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In the second year of our exclusive coverage of the latest traffic figures for the UK's leading web sites, the sector's maturity allows better comparison between publishers. The measurement and auditing of usage still has a way to go, so judging a site's traffic against previous years is still a spurious business. However, for the first time, we are able to segment results according to the sector in which a site operates.

This allows some comparison between the relative traffic statistics of competing sites, such as in the recruitment or finance sector.

The figures come from the series of audits of media owners' sites conducted by ABCe. The tables below offer a comprehensive listing of these sites with the figures for their most recent audit. ABCe's main role is not to measure the traffic to sites, but to assess the way in which publishers do so. For a fee, ABCe can test the way in which web sites measure their traffic, according to standards set by industry body JICWEBS, which sets guidelines for traffic measurement and defines what is meant by things like 'page impressions' and 'unique users'.

Thus, ABCe offers its stamp of approval when things are done according to JICWEBS-agreed standards. This gives advertisers - particularly media planners and buyers - the luxury of being able to compare traffic and make informed decisions in the knowledge that sites have been measured in the same way.

As the growth of digital advertising prompts higher online media budgets, this luxury is becoming a necessity. As web spend grows, so the risks attached to making the right media choice rise accordingly. Being able to trust a web site's claimed traffic statistics is vital to help support this growth and ensure it continues.

In this vein, ABCe has just signed an agreement with media owners in the US, via the IAB based in New York, on how to eliminate 'non-human' traffic from web-counting measurement. This means not counting traffic from the web 'robots' and spiders that visit sites, most commonly to generate results for search engines.

Richard Foan, MD of ABCe Electronic, says: "It further illustrates the increasing comparability of data. It means the robots list is based on standards agreed with the IAB in New York and over here, and that we all operate under the same rules."

'Comparability' is at the heart of the issue. Media buyers are seeking tools that allow them to judge a site's traffic in the same way as ABC does for the print world. The complexity of web measurement makes this task more difficult, but as ABCe-audited sites increase, so comparison is becoming fairer. However, Foan is keen to highlight that these figures should only be used alongside other measurement tools. "This is just one tool in the armoury. If you're doing media planning and buying, you want to be able to choose a group of sites that might be appropriate, and one way of ranking those is using ABCe-audited data," he explains.

"But people have to make their own minds up about which other tools might be useful. The onus is on our industry to make the most of the information available, and to make an effort to help advertisers understand what that data means," adds Foan. "This will help the medium grow more quickly."

For media planners, data such as the ABCe-audited traffic statistics is invaluable, but they agree that these are only a starting point.

Karenza Hodge, a senior planner working on the BA account at Agency.com, says: "(Using ABCe figures), you can rank sites, but the majority of the planning we're looking at is certain areas of a site; for example, The Times' travel channel. "First and foremost, it's about getting the right traffic, rather than numbers."

However, Hodge adds: "ABCe is especially important for clients who are not particularly new-media savvy. They need to know they are getting the traffic numbers they want. It is also helpful for above-the-line advertisers.

It marries up with what they're used to and they can understand that kind of currency."

Ella Capel, media and ad manager at advertiser trade body ISBA, is right behind the ABCe-audited measures. She believes the development of an industry standard is vital for the medium's growth.

She explains: "As advertising spend online continues to grow, so does the need for a continued commitment by site owners to industry-agreed standards for site traffic measurement. So, it's hugely positive to see so many sites delivering independently audited traffic data to the market.

They support the online buying decisions of advertisers and enable them to justify their spend. As more site owners adopt these standards, online will continue to reap the benefits, increasing its share of advertiser budgets and instilling trust in the internet as a valuable part of the marketing mix."

So far, the recruitment sites have been most keen to sign up for ABCe audits. The sector offers 36 sites in our listings. Part of their commitment is derived through a joint recruitment sector initiative called NORAS (National Online Recruitment Audience Survey), which works with ABCe to offer comprehensive data to recruitment advertisers. The sector also highlights advertisers' ability to target the right traffic rather than big numbers.

Sites have specialised to provide recruiters and job-seekers with a resource that is dedicated to their vertical sector.

The publishing sector has also been a good source for ABCe, perhaps reflecting its heritage as an auditor of magazine and newspaper circulation figures.

Sites in consumer and business publishing feature prominently in the tables, although, for consumer, the listings are dominated by web sites owned by the national daily newspapers. L

ABOUT THE FIGURES

The tables below come from audits by ABCe of how web sites measure their traffic.

Only the figures for each site's most recent audit are published. ABCe is a not-for-profit body that administers JICWEBS (The Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards in the UK and Ireland) standards in the UK.

JICWEBS develops standards for measuring the use and effectiveness of advertising in digital media, and gives definitions for terms like 'page impression', 'unique user', 'visit' and 'visit duration'. The sites are organised by sector and alphabetically by publisher thereafter.

