ABCe figures: Traffic debate - Revolution provides the latest ABC figures for the digital sector

advertisers.

JICIMS members, led by the IAB and IPA Digital, are to work with the NRS
to develop a regular survey of top-line figures on the UK's online
audience, with the first set of results due to be published in March
2007.

However, this new survey will not replace existing studies. Instead, it
aims to build on the site-side traffic figures provided by ABCe and
audience-side measures from companies such as Nielsen//NetRatings,
ComScore and Hitwise to give media planners and buyers a clear - and
deep - view of users.

Online audience

Some might argue that a new set of data for web audiences will increase
the confusion. But, the industry disagrees. The NRS study will tell
advertisers who makes up the online audience and how big it is, while
ABCe ensures web site traffic is measured in a standardised fashion.
Panel-based studies such as ComScore's detail how individual users
behave on the web, giving information on where they go, how they get
there and what they do.

Richard Foan, managing director of ABCe, is positive about the new data:
"Used together, all these measures should tell a buyer the general
population, the usage of particular sites, and how campaigns and web
sites are actually performing in terms of converting visitors."

Alex White, director of the UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP),
agrees: "Site-centric and audience-centric data are complementary - they
measure different things. Web users consume content in a variety of
ways, so media owners will be interested in a variety of metrics,
depending on their business model, and the profile and behaviour of
their audience. We need to look at the bigger media picture, rather than
in-fighting about which metrics are the most important."

In terms of basic site traffic numbers, ABCe-audited figures have become
the standard. ABCe doesn't measure traffic to individual web sites, but
audits the way in which each site measures it. Then, ABCe offers its
stamp of approval when a site is shown to be measuring traffic in
accordance with standards set by JICWEBs (Joint Industry Committee for
Web Standards) (see box).

To most, a wider acceptance of ABCe audits is crucial to gain greater
trust of online channels among media buyers.

Rallying call

Wayne Arnold, co-founder of Profero and the new IPA Digital chairman,
has issued a rallying call to the sector, asking that it develop ways of
measuring users' 'engagement' with brands through all channels. But, in
the meantime, he believes passionately that the sector should accept
base measures such as ABCe and the new NRS survey.

"When it comes to questions like 'Is JICIMS' move to work with the
National Readership Survey to launch a quarterly internet audience
survey a good idea?', my answer is unequivocally, 'Yes, let's get on
with it and move on'," says Arnold.

"Measures like ABCe and NRS will give you your building blocks - your
base - and that's important. It tells you, if you're planning a
campaign, where traffic is likely to be and how much. But, then we need
to look at something that measures how well your campaign did."

Acceptance of ABCe as a base measure for site traffic figures is
growing.

Recently, News International joined Guardian Unlimited and Sky.com in
signing up for monthly audits of The Sun and The Times' sites. More
deals like these will help ABCe become a default standard easily
understood by advertisers.

Alex White says: "Accountability builds trust, and trust builds the
business.

Publishers need to be very clear with agencies and clients that they
know where their figures come from. It's particularly important for AOP
members as trusted media brands to have trusted, audited data.

Competitive advantage

"ABCe has adapted considerably in response to the developing industry
and it's now possible to get audits for email distribution, audio and
video streams, chat durations, interactive TV ad impressions and
podcasts, and the list goes on," says White. "One of our members, CNET
Networks, had an audit of the demographic profile of one of its web
sites' audience, which gained them substantial competitive
advantage."

She adds:"It's even more important for niche and specialist sites to be
audited in order for agencies to trust their numbers."

Laurence Bird, research manager at the IAB, is keen for the new NRS
survey to be seen as complementary to the ABCe audits. "We are very
happy that ABCe is in the market doing what it is doing and, in the
future, we hope to be working even closer with them."

Clarity is beginning to be delivered in terms of audited web site
traffic, and the size and demographics of the internet universe.
However, audience measurement remains a battleground between commercial
players.

