The South African Online Publishers Association (OPA) has announced the selection of RedSheriff for the supply of a state-of-the-art web analysis and metrics infrastructure to its members.
The OPA is a grouping of online publishers in South Africa. Its members include the Mail & Guardian Online, Media24, Independent Online (IOL), Ananzi, CareerJunction, iafrica.com, Johnnic Publishing, Moneyweb, M-Web, SuperSport and Tiscali WorldOnline.
Though the veracity and integrity of readership figures put forward by reputable online publishers have not been doubted, it’s been difficult to get a completely accurate picture of website readership in South Africa.
OPA chairperson Russel Yeo said: “Having a sound, standard measurement system has always been the foundation of building trust in any medium for marketers and advertisers.
“Putting in place a single common standard will give marketing professionals detailed and trustworthy data to work with, and will make the online publishing industry more visible and accountable.”
Different methodologies of measurement have produce different results in the country, making statistics incomparable, and online publishers have become unhappy with the way in which these statistics are reported.
Founded in 1996, RedSheriff provides analytical and monitoring information to publishers of website locations. It is globally one of the largest providers of web analytics. It offers several measurement and market research products and services, catering to more than 1 200 clients in more than 52 countries.
OPA measurement committee head JP Farinha said: “RedSheriff … has both individual site analysis as well as a market intelligence interface, which allows a unified view of all member sites.”
“RedSheriff was appointed as the standard last year based on the effective collaboration of New Zealand’s Online Publisher’s Group, who united to address a common need within the online industry,” explained Richard Webb, Red Sheriff CEO.
“Based on the success in this market, RedSheriff has received a number of requests to replicate its services in countries throughout the world. South Africa is a region we have prioritised given the necessity to correct these previous methodologies and present some consistent guidelines.”
By choosing to use an overseas statistics body, South Africa will also be able to benchmark itself against overseas websites that employ similar systems.
The implementation of the new system is set to be completed by December 2003.
The Mail & Guardian Online is a member of the OPA and was represented on the OPA’s measurement committee