Introduction

Background

he Internet is poised to change the face of advertising for all traditional forms of media. In the past few years, advertisers have been increasing their Internet spending in an attempt to build a presence on the web, create a cyberbrand, sell products or services directly to their customers, and provide customer relations (Meeker 1997). According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, Internet ad spending is projected to reach $5.1 billion by the year 2000 (Internet News 1997). Internet ad revenues for 1997 as of November were $70 million (Internet News 1997). Although Internet advertising only represents 1.3% of total advertising spending, spending is on the rise. In the first quarter of 1997, the top 25 industries experienced a 92% increase in online advertising spending (CyberAtlas 1998).

As a result of this process, other media will be affected and forced to adjust and address the emergence of this new medium. According to Andrew Parsons of McKinsey and Company, "the spill-over effect from Internet innovations will start to reshape traditional marketing concepts and stimulate new creative approaches, expectations and measurement of traditional media" (1997, p. 5).

Although advertisers have demonstrated their interest in the Internet, they have yet to become completely convinced of the effectiveness of this medium. An obstacle in this process is the inability to accurately and effectively measure audiences on the Internet. The questions plaguing this process have not all been answered, or even formed, nor have all the possibilities been considered. The issue of measurement is really only a first step in addressing a greater problem--confusion in pricing Internet advertising.

If advertisers will pay, this venue will continue to grow. And for advertisers to continue to increase their online budgets, measurement systems will be necessary. Just as advertisers demand ratings data for other forms of media, they have the same requirements for the Internet. Unless this data can be provided and trusted, advertisers may be unwilling to explore the full potential of this medium.

How does this work?

For a user to visit a web site, files must be requested from a server. When this occurs, data of this transaction is stored in the server's web file.

What kind of information is stored?

The server can track behavior on the site, the user's host name, the date and time, the computer platform and browser used, the URL of origin, and the pages that are requested from the site. Unless registration is required, no demographic data is attained.

What can you do with this log data?

The web site sponsor can determine the most popular pages in the site, peak activity times, the length of time users spend on the site, and the pages from which users exit.