Other Criteria
For web metrics to be comparable, a stringent set of measurement and reporting criteria is necessary.
The following set of criteria define what items should be included from web measurements and the minimum level of reporting.
INTERNAL ACTIVITY - May only be included where the Audit Bureau has excluded development traffic from the data.
AUTOMATED SEARCH ENGINE - Generated traffic will be excluded, as defined on a centralised list of Automated Search Engines updated at least monthly.
PERSONAL ROBOT - Generated traffic may be excluded.
FRAMES - Nonrequested panels within frames are excluded from certified activity.
SPLASH PAGES - These pages should be excluded from certified traffic, as they are not requested.
SERVER PUSH - SERVER PUSH delivered traffic does not count as it is not requested. Client Pull traffic where the browser, but not the BROWSER requests the pages should be reflected in the audit process, i.e., will be the auditors decision to include or exclude.
AUDIT PERIOD - AUDIT PERIOD to be at the discretion of the audit bureaux as determined by the local market, as is the subject of continuous reporting.
CERTIFICATE CONTENT - The following will appear on all certificates:
Top Level URL
- Definitions (as above)
- Audit Opinion
- Time Frame (period) covered by the certificate
- Page Impressions
- Description of Site Content
- A Breakdown between Registered and Non-Registered traffic for sites declaring registration. To be claimed, a registrant must be contactable by the Auditor.
Web Standards
IFABC web standards define the key metrics relevant in buying and selling digital media.
They cover everything from page impressions to email delivery and are truly global in their application.