At present, most online publishers provide some information
relating to their sites' traffic. However, the proliferation of audience
measurements techniques - visits, hits, impressions and so on, can lead
to lack of credibility in the mind of the Irish media
planner. This lack of
uniform audience measurement is holding Ireland back from
experiencing the levels of growth in online advertising seen in other
markets.
Some of the leading Irish websites currently have their
log files independently audited but different websites are audited at
different times, and the figures are not published on a regular basis
to facilitate comparison across sites. These audits are often conducted
selectively, usually at a period when traffic peaks for the site being
audited (e.g. January for recruitment sites). In addition smaller
players
state that they can't afford the service.
Another measurement method is the research-centric approach
i.e. panel data, which does not incorporate site-centric data. Unlike
traditional mass media, the Internet needs a different approach to take
full advantage of its interactive potential.
While panel data has traditionally provided a very effective
and
accurate measurement system for television, radio and press; doubts
exists about over reliance on this approach owing to the highly
fragmented nature of the Internet. Most panel-based measurement systems
use small sample sizes to represent the behaviour of the much lager
Internet population. The problem of small samples size is also often
further exacerbated by offering incentives to panel members which can
result in sample bias. Some site owners complain of under
counting by research centric IAM which caters better for websites with
huge volumes of traffic. They claim that their audience share can be
under represented
by panel based measurement, while others complain that they fail to
appear at all.
Many sites favor having their site-centric data published by
an independent body which would provide a more complete picture of
Ireland’s internet usage habits. This, in turn, will
facilitate
comparisons for advertisers and media buyers.
Transparency is the best way to gain the trust of advertisers
who want verifiable, comparable metrics to guide their advertising
campaigns. Media buyers also want independent measurement that will
provide a clear picture of Internet usage across all
publishers’ sites and for it to be published regularly. This
allows them to conduct more targeted advertising campaigns with more
measurable results. Such measurability means a superior ROI from online
advertising campaigns. |
