Rival web stat firms hook up for increased accuracy
Web monitoring services ComScore and Omniture are to combine their different methods of measuring traffic. The results could give a more accurate insight into Web site popularity and improve the relevance of adverts seen on sites.
The key to the partnership is that the two firms measure online behavior in different ways. Omniture provides analysis services to Web site owners by putting tracking code on their pages to capture data about who is visiting the site. As well as providing this data to the individual site owners, it collects all the data to find overall figures for Web use such as the operating system and browser used.
ComScore, meanwhile, works in a similar way to how television ratings are gathered: a panel of Web users agree to have tracking software installed on their machines and the firm tracks their online activity and then extrapolates it to estimate overall Web trends.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Omniture is able to gather precise details about every use who visits a site run by a client, but this doesn’t necessarily represent the Web as a whole. For example, people running sites as a hobby are less likely to want any analysis services, while very large corporations are more likely to produce such figures in-house.
ComScore is better able to give data for the Web as a whole. However, despite its best efforts, there’s no guarantee its panel of users accurately represents all Web users. In particular, the fact that panel members know they are being tracked likely means they are proportionally less likely to visit adult Web sites than the overall Web population.
The partnership will mean that companies using Omniture to track their site will also get demographic details from any ComScore panelists who visit their pages. Omniture clients will also be asked to have the results from their site passed over to ComScore, though this will be on a voluntary, opt-in basis<!–.
In theory, better quality of Web traffic data should mean sites have a more precise breakdown of their audience which means they can offer a more attractive outlet for advertisers hoping to better target their ads.
The announcement comes shortly after Omniture agreed to a $1.8 billion takeover deal from Adobe.
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