Metric hopping makes the industry look a shambles, claims GMG digital head

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Simon Waldman, head of digital for the Guardian Media Group (GMG), has called for online newspapers to focus on a single metric as a barometer of success to avoid making a mockery of the industry.

In a blog post today Mr Waldman urged publishers to focus on the ABCe's agreed minimum metric - the unique user - as a more appropriate measurement tool.

He also went to great lengths to criticise the Telegraph's use of the Hitwise metric in claiming to be the top quality-paper website in the UK.

He wrote: "There is little that's perfect about measuring unique users. It's not the same as people.

"But we have all (including the Telegraph, indirectly) agreed through Jicwebs that audited unique users are the way forward. At least it is consistent and frankly our industry looks a shambles if we keep hopping from one metric to the other just because it suits us."

Mr Waldman's call comes just days after reports of a complaint being made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the Telegraph's use of Hitwise statistics in its claim to be the top news site in the UK.

Mr Waldman added: "Given the enormity of the decisions we all have to make at the moment - and the leaps we are often asking advertisers to make, transparent, accurate and well-understood metrics are absolutely critical, and all of us in the market have to be very careful about what we use.

"Given this, and after a decade of looking at stats in our market, imagine my surprise when I saw a poster campaign from the Telegraph announcing it was the most-visited UK quality newspaper website - based (as it explains in the teeny weeny small print barely visible on a 48-sheet poster) on some Hitwise statistics for Jul-Sep 2006. And its site now carries the legend 'Britain's number one quality newspaper website'."

New Telegraph editor Will Lewis first claimed that his site was the top UK news destination in November - a point taken to task by Mr Waldman's analysis of various metrics in today's post .

In response to Mr Waldman, a Telegraph spokesperson said: "According to Hitwise, which measures the number of times a website is visited each month, Telegraph.co.uk is the number one quality newspaper website in the U.K.

"Telegraph.co.uk received the greatest number of visits in the audited period concerned, indicating a very high degree of brand and consumer loyalty. We have not received any complaints about our current promotion from readers, users or any other interested party and we shall continue to offer the high quality of online content for which users return to us again and again."