I have a new favorite web tool: Ghostery. This web browser plug-in tells you all of the tracking systems running behind the scenes on web sites. I’ve seen it identify web analytics, ad serving systems, ad networks, behavioral targeting networks, rich media targeting technologies, and content syndication services. Some of the technologies I’ve noticed are Doubleclick, AddToAny, NetRatings SiteCensus, Google Analytics, MSN Ads, Fox Audience Network, Quantcast, OpenAds, Omniture, ComScore Beacon and Crowd Science … over 200 in all. The tool was developed to help individuals see web...

I’ll be doing a webinar tomorrow, Thursday June 10, at 1:00 PM Eastern for Media Life Magazine on “The Future of Online Measurement.” Among the topics I’ll be covering are: How online media continues to fragment / converge online and what that means to media buyers (and media companies). Which metrics to use and what data you can trust. What current tools you can use to evaluate online media buys and what they can and can’t do today. How GRP can be applied to online media buys. What the future holds for online evaluation tools designed to help you as a media buyer /...

Just did a webinar this morning with Media Life and BPA on the challenges of web traffic measurement from an advertiser perspective. Key points: Total traffic to a web site can be impacted three different ways: unique visitors per month, visits per unique per month, and page views per visit. Most important metrics to an advertiser: page views per month, page views per visit, uniques per month, visits per month. A site with high page views per visit isn’t necessarily a good thing. I expose seven games publishers can play with metrics to look bigger to advertisers. The positives/negatives of the...

Here’s another video clip from the Catalyst Investors Digital Media Panel last year. In this clip I talk about email metrics that we were using at Aspire/Interweave to measure the ROI of each marketing email we sent out, the value of a subscriber, and how certain metrics can be hard numbers. But I also talk about how you have to know the caveats surrounding these metrics and take them with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that Aspire/Interweave is a consumer enthusiast media company, so the bulk of our revenues were generated by readers, not advertisers. In that sense, we were more akin to an...

Just wanted to invite everyone to attend a free webinar I’m hosting about online metrics for publishers and media planners. The webinar will cover: How to select compare sites and select the right one for your client / and how to sell your site versus your competitor. What key metrics really mean, what the differences are, and why they matter. Metrics that are irrelevant or distractions to the buying process. Games that some publishers play to make themselves look bigger than they really are. What should REALLY matter to a buyer. The webinar is being produced by Media Life Magazine and...