This month, the Opinion Research Corporation conducted a survey for Adfusion, the article-based ad network division of ARAnet. While it should probably come as little surprise that the survey found that articles that include brand information were the preferred source of online advertising, it’s nice to hear that all forms of online ads saw a reported increase over last year when consumers were asked about how likely they were to act on that ad.

That may be because an article-based ad network was paying for the study—but it may also have to do with the nature of marketing articles. Unlike less successful ad categories like banners and popups, marketing articles usually don’t just sneak up on you and foist themselves upon you. Usually, this is information you’re seeking out because you’re already fairly far along in the purchasing funnel.

Email offers came in a close second. Search ads also performed well, with 40% reporting they were “somewhat” or “very likely” to act upon them.

After reading online articles, consumers are also turning more and more to search. Last year, 50% of consumers “somewhat” or “very frequently” turned to searches after reading articles, and this year 57% reported that behavior, with that rising up to 72% for 25 to 34 year olds.

The survey was conducted last week among a sample of 1,053 adults comprising 509 men and 544 women 18 years old and older.

What do you think? Is article marketing really that effective? Is it widespread enough to warrant your efforts? What kind of marketing are you most likely to act upon?