Ad Inventory Survey Proves That Finding Quality Ad Environments is Bigger Challenge
than Concerns Over Safety, Context

New York, NY – January 13, 2012 – Trust Metrics (www.trustmetrics.com) – the industry’s leading provider of digital measurement standards for publisher transparency, effectiveness and quality – today announced the release of a new survey of hundreds of thousands of websites that shows the amount of non-English sites outpaces the number of sites labeled as “unsafe” – containing either pornography, or violence, or profanity.

According to Trust Metrics, the result of the analysis proves that a fundamental transformation needs to take place across the ad industry: proactively finding quality, optimal ad environments before the ‘buy’ is a more cogent and relevant strategy for media planners than simply reactively avoiding sites considered ‘bad’ or ‘unsafe’.

Between December 12-16, 2011, Trust Metrics conducted a comprehensive analysis of websites in its database, as well as the database of an independent ad exchange inventory.

The study revealed that non-English sites – a quality issue for buyers – amounted to approximately 10 percent of all sites surveyed.

Sites collectively labeled as “unsafe” didn’t even break double-digits in the survey: websites characterized by profanity amounted to 3 percent of sites surveyed, while hate speech registered at 2.5 percent, violence at 2.5 percent, and pornographic sites at only 1 percent.

Trust Metrics used the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Quality Assurance Guidelines definitions of safety to categorize the domains analyzed. The Trust Metrics study also measured sites that directed users to other domains or delivered dead-links.

“Issues related to safety in our industry tend to siphon away a lot of the oxygen surrounding concern and innovation,” said Andrew Lerner, CEO of Trust Metrics. “Our new survey debunks this urban ad legend by demonstrating that it’s quality issues, such as the huge amount of non-English sites cluttering the inventory landscape, that still should matter the most. In 2012, safety alone should no longer be the guiding benchmark of any successful ad campaign for any advertiser. Principles such as ‘safety’ or ‘context’ are merely subsets of a much larger, over- arching challenge which must be embraced by our industry — the pressing need to identify and pursue those quality ad environments that deliver optimal value to brands.”

In addition to categorizing the results of its survey into issue-areas, Trust Metrics deployed its proprietary advertising scoring technology – using more than 16,000 data points – to assess and rