Top Web Behavior #9: Create an account
“When you create an account on a website, you’re helping that site in a one-two punch. First, you’re boosting their member count, helping them present a strong case to their advertisers: ads on large sites are more expensive than those on smaller sites. Second, now the site knows who they’re showing an ad to. They know about your interests from data they’ve gathered, they probably have some demographics about you, and they even know how often you click on ads. This enables them to carefully target the ads you see, and targeted advertising commands a large premium. In our research, we’ve found that nearly all of the top 20 sites on the web ask users to create an account.”