AUDITED SITES URL Publisher Page Unique Last SPORTS Impressions Users Audit www.arsenal.com Arsenal Broadband 14,888,625 1,031,251 Mar 05 www.liverpoolfc.tv Liverpoolfc.tv 64,029,432 2,909,421 Jul 05 www.skiclub.co.uk Ski Club of Great Britain 4,340,460 272,494 Jan 05 NOT-FOR-PROFIT www.scotland.gov.uk Scottish Executive 3,765,658 407,053 Nov 05 www.businesslink. gov.uk Small Business Service 3,684,823 422,279 Jun 05 www.businesslink. gov.uk/kent Small Business Service 21,895 2,389 Jun 05 www.ucas.com UCAS 67,289,583 1,330,969 Nov 05 TRAVEL www.thisis travel.co.uk Associated New Media 2,410,963 518,659 Mar 05 www.baa.com BAA 13,252,512 1,018,199 Sep 05 www.cheap flights.co.uk Cheapflights 21,303,349 2,871,130 Jul 05 www.teletext holidays.co.uk Teletext 29,723,913 2,605,433 Jul 05 BROADCAST www.sky.com British Sky Broadcasting 355,953,569 10,054,831 Dec 05 N/A Capital Radio Group (site network) 8,529,140 900,937 Mar 05 www.gay QSoft darradio.com Consulting 2,011,894 579,071 May 05 COMMUNITY www.faceparty.com CIS Internet 1,486,168,121 5,113,643 Mar 05 www.girguiding. org.uk Girl- guiding UK 841,821 79,841 May 05 www.friends reunited.co.uk Friends Reunited 224,366,135 5,100,408 Oct 05 www.habbohotel.co.uk Sulake Corporation 148,661,499 4,420,090 Nov 05 www.upmystreet.com UpMyStreet 10,090,810 1,055,552 Oct 05 BUSINESS PUBLISHING www.ameinfo.com AME Info FZ LLC 4,209,634 651,193 Oct 05 www.applegate.co.uk Applegate 6,346,842 1,217,493 Nov 05 www.bmj.com BMJ Publishing Group 6,223,190 931,527 Oct 05 www.thelawyer.com Centaur Holdings 1,212,504 83,605 Nov 05 www.silicon.com CNET Networks 2,341,458 529,223 Oct 05 www.zdnet.co.uk CNET Networks 10,582,249 2,118,578 Nov 05 www.edie.net Faversham House Group 508,734 76,009 Oct 05 www.ft.com FT.COM (combined internet business) 45,700,645 3,911,561 Jan 05 www.insuranceday. com (email) Informa Professional Publishing N/A 546 Jun 05 www.inpharm.com InPharm Internet Services 263,530 25,110 Nov 05 www.inretail.co.uk InRetail 1,006,480 69,844 Feb 05 www.ipa.co.uk Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) 414,412 14,176 Jan 05 www.ppa.co.uk Periodical Publishers Association 106,226 17,296 Jul 05 www.newscientist.com Reed Business Info 9,931,858 1,693,469 Oct 05 www.theregister. Situation co.uk Publishing 28,287,472 4,122,526 Nov 05 www.totallylegal.com Totallylegal.com 1,195,693 40,303 Oct 05 www.ukaop.org.uk UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP) 21,163 3,638 Oct 05 www.vnunet.com VNU Business Publications (network) 8,535,794 2,189,367 Oct 05 www.vnunet.com VNU Business Publications (IT PRO) 4,292,717 1,557,292 Oct 05 www.warc.com World Advertising Research Center 399,230 39,823 Nov 05 CONSUMER PUBLISHING www.thisis london.co.uk Associated New Media 17,383,343 2,649,066 Mar 05 www.metrocafe.co.uk Associated New Media 1,463,514 133,862 Mar 05 www.dailymail.co.uk Associated New Media 13,438,963 969,180 Mar 05 www.radiotimes.com BBC Worldwide 12,219,523 648,211 May 05 www.guardian.co.uk Guardian Unlimited 123,278,684 12,121,030 Nov 05 www. hellomagazine.com Hello 20,089,453 955,440 Apr 05 www.ireland.com Irish Times 13,035,523 858,502 Mar 05 www.thesun.co.uk News Group Newspapers 131,080,433 5,413,682 Nov 05 NEP 'this is'network Northcliffe Electronic Publishing 31,742,999 1,366,220 Nov 05 Newsquest Media Group Newsquest Media Group 23,860,886 2,394,416 May 05 www.parkers.co.uk Parkers 13,041,247 706,054 Oct 05 www.rte.ie Radio Telefis Eireann 16,238,950 758,587 Oct 05 www.telegraph.co.uk Telegraph Group 46,626,144 6,315,549 Nov 05 www.scotsman.com The Scotsman Publications 20,501,295 3,080,222 Jan 05 www.timesonline.co.uk Times Newspapers 51,947,821 6,954,043 Nov 05 CORPORATE www.royalmail.com Royal Mail Group 