AC Nielsen and NetRatings, an internet audience researcher, said yesterday they'll launch a new global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the internet. The idea is to create a global industry standard by which Web site publishers, advertising buyers and marketers can measure traffic on the internet.
The new service will begin tracking internet audiences by the end of the first quarter of 2000. It will cover Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The service will initially launch in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. By the end of 2001, the companies said they'll track about 30 countries and about 90 per cent of the worldwide internet audience.
Nielsen, based in Stamford, Connecticut, and NetRatings in Milpitas, California, already jointly track internet audiences in the US and Canada. That service, known as Nielsen/NetRatings, was launched in March and so far has signed on more than 140 customers, according to the two companies.