and MSN. Many millions more users visit these three sites than all other sites. Recent Media Metrix figures show that AOL has 53 million unique visitors each month, while Yahoo!, coming second receives 40 million visitors. Overall, AOL, Yahoo! and MSN represent 15% of all Internet traffic - and 45% of advertising spend. This strength has enabled such portal sites to have enormous market valuations - and enables them to charge top rates for advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Whether such sites will retain their current market power is uncertain however. According to research from Jupiter, only 57% of retailers say that the rates charged have proved worthwhile. Many mid-tier - but still significant brands such as Excite and Lycos are expected to see their share of the online advertising market fall from 5% in 1999 to under 1% by 2004, with advertisers seeking cheaper ways to acquire customers. Similar falls are also expected for the three leaders - with advertisers seeking more targeted avenues to focus attention on. These are likely to include niche sites serving narrow user communities or vertical interest groups - and have been called vortals (or vertical portals). Advertising revenues for the major vortal sites are expected to rise from 20% of total advertising spend in 1999 - to 24% by 2004, while other niche sites, currently capturing 11% of expenditure will gain 24% of total advertising spend in the same time.

Although portals and vortals are similar in many respects - both being starting points for subsequent routes to the web - they also differ in a number of ways. The main aim of a portal service is to be the place that users always start their web browsing from. Ideally this will be the default page that loads on their browser the moment they connect to the Internet. As such, many ISP sites offering custom browser versions, for example, with their home page as the default page can be viewed as portals. However, to be really successful, portal sites also need sufficient content and features to ensure frequent revisits - and ideally encourage the user to stay on the site for some time. The sites need to be "sticky" - and it is the relative ?stickiness? of a site that will determine its success as a portal or vortal. Portals differ from vortals in that they need a greater breadth of information content - and ideally a directory of web sites or access to a search engine. Strong branding is important in encouraging repeat visits and many portals now include added services such as free e-mail, discussion and chat groups, shopping and e-commerce links, news and other information.

In contrast to the breadth required by a portal service, successful vortal services need depth in their chosen area. Vortal sites will also include news, chat forums and search directories for example. However these tend to be restricted to the specific niche interest of the vortal. It is this that makes the site attractive to both users and advertisers. Users can do a search - and know that they are more likely to find something relevant to their specialised interest. Companies can target their advertising to a narrower and more focused customer segment. Vortal sites will often be secondary destinations - and it is possible that some portal sites will become feeders to the vortal sites. Already Yahoo! has developed a number of sub-brands, which can be viewed as vortals. These include Yahoo! Seniors, and Yahooligans for children.

The best vortals will aim to develop a sense of community among users. This can come from focusing on a particular national, ethnic or cultural area - Virtual Jerusalem, for example focuses on the Jewish community world-wide, and is an example of a successful vortal. Vortal sites can also concentrate on particular subject interests or professions. The Motley Fool web site is a prime example - where people work and learn from each other for stock market investment, while SIFT is an award winning site offering a number of services aimed at supporting accountants in the UK. These services include business news, discounted company information, advice and industry news. Essentially, as these examples show, successful vortals need to build a critical mass - ensuring regular repeat visits. This will come from the services and content included on the site - as well as the effort exerted in marketing and publicising the brand. The more that people visit a site, the more it adds to what people are coming for - and without new and repeat visitors such sites will die, as the community element disappears.