White says: "AOP sees the commissioning by JICIMS of the new definitive
population survey as a crucial first step towards a planning currency
that will enable digital publishers in the UK to provide their clients
with consistent audience readership data at a level comparable with
other media. It is important to realise the population study is a first
step and not the currency itself. That could still be a way off. But, if
providers like Nielsen and ComScore weight their panel data to the
JICIMS population survey, this ought to improve consistency
meanwhile."

For their part, providers of audience statistics agree that there could
be confusion among advertisers, thanks to the competition for acceptance
as the best standard. However, they also argue that the competition has
its upsides. Piers Dodds, VP of marketing solutions at Comscore, points
out: "It isn't easy for marketers, but we all strive to provide
reputable numbers - we just do it in different ways. We think there is
room in the market for different players. We'd love to be the incumbent,
but the competition keeps us all on our toes and means that innovation
is continuous."

In the meantime, the ABCe-audited traffic figures listed here offer a
simple way for advertisers to compare traffic to sites within defined
sectors. Recruitment sites continue to prove the most committed to
audits.

Categories have also been refined this time around, offering clearer
sections for comparision.

ABOUT THE FIGURES

The tables below show web site traffic figures that have been audited by
ABCe and have been released by the site owner for public
consumption.

Only the figures for each web site's most recent audit are
published.

ABCe is a not-for-profit body that administers JICWEBS (Joint Industry
Committee for Web Standards) in the UK and Ireland. JICWEBS develops
standards for measuring the use and effectiveness of sites and online
advertising campaigns and gives definitions for terms such as 'page
impressions', 'unique users', 'visits' and 'visit duration'.

Web sites are organised by sector and alphabetically by URL
thereafter.