27,819,757 2,429,731 Oct 05 www.postoffice.co.uk Royal Mail Group 5,183,809 761,779 Oct 05 www.parcelforce.com Royal Mail Group 4,098,871 371,528 Oct 05 LIFESTYLE www.topgear.com BBC Worldwide 6,647,702 414,822 May 05 www.confetti.co.uk Confetti Network 13,377,798 592,349 Apr 05 www.eurogamer.net Eurogamer Network 6,793,607 977,349 Oct 05 www.getlippy.com Handbag.com 2,653,181 221,010 Apr 05 www.handbag.com Handbag.com 28,479,908 1,322,786 Sep 05 www.ivillage.co.uk IVillage UK 30,231,759 3,319,091 Jan 05 FINANCE www.thisis money.co.uk Associated New Media 5,044,067 312,919 Mar 05 www. efinancialnews.com Financial News 1,208,224 57,851 Mar 05 www.iii.co.uk Interactive Investor 12,168,252 404,641 Jan 05 www.lloydslist.com Lloyd's List (T&F Informa UK) 779,596 46,613 Mar 05 www.totally financial.com Totally financial.com 422,298 31,502 Oct 05 PROPERTY www.homesand property.co.uk Associated New Media 1,000,294 67,110 Mar 05 www. findaproperty.com Find a Property 89,882,677 1,423,945 Oct 05 www.myhome.ie MyHome 18,031,180 243,031 Oct 05 www.netlet.co.uk Netlet Holdings 659,599 12,462 Feb 05 www.rightmove.co.uk Rightmove.co.uk 222,451,607 2,591,661 Sep 05 CLASSIFIEDS www.autotrader.co.uk Auto Trader 214,340,452 4,235,114 Apr 05 www.businesses forsale.com Dynamis 4,312,787 273,807 Sep 05 www.find.co.uk Omnium Communications 635,697 184,428 May 05 www.parkers.co.uk Parkers 13,041,247 706,054 Oct 05 RECRUITMENT www.bmjcareers.com BMJ Publishing Group 7,105,502 155,118 Oct 05 http://jobs. mad.co.uk Centaur Communications * Nov 05 www.efinancial careers.com E Financial Careers 6,874,688 506,189 Nov 05 www.exec- appointments.com Exec- Appointments 1,008,089 117,201 Nov 05 www.gaapweb.com Financial Jobs Online 1,208,066 81,003 Nov 05 www.fish4jobs.co.uk Fish4 Trading * Nov 05 www.manchester online.co.uk/jobs GMG Regional Digital Media 973,734 55,798 Nov 05 www.prospects.ac.uk Graduate Prospects 4,706,304 336,799 Nov 05 www.graduate- jobs.com Graduate- jobs.com 613,749 ** Jul 05 www.jobs. guardian.co.uk Guardian Unlimited 14,833,711 677,441 Sep 05 http://jobs. brand republic.com Haymarket Publishing * Nov 05 www.irishjobs.ie IrishJobs.ie 7,976,670 290,544 Jan 05 www.jobs.ac.uk Jobs.ac.uk 4,114,745 345,520 Nov 05 www.jobsgopublic.com jobsgopublic * Nov 05 www.jobsite.co.uk Jobsite UK 14,161,402 802,696 Jul 05 www.cityjobs.co.uk Jobsite UK 1,107,565 72,839 Jul 05 www.londonjobs.co.uk Jobsite UK 3,145,593 206,311 Jul 05 www.jobsgroup.net JustJobNetwork 1,984,982 153,387 Nov 05 www.monster.co.uk Monster UK 22,683,413 1,232,404 Sep 05 www.nijobs.com NIjobs.com 1,064,322 34,397 Sep 05 www.blueline careers.co.uk Off Duty Recruitment 644,643 54,926 Mar 05 www.office recruit.com Office Recruit 1,721,010 93,459 Apr 05 www.totaljobs.nl Reed Business Information 4,402,894 358,261 May 05 www.s1jobs.com S1jobs 7,669,241 210,685 Nov 05 www. scotcareers.co.uk Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail 1,283,923 75,650 Nov 05 http://jobs. telegraph.co.uk Telegraph Group 776,221 78,136 Nov 05 www.thecareer engineer.com The Career Engineer 588,773 52,667 Nov 05 www.workthing.com The hotgroup 5,893,943 414,462 Jan 05 The hotgroup network The hotgroup 16,482,217 1,147,224 May 05 www.hotonline.com The hotgroup 13,058,963 830,052 May 05 http://jobs. scotsman.com The Scotsman Publications 461,688 32,806 Nov 05 http://jobs. timesonline.co.uk Times Newspapers 1,125,154 115,870 Nov 05 www.tesjobs.co.uk TSL Education 5,857,529 222,042 Nov 05 www.accountancy agejobs.com VNU Business Publications 348,819 45,163 Nov 05 www.grocerjobs.co.uk William Reed Publishing 568,067 31,834 Nov 05 www.workthing.com Workthing 16,482,217 1,147,224 May 05 * figures not confirmed at time of publication ** not available