Neilsen Media, the well known, highly comprehensive worldwide media ratings service, is whipping out a new measuring stick designed to gauge Internet advertising. The company announced today the establishment of the "Internet Advertising Index," a joint effort with NetRatings, Inc. that provides researchers and analysts with a new tool for tracking changes in Internet advertising activity over time.
The Index compares changes each month in the number of Internet advertisements successfully loaded on webpages visited by 15, 000 Nielsen//NetRatings home panelists. As a result of the changes between May and June, for instance, the Internet Advertising Index stands at 103.9 for June, 1999.
"This new index is the kind of reliable tool the industry needs to track the development of the Internet as an advertising and communications medium, " said Jim Spaeth, president/CEO of the Advertising Research Foundation, a nonprofit professional organization whose mission is to improve the practice of advertising, marketing and media research.
Rich LeFurgy, chairman of and Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) agrees. "While still in its infancy, the Internet has already established itself as a big-league advertising medium," he said "The new Internet Advertising Index is a shorthand method for helping media professionals gauge the growth of Internet advertising. Data on the top advertisers and Web sites provide additional information to help people
quickly grasp top-line Internet advertising trends."
In addition to reporting the new index, Nielsen//NetRatings also announced data on the "Top Ten Advertisers" and "Top Ten Domains." Based on June data, the top ten advertisers accounted for 28.1 percent of Nielsen//NetRatings -measured Internet advertising. In May, the top ten advertisers accounted for 29.3 percent of measured Internet advertising. Microsoft was the leading advertiser in June, accounting for 9 percent of such advertising impressions.
The top ten domains accounted for 55.7 percent of ad impressions measured by Nielsen//NetRatings in June. In May, the top ten domains accounted for 55.8 percent of such ad impressions. Yahoo.com was the leading domain, delivering 25.4 percent of the ad impressions. Yahoo's total was more than the total of the next six domains combined. Hotmail.com ranked second, delivering 9 percent of impressions.
NetRatings, Inc., a Web audience measurement and market research firm, provides media planners, site publishers, advertisers, e-commerce companies and the Internet investment community with daily, weekly and monthly data on online user behavior. The company offers topical and in-depth trend analysis of emerging sectors and companies.
Nielsen Media Research is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related
services in the United States and Canada. Its services provide audience estimates for all national program
sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish language television, and national syndicators.
"We intend to continue to bring tools such as the Index to the industry to help advertisers, agencies, sites and providers understand Internet trends and make more informed business decisions about the Internet," said Manish Bhatia, vice president of interactive services for Nielsen Media Research.
More information about Nielsen//NetRatings Services is available at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com.