AUDITED SITES

URL/ PAGE UNIQUE LAST

PUBLISHER IMPRESSIONS USERS AUDIT

NOT-FOR-PROFIT

www.businesslink.gov.uk

Small Business Service 3,684,823 422,279 Jun-05



www.businesslink.gov.uk/kent

Small Business Service 21,895 2,389 Jun-05



www.direct.gov.uk

Central Office of Information 6,623,244 1,018,508 Aug-05



www.ipa.co.uk

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising 557,757 16,047 Jan-06



www.ppa.co.uk

Periodical Publishers Association 145,873 23,108 Nov-05



www.scotland.gov.uk

The Scottish Executive 3,765,658 407,053 Nov-05



www.ucas.com

Universities & Colleges Admission Service 67,289,583 1,330,969 Nov-05



www.ukaop.org.uk

Association of Online Publishers 13,966 3,652 Apr-06





PUBLISHING - B2B

www.ameinfo.com

AME Info 4,576,158 752,438 Mar-06



www.applegate.co.uk

Applegate 6,849,048 1,620,853 May-06



www.bmj.com

BMJ Publishing Group 6,223,190 931,527 Oct-05



www.brandrepublic.com

Haymarket 1,229,012 152,133 Nov-05



www.edie.net

Faversham House Group 508,734 76,009 Oct-05



www.inpharm.com

InPharm Internet Services 263,530 25,110 Nov-05



www.inretail.co.uk

InRetail 1,590,765 83,890 Feb-06



www.mad.co.uk

Centaur Holdings 563,367 54,170 Nov-05



www.newscientist.com

Reed Business Information 9,931,858 1,693,469 Oct-05



www.silicon.com

CNET Networks 2,341,458 529,223 Oct-05





PUBLISHING - B2B cont



www.thelawyer.com

Centaur Holdings 1,212,504 83,605 Nov-05



www.theregister.co.uk

Situation Publishing 28,287,472 4,122,526 Nov-05



www.totallylegal.com

Totallyfinancial.com 1,195,693 40,303 Oct-05



www.vnunet.com Network

VNU Business Publications 8,535,794 2,189,367 Oct-05



www.vnunet.com IT Pro

VNU Business Publications 4,292,717 1,557,292 Oct-05



www.warc.com

World Advertising Research Centre 399,230 39,823 Nov-05



www.zdnet.co.uk

CNET Networks 10,582,249 2,118,578 Nov-05





PUBLISHING - NEWSPAPERS

www.dailymail.co.uk

Associated New Media 17,499,167 2,432,103 Mar-06



www.ft.com

Pearson 41,012,007 5,458,019 Mar-06



www.guardian.co.uk

Guardian Newspapers 136,765,282 13,371,904 May-06



www.kentonline.co.uk

Kent Messenger Group 2,034,841 112,626 Jan-06



www.metro.co.uk

Associated Metro 2,609,293 225,643 Mar-06



Newsquest Media Group

Newsquest Media Group 23,860,886 2,394,416 May-05



www.scotsman.com

The Scotsman Publications 20,768,190 2,822,521 Jan-06



www.telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph Newspapers 47,322,054 5,626,258 May-06



