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ABC Interactive: Online Accountability for ABC Members
What is ABCi?
ABC established ABCi in 1996 in response to the needs of the advertising community for independent, third-party audits of online activity and to establish industry standards for Web site activity for ABC members.
Why an ABCi Audit?
An audit from ABCi provides media buyers and sellers with independent, third-party verification of online activity. ABCi independently verifies Web site activity to provide an accurate portrayal of online activity and delivery. The results of the audit are compiled in a standardized, comparable ABCi Audit Report.
An ABCi audit provides media buyers with several assurances, including:
- Elimination of internal data manipulation
- Elimination of external data manipulation
- Identification of new and changing external data manipulation mechanisms
- Correction of record keeping errors
- Performed and reported to industry standards
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Web site activity is measured in three metrics: counts, ratings and audits. Do you know the difference between the three?
Counts
A count is a numerical tabulation of online transactions that is pulled from the server log. Because a count is generated by the Web site itself, it is not an objective illustration of the site’s total activity.
Ratings
Ratings services measure audience activity at the user level, but the size and composition of the sample can vary and yield questionable results. For a comprehensive view of online activity, the sample-based ratings data should be included in an independent, third-party audit.
Audits
An audit analyzes, evaluates and verifies the counts generated by the Web site activity logs. An audit can also examine the sample-based ratings data for a complete analysis of a Web site’s activity.
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ABCi is also able to work with many of the leading third-party measurement companies to facilitate the verification process.
Who should use ABCi?
Enrollment in ABCi is open to any Web site that is currently affiliated with a member of ABC.
ABCi will audit any record keeping system whether the member or an external counting system supplies the data. Review the site requirements necessary to conduct an ABCi audit.
How is an ABCi Audit Conducted?
An ABCi audit verifies Web activity during a specified reporting period, including total page impressions and average page impressions. Members can also report unique users, visits and the top requested pages.
An ABCi audit features four components: an analytical review, systems validation, data confirmation, and audit results.
An ABCi auditor begins the Web site auditing by collecting and filtering the Web server logs. ABCi auditors also run specialized computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs) against the summarized files to identify programmatic (robots) or non-human generated traffic, to detect if there was any duplication in the log files, and to ensure that the generated Web traffic is valid.
The results of the audit are released on an ABCi Audit Report. The Audit Report features page impressions and can also include visits, unique users and the top requested pages. Members can also report their online activity on their circulation Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports.
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ABCi by the Numbers
300 – more than 300 ABCi audits are issued each year.
75 – there are currently 75 ABC members enrolled in the ABCi audit program.
30 – ABCi audit reports are issued within 30 days of the close of the reporting period.
June 27, 1996 – ABCi issued its first Web site audit for DATAMATION, a magazine Web site hosted by Cahners Publishing Company.
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More information on ABCi can be found on the ABCi Web site. For pricing and enrollment information, members are encouraged to contact
at 720-324-0558.
Related Links:
ABCi FAQs
Glossary of ABCi Terms
How to Prepare for an ABCi Audit
Web Site Requirements
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