Yahoo aims for more accurate counting of online ad impressions

Yahoo has implemented a new measurement and reporting platform that it says brings more accountability to the measurement of online graphical or display advertising. The proprietary system only counts and reports ad impressions after the ad has been displayed to users on the page. That’s in contrast to measurements of other media that measure the programming or content in which the ad is delivered, rather than the ad as delivered to a consumer. Already implemented in the U.S., the platform is expected to be broadly deployed across Yahoo’s global platform next year, according to the company. The new system aims to provide additional assurance that ads are being delivered to users’ browsers and reporting errors are reduced. According to Yahoo, it represents an ad delivery technology option that’s entirely new to the marketplace, incorporating a new impression measurement standard developed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Global Internet Ad Impression Measurement task force. “We believe Yahoo’s new platform raises the bar significantly for media measurement by employing a standard that is not available in another media – to measure even more accurately if an advertisement has been viewed by a consumer,” says Todd Teresi, vice president of operations, Yahoo and chair of the IAB task force on audience measurement guidelines. Accurate measurements standards that are consistent across multiple campaigns has become critical to Internet advertising. The IAB guidelines, and their implementation by publishers, mark the first time any ad medium has developed a standard for impression-based advertising that measures delivery of the ad itself to a consumer, versus other media that measure the programming or content in which the ad is delivered, according to Yahoo.