Online Accountability:
Gauging the Growing Demand for Audited Web Metrics
As readers increasingly flock to digital media—from online news and entertainment websites, to e-newsletters and blogs—advertisers are naturally following. Indeed, interactive advertising is the fastest growing-segment of the media business, with 2006 quarterly growth rates topping 30 percent on sales of $16.4 billion, according to one recently published study by eMarketer.
To better understand the challenges ABC members are facing in the online marketplace, ABC recently sponsored an online survey of online ad buyers that sought to identify some of the key issues and trends in online advertising measurement and accountability.
Key Survey Findings
- Eighty-three percent of respondents indicated they plan to increase online ad spending in 2007; more than half expect double-digit budget increases.
- Sixty-eight percent said they would prefer to advertise on websites audited by an independent third-party. Ad buyers also indicated they would be more inclined to advertise in new media such as podcasts, blogs, and mobile media if they were audited.
- Only 47 percent of advertising agencies and 33 percent of advertisers are confident that their online ad impressions are measured and reported accurately. More than 50 percent believe they have paid for undelivered ad impressions.
- Online marketers cited many benefits from independent third-party audited websites, among them: more reliable metrics, better post-buy analysis and evaluation and more confidence in online media buys.
To read the complete results of the survey, download the Executive Summary. (PDF*)
Recommendations
ABC supports the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) development of industry measurement, campaign reporting, and audit guidelines. The IAB has called for all ad-serving applications—both the counting methods and the surrounding processes and controls—to be independently audited in order to produce reliable, certified measurements. The American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers have also publicly supported this approach.
ABC recommends that our member organizations consider the following steps to meet the growing demand for online accountability:
For Publishers:
- Consider regular audits of website traffic activity. This will allow you to provide media planners and prospective advertisers with independently verified traffic data based on audits of your Web log files.
- Use ad-serving software from a firm that has it independently certified. Also, have your internal processes and controls audited annually. Process auditing evaluates the publisher’s infrastructure surrounding order entry, ad delivery and measurement, and billing. This is recommended to produce “certified” numbers for billing purposes, according to IAB guidelines.
- For publishers using off-the-shelf or internally developed ad-serving software, your technology and surrounding processes should be independently audited.
- Encourage websites to continually monitor discrepancies between third-party ad-server reporting and their own internal log files.
- Agencies that rely on their own third-party ad-serving numbers for client billing should verify that the ad serving technology has been audited and also commit to a process audit to have related internal controls and procedures evaluated.
- Because of the growing importance of digital across all platforms, educate planners and buyers across the spectrum about the intricacies of online reporting and ad-serving technologies.
- Examine the processes and procedures your advertising agency uses to measure, report, and bill for your online media campaigns to ensure that appropriate technologies and controls are audited.
- Consider a campaign-specific audit to verify that ad activity (impressions, click-throughs, conversions, etc.) is accurately measured during a specific period.
ABC can help you better understand the key trends and issues in online auditing. For more information on ABC’s interactive audit services, members are encouraged to fill out our online request form, or contact ABC’s senior vice president, marketing and sales, at (224) 366-6400.
Related Links:
ABC Interactive Audit Services
Brochure: ABC Interactive: ABC Interactive: Providing accountability, transparency, and independent verification for interactive advertisers and the media they use (PDF*)
A “Primer” on the Growing Demand for Online Auditing (PDF*)
*PDF files require the Adobe® Reader®. To download this free software, visit www.adobe.com.