www.thesun.co.uk

News Group Newspapers 120,647,765 6,143,503 Apr-06



www.thisislondon.co.uk

Associated New Media 8,020,647 1,557,772 Mar-06



The 'This is' network

Northcliffe Electronic Publishing 44,891,480 1,731,809 Mar-06



www.timesonline.co.uk

Times Newspapers 56,729,545 7,973,875 Apr-06





PUBLISHING - MAGAZINES/BROADCAST

www.gaydarradio.com

QSoft Consulting 2,049,555* 603,964** May-06



www.hellomagazine.com

Hello! Magazine 16,936,668 829,692 Apr-06



www.radiotimes.com

BBC Magazines 18,401,534 1,214,805 May-06



www.sky.com

BSkyB 444,570,235 12,954,184 May-06





LIFESTYLE/COMMUNITY

www.arsenal.com

Arsenal FC 27,193,152 1,656,239 Jan-06



www.beautyguild.com

Guild of Professional Beauty Therapists 238,010 21,799 Mar-06



www.confetti.co.uk

Confetti Network 18,561,216 729,061 Jan-06



www.eurogamer.net

Eurogamer Network 9,894,919 1,239,467 May-06



www.friendsreunited.co.uk

Friends Reunited 282,047,807 6,150,159 Jan-06



www.getlippy.com

Press Holdings 3,080,700 348,991 Jan-06



www.girlguiding.org.uk

The Guide Association 841,821 79,841 May-05



www.habbohotel.co.uk

Sulake Corporation 148,661,499 4,420,090 Nov-05



www.handbag.com

Press Holdings 28,479,908 1,322,786 Sep-05



www.ivillage.co.uk

iVillage Ltd and iVillage 35,124,109 3,496,759 Jan-06



www.liverpoolfc.tv

Liverpool FC 64,029,432 2,909,421 Jul-05



www.pigsback.com

Pigsback.com 9,142,556 271,206 Mar-06



www.skiclub.co.uk

Ski Club of Great Britain 4,178,150 298,597 Jan-06



www.tes.co.uk

TSL Education 22,526,994 572,081 Mar-06



www.topgear.com

BBC Magazines 11,485,128 962,469 May-06



www.upmystreet.com

uSwitch Group 11,241,247 1,203,717 May-06



www.virgin.net

NTL 30,490,688 1,705,638 Jan-06





FINANCE

www.efinancialnews.com

eFinancialNews 1,387,329 71,900 Mar-06



www.find.co.uk

Omnium Communications 635,697 184,428 May-05



www.iii.co.uk

Interactive Investor 15,754,316 549,541 May-06



www.lloydslist.com

Informa 819,065 50,520 Mar-06



www.thisismoney.co.uk

Associated New Media 7,272,786 572,624 Mar-06



www.totallyfinancial.com

Totallyfinancial.com 422,298 31,502 Oct-05





CLASSIFIEDS

www.autotrader.co.uk

Trader Media Group 349,719,518 6,347,601 Apr-06



www.businessesforsale.com

Dynamis 5,182,756 286,692 Jan-06



www.cheapflights.co.uk

Cheapflights 17,975,657 2,765,916 Jan-06



www.findaproperty.com

FindaProperty.com 89,882,677 1,423,945 Oct-05



www.parkers.co.uk

EMAP 19,971,999 1,005,658 Mar-06



www.rightmove.co.uk

Rightmove 222,451,607 2,591,661 Sep-05



www.teletextholidays.co.uk

Teletext 29,723,913 2,605,433 Jul-05





RECRUITMENT

www.accountancyagejobs.com

VNU Business Publications 348,819 45,163 Nov-05



www.anderselite.com

CDI Anderselite 590,474 59,247 Apr-06



www.bmjcareers.com

BMJ Publishing Group 5,840,574 173,775 Apr-06



www.cityjobs.co.uk

Jobsite UK 1,391,655 92,712 Jan-06



www.cwjobs.co.uk

Totaljobs Group 5,383,486 335,027 Mar-06



www.doctorjob.com

GTI Specialist Publishers 923,681 79,433 Mar-06



www.efinancialcareers.com

eFinancialNews 6,874,688 506,189 Nov-05



www.exec-appointments.com

Exec-Appointments 1,008,089 117,201 Nov-05



www.executivesontheweb.com

Executivesontheweb.com 731,231 78,145 Feb-06



www.fish4jobs.co.uk

Fish4 Trading 32,789,352 1,640,804 Nov-05



www.gaapweb.com

Financial Jobs Online 1,208,066 81,003 Nov-05



www.graduate-jobs.com

Graduate-jobs.com 613,749 - Jul-05



www.grocerjobs.co.uk

William Reed Publishing 568,067 31,834 Nov-05



www.hotonline.com

Hotgroup 15,396,233 1,067,323 Jan-06



www.inpharm.com/careers

InPharm Internet Services 164,076 13,625 Nov-05



www.jobs.brandrepublic.com

Haymarket 395,011 35,248 Nov-05



www.jobs.mad.co.uk

Centaur Holdings 176,839 17,960 Nov-05



www.jobs.scotsman.com

The Scotsman Publications 461,688 32,806 Nov-05



www.jobs.telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph Newspapers 776,221 78,136 Nov-05



www.jobs.timesonline.co.uk

Times Newspapers 1,125,154 115,870 Nov-05



www.jobs.ac.uk

Jobs.ac.uk 4,114,745 345,520 Nov-05



www.jobs.guardian.co.uk

Guardian Newspapers 15,662,851 685,116 May-06



www.jobsgopublic.com

jobsgopublic 4,361,169 152,478 Nov-05



www.jobsgroup.net

JobsGroup.net 1,984,982 153,387 Nov-05



www.jobsite.co.uk

Jobsite UK 17,532,767 1,039,438 Jan-06



www.londonjobs.co.uk

Associated New Media 3,438,581 241,183 Jan-06



www.manchesteronline.co.uk/jobs

GMG Regional Digital 973,734 55,798 Nov-05



www.monster.co.uk

Monster Network 22,683,413 1,232,404 Sep-05



www.nijobs.com

Keyland 1,416,210 51,132 Jan-06



www.prospects.ac.uk

Graduate Prospects 5,923,060 520,840 Mar-06



www.s1jobs.com

s1now 7,669,241 210,685 Nov-05



www.scottishjobs.com

Keyland 1,023,762 118,246 Jan-06



www.scotcareers.co.uk

Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail 1,661,948 110,401 Mar-06



www.tesjobs.co.uk

TSL Education 14,004,635 383,096 Mar-06



www.thecareerengineer.com

The Career Engineer 588,773 52,667 Nov-05



www.tiptopjob.com

TipTopJob 1,226,961 157,412 Mar-06



www.totaljobs.com

Totaljobs Group 28,455,083 1,992,927 Mar-06



www.totaljobs.nl

Totaljobs Group 4,402,894 358,261 May-05



www.workthing.com

Hotgroup 17,521,061 1,245,110 Jan-06



As published on www.abce.org.uk as of 20 July 2006

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