Online Advertising Industry Seeks Better Measurement.

Internet Profiles Corporation (I/PRO) announced the results of a comprehensive survey of advertising professionals. According to the survey, advertisers believe that online advertising holds strong promise despite the recent economic slide, and overwhelmingly agree that the industry needs better and more trusted site measurement standards.

The respondents clearly found online advertising to hold promise, ranking it far above print, radio and television in its potential for flexibility, ease of performance measurement and speed of response. In a striking show of support for third party site measurement, nearly 90 percent of online advertisers agreed or strongly agreed that Web site visitor statistics should be validated by a third party.

Other findings of the survey include:

75 percent of respondents think the traffic statistics in Web sites’ media kits are inaccurate.

Measurement standards and more reliable targeting are the two greatest factors needed to make online advertising more effective, cited by 72 percent and 63 percent respectively.

When asked why they do not advertise on the Internet, “Lack of reliable performance measures” is cited by 36 percent of the respondents, more than any other answer.

Those respondents who advertise on the Internet saw two key areas where improvement is needed most: measurement standards and targeting. Similarly, those who choose not to advertise online cited a lack of measurement standards as the biggest weakness of online advertising.

“These results bode well for the future of the online advertising industry. The advertisers that took part in this survey agree that online advertising is far from dead, and they know what it will take to restore the industry’s growth,” said Ray Kingman, CEO of TopicalNet, I/PRO’s parent company. “This is a call to arms for better trust in the information that Web sites provide to advertisers, and a great opportunity for companies like I/PRO that provide this information.”

The I/PRO Ad Leaders Survey was conducted through IntelliSurvey, and respondents included nearly 150 advertising executives from online and offline media, representing greater than $12 billion in billings. A white paper outlining the full findings of the I/PRO Ad Leaders Survey is available for download at www.ipro.com.

To view report CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat required):

http://www.topicalnet.com/downloads/ipro/ipro_ad_survey.pdf

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html