Wemf hears the signals from the Internet
Webuser Net-Audit, a new tool from AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf), electronically measures the number of visitors to individual websites - but without extrapolation.
Webuser Net-Audit, a new tool from AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf), electronically measures the number of visitors to individual websites - but without extrapolation.In terms of its layout, the Net-Audit idea is simple: after registering at www.wemf.ch and paying an admission fee (see box), a portal or website operator receives from Wemf the so-called SZM tag, a kind of electronic stamp. With this, the operators mark each individual site and subsite whose visitor frequency they want to have measured in the future. Wemf then uses control software to check whether the tags have been set correctly or whether no marked individual site has been equipped with more than one tag (which would result in multiple counts). As soon as a marked site is called up by a visitor, the set tag (a Java script) sends a signal to the Wemf server. This is counted as a page impression (PI). If the user changes to a second tagged site, the Wemf server receives another signal (second PI). Important: Net-Audit also counts accesses via proxy servers. Invalid accesses are excluded by the system. For example, automatic reloads do not count as PI. Several PIs on a URL are combined into one visit, provided that the PIs measured are not too far apart in time. If it takes longer than 30 minutes from one signal to another, the system counts a new visit.
First values in FebruarySince the beginning of the year, about a dozen measurement orders have been running, the progress of which can be viewed and evaluated by the clients at any time by means of a password. Wemf shows the values in three time units: hourly, daily and monthly. At the beginning of each month, Wemf publishes the previous month's averages of the current measurement orders on its website. The first values, those from January, are published at the beginning of February.
For the time being, Wemf is only reporting the units PI and visit. From the middle of the year, Wemf also wants to indicate the visit time and the number of PCs from which the URLs were visited. Tests are currently still underway. The information about the number of PCs involved (number of users) is possible thanks to multi-level identification by means of cookies, browser properties, IP addresses or referrer information.
However, Net Audit also has its limitations: The time between two PIs is counted as dwell time. However, if a user leaves the marked area of a URL while surfing or switches to a URL not participating in Net-Audit, no more signals follow. As a result, the dwell time on the last marked site cannot be determined. The measurement system solves the problem by calculating an average dwell time for the previous PIs of the same URL and assigning this (inaccurate) value to the last PI.
Net-Audit is not a Swiss invention, it is already used in Germany, Austria and Hungary. The values are comparable and correspond to internationally valid standards.
What you pay for Net-AuditWhoever wants to use the Net-Audit instrument for their homepage, portal or even just individual sites, pays both a one-time admission fee of 600 euros and an annual monitoring rate, which depends on the number of page impressions (PI). For Web offers with maximally 49999 PI per month this tariff amounts to 150 euro per year, up to 99999 PI costs the observation 300 euro, up to 149999 PI strikes with 450 euro at the expense. (mk)
Net-Audit compared with MA Net, MA Comis, MMXINet-Audit differs from other Internet studies such as MA Net, MA Comis, MMXI in that it takes a different perspective and uses a different survey method: MA Net and MA Comis from Wemf are based on user surveys. MA Net shows who uses the Internet for which purposes (writing e-mails, surfing, shopping...), MA Comis indicates who targets which domain and how often. MMXI, on the other hand, electronically tracks the surfing behavior of panelists whose (home) PC is running a
software is installed. All three studies are extrapolated to a population and also contain socio-demographic data on the participants. Net-Audit, on the other hand, is not user-centric, but site-centric. The actual number of visitors to each site registered with Net-Audit is measured electronically. It is possible to find out which site was visited when and for how long, but not by whom (mk).
Net Audit measures visitor numbers
First values in FebruarySince the beginning of the year, about a dozen measurement orders have been running, the progress of which can be viewed and evaluated by the clients at any time by means of a password. Wemf shows the values in three time units: hourly, daily and monthly. At the beginning of each month, Wemf publishes the previous month's averages of the current measurement orders on its website. The first values, those from January, are published at the beginning of February.
For the time being, Wemf is only reporting the units PI and visit. From the middle of the year, Wemf also wants to indicate the visit time and the number of PCs from which the URLs were visited. Tests are currently still underway. The information about the number of PCs involved (number of users) is possible thanks to multi-level identification by means of cookies, browser properties, IP addresses or referrer information.
However, Net Audit also has its limitations: The time between two PIs is counted as dwell time. However, if a user leaves the marked area of a URL while surfing or switches to a URL not participating in Net-Audit, no more signals follow. As a result, the dwell time on the last marked site cannot be determined. The measurement system solves the problem by calculating an average dwell time for the previous PIs of the same URL and assigning this (inaccurate) value to the last PI.
Net-Audit is not a Swiss invention, it is already used in Germany, Austria and Hungary. The values are comparable and correspond to internationally valid standards.
What you pay for Net-AuditWhoever wants to use the Net-Audit instrument for their homepage, portal or even just individual sites, pays both a one-time admission fee of 600 euros and an annual monitoring rate, which depends on the number of page impressions (PI). For Web offers with maximally 49999 PI per month this tariff amounts to 150 euro per year, up to 99999 PI costs the observation 300 euro, up to 149999 PI strikes with 450 euro at the expense. (mk)
Net-Audit compared with MA Net, MA Comis, MMXINet-Audit differs from other Internet studies such as MA Net, MA Comis, MMXI in that it takes a different perspective and uses a different survey method: MA Net and MA Comis from Wemf are based on user surveys. MA Net shows who uses the Internet for which purposes (writing e-mails, surfing, shopping...), MA Comis indicates who targets which domain and how often. MMXI, on the other hand, electronically tracks the surfing behavior of panelists whose (home) PC is running a
software is installed. All three studies are extrapolated to a population and also contain socio-demographic data on the participants. Net-Audit, on the other hand, is not user-centric, but site-centric. The actual number of visitors to each site registered with Net-Audit is measured electronically. It is possible to find out which site was visited when and for how long, but not by whom (mk).
Net Audit measures visitor numbers
Measurement over 7 days - 148 511 page impressions - 25 072 visits
09 Jan 2003 09:03:11 GMT - 16 Jan 2003 09:02:14 GMT
Red stands for visitsThe bar height indicates the average number of visits per second.
Yellow stands for page impressions (PI)The height of the bar signals the average PI number per second.
Blue stands for maximumThe blue bar always indicates the PI maximum value of a certain time period (in the example one week).
Markus Knöpfli
