schoold of journalism and mass communications missouri
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Measuring Media Site Traffic:The pitfalls of using computer programs to measure Web activity
Clyde Bentley, Ph.D. Associate Professor University of Missouri at Columbia
Greg Harmon, A.M.Director, Interactive ServicesBelden Associates
The Digital Revolution:The Impact of Digital Media and Information TechnologiesOct. 14-16, 2004, Columbia, SC.
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Problem: What Counts?
How big is the Web audience?
Who is in that audience?How do audience members usethe Web?
S eemingly simple questions are hard toanswer.
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
A question of importance
R each and frequencycalculations determine revenueWith the Web no longer ³novel,´
it must compete with traditionalmediaSurvival of the medium may
depend its marketability
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
We are what we compute
As a digital medium, the Webrelied on digital measurementComputer-tracked numbers wereautomatically viewed as reliableCookies and logfiles became the
norm
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
T esting the assumptions
Proprietary research by BeldenAssociates50 surveys of 40 newspaper
sites70,000 Web visitors
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
N umbers and numbers
Compares acrossmethodologies:
Log file information ( WebTrends,Omniture, Accrue « )Survey data based on online
questionnaires
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
T he S urvey Method
Sample users of newspaper Websites via ³popups´ ³Nth selection´ randomization of users presented with popupSurvey appeal operates 24/7 to
minimize time bias
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
T he popup appeals
Altruistic appeal ³Help us build a better site´
Selfish appeal ³A chance to win $1,000´
Belden sweepstakes every 3-4months
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
D ense data
Survey includes 80 questionsSome questions customized for
the siteSoftware tracks popup offers
and indicates 5-10% responseratesMore than 50% of those who
open the survey finish it.
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Major survey findings
Nearly 2/3 of users are from thelocal marketAverage users acces 3-4 daysper week.Often access more than once a
day
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden [email protected]
Digital Revolution Newsplex 20004Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
T he Log conflict
Logfiles show averages of only2-3 visits per monthEven major metros seldom
average more than five visits permonth
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Conflicting alternatives?
Logfile overcountSome visitors
counted toooftenIdentities of usermisinterpreted
Biased surveyHeavy users
surveyed moreoftenInfrequent users
missed
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Census/ S urvey model
CensusLogfile counts allvisits andpageviewsContinuouscount
SurveyA sample is a
³snapshot´ intimeIt moderates theeffects of
³averages´
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
I n the ballgame
U se the analogy of an athleticevent with both season ticketholders and one-game spectatorsEv en if 80% of the fans are seasonticket holders, the majority of people
who attended a game in a longseason will be ³ incidental ´ fans.
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Look again, sports fan
1 00-game season (a month on a Website)5 million people passed through the
turnstiles (Logfile of all visits)Only 1 .0 million indi v iduals actually
watched a game that season (Survey findings of actual use patterns)
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
A new math
4% of all ³unique visitors´ to theballpark account for 80% of alltickets soldThe value of repeat customers is
undervalued
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
A vid fans=regular readers?
10% of newspaper site visitorswere ³incidental´ Less than 10% of all page viewsLogfiles count them as 60% of
all visits.
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
Less is more?
Table 3: Incidental use of online newspapers SegmentTypes/TotalAudienceE stimate
SegmentTypeE stimates
Propor-tion
Pagesper Visit
DaysVisiting
Visits ProjectedPage-views
Propor-tion
I ci t l( i ri r 7 s)
71,397 62 5.19 1 1 37 ,55 5
4x+Visit rs
44,439 3 5.19 16.9 1. 4 7,171,932 95
T t l 115, 36 1 7,542,4 2 1S rc : B l ss ci t s 2 3
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
What is happening?
Cookies are being blocked orclearedNational counts miss people
checking sites from workU sers have multiple computersLike newspapers, core readers
are loyal
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Greg Harmon, A.M.Belden Associates
[email protected] Revolution Newsplex 20004
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.Missouri School of Journalism
A nd in the future?
New, more accurate measuresare needed.R egistration offers some hope,
but is resistedCombination of logs and surveys
might workComputer users must be seenas individuals