May 26, 1996
Who's Doing All This Measuring?
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number of companies now are trying to
bring some calm to theseeming madness of measuring
traffic on World Wide Web sites -- and on the banners advertisers pay to place on those sites -- though
each has its own view of how and what to measure.
Devising more accurate and efficient methods of a Web site's popularity among Internet users is a battle that's
just now beginning.
"Staying ahead of the rapid pace of Internet evolution, including Java, VRML and digital certificates," said
Terry Myerson, president of Interse "is by far our biggest challenge today."
Interse's "Market Forces 2" is a leading Web-server software package that provides measurements of site
and ad-banner traffic. Similar independent third-party measurement services are offered by NPD's "PC-Meter",
Neilsen I/Pro, and NetCount. DoubleClick and Focalink's "Smart Banner" and "Market Match"
offer just-in-time advertising delivery, or ad-placement services, in addition to measuring the effectiveness of
ad banners. NetGravity's "AdServer" is a software package for Web-site managers that measures ad-banner traffic and
also customizes the banners and ensures that messages are rotated for thecharacteristics of site visitors.
Newshare's "Clickshare" measures Web traffic, but also includes a user registrationand micro-transaction
payment scheme.
As for the nuts-and-bolts of measuring the traffic, I/Pro uses sophisticated algorithms to infer Web-browsing
behavior, while NetCount uses a full count of all Web-server log files. Yet there are two roads to the actual
counting -- the Net surfer vs. the Webserver. PC-Meter tracks usage on a surfer's personal computer; I/Count
and NetCounttrack traffic on a Web site's server.
"Current measurement techniques are basically site-centric -- drawing conclusions fromthe number of visits that
occur on a particular Web site," said Pamela Smith, PC Meter's Marketing Director.
PC-Meter installs its software on a user's computer, and it currently is monitoring the moves of a panel of
3,000 potential Web-ad consumers. This panel is projected to reach 10,000 in order to increase predictive
accuracy. PC-Meter's software tracks all the files it finds open on a computer -- regardless of whether it's dialed
into the Internet -- as well the time the user spends with each file.
However, PC-Meter's small panel doesn't include education or business users, and focuses instead on home
users. Also, PC Meter's software can work only with IBM- compatible PCs.
I/Count and NetCount install their measurement software on the Web site's server to track each user's trip
through the site. It records such information as the user's domain address, pages viewed, and whether the user hits the
browser's "stop" button to abort any file download. Unlike PC-Meter's software, these measurement
software packages can't accurately measure site visits.
Newshare's "Clickshare" and Nielsen I/Pro's "I/Code" offer a one-stop user registration process. Once a user
is registered with Clickshare, for example, he or she can surf from Clickshare site to Clickshare site without having to
re- register at each stop. Clickshare registrants can also use their account with the company to pay what they
owe on any Web purchase. NetCount's "HeadCount" registration system is due out soon.
Clickshare, designed for publishing sites, tracks registered users to measure Web traffic across multiple,
unrelated servers. Currently, the Christian Science Monitor, American Reporter, and Studio Briefing
use the Clickshare system. I/Code registrants can choose from more than 20 sites, ranging from
Audio Net to Visa. Like their Clickshare counterparts, users registered with I/Code have only one ID and
password to remember. I/Code encourages registration through contests and sweepstakes.
And there are plenty of users who are willing to sign up to click around.
"Currently, a quarter million Web site users have registered for I/Code at a rate of approximately 50,000 a week,"
said I/Pro's public relation's manager, Erin Gaffaney.
For Web-site managers Eric Meyer of Newslink and Charlie Hofacker of Hall of Malls, however,
sophisticated measurement software and tracking services may be fine, but there's still nothing quite like a
bit of old-fashioned-- and far less expensive -- counting.
"I can easily use standard statistical analysis packages or one of the many Unix-based freeware programs to
give me the information I need," said Hofacker. "It comes down to a matter of trust between the advertiser and the
Web site," he said. "Measuring services or software are an additional expense that many Web sites might not be
able to afford."
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- Interse
- NPD (PC-Meter)
- Neilsen I/Pro (I/Count, I/Audit, I/Code and Java Count)
- NetCount (AdCount, NetCount and HeadCount)
- DoubleClick
- Focalink (Smart Banner and Market Match)
- NetGravity (AdServer)
- Newshare (Clickshare)
- Christian Science Monitor
- American Reporter
- Studio Briefing
- Newslink
- Hall of Malls
Copyright 1996 The New York Times Company