Online Journalism News

Unique users to become mandatory metric for ABC

Posted: 06/12/06 By: Oliver Luft

Email this story | Comments

The unique user metric will replace page impressions as the mandatory minimum metric to be certified by ABC Electronic.

After industry consultation at JICWEBS (the joint industry committee for web standards), a ruling has been passed that, from January, the new minimum will apply to UK sites.

ABC Electronic said that focusing on unique users would provide more relevant data when evaluating electronic properties alongside the print metric of 'circulation'.

ABC said the changes were being made because unique users represent the technical reach of a website over a period, rather than its volume of traffic, which is represented by page impressions.

Richard Foan, managing director of ABC Electronic, said: "This change has affected the fundamental way we conduct all website audits.

"Changes have been made to our pricing structure, website, certificates and technical processes to reflect this.

"As a result, media buyers, owners and advertisers now have access to a tradable and comparable online currency, with an even more cost-effective audit entry price."

Got a story? Email our news team: Laura Oliver; Judith Townend or telephone +44 (0)1273 384290. You can also follow us on Twitter: @journalismnews / @LauraOliver / @JTownend.