ABA Dishes Dirt on Site Traffic 'Cheats'

Web site publishers are inflating their audience figures and misleading media buyers by double counting page views, counting pages before they load, and counting pop-ups, according to a new report released by the Audit Bureaux of Australia (ABA).

The ABA works with Australia's online media industry to investigate and resolve a range of measurement issues. The aim has been to increase media buyers' confidence in the numbers being used and to ensure their investment is protected from traps that may lead to wasted ad spend.

Among the 'tricks' uncovered in the ABA's report is the practice of double counting page impressions or views through the use of a second tracking tag.

'The most common method to measure web site traffic in Australia is through tracking tags installed on each web page,' explains ABA CEO, Paul Dovas. 'By simply placing an extra tag on each page, publishers can count their page views twice and claim an unfair advantage over their competitors.'

The report also says web site publishers are over-representing their traffic by counting pop-ups for their web site and counting pages before they finish loading, by placing the tracking tag at the top of the page instead of the bottom.

Dovas says this represents a breach of industry measurement rules as the page is counted even though users may choose to shut down the browser before it finishes loading.

Additionally, the report draws attention to the practice of auto-refreshing pages, or automatically reloading web pages at regular intervals, regardless of whether the page is being actively viewed by the user.

'This practice has been found to significantly inflate key audience metrics, including page views and session times. As a result, media buyers are spending money on display ads that are going unseen on background browser tabs and even unattended computers,' states Dovas.

Dove adds that the easiest way to identify credible web site publishers is to look for the ABA green tick, which verifies a web site has been through the ABA's web audit process.

The complete ABA Digital Watchdog Report can be found at www.auditbureau.org.au/web_protectadspendfromthesetraps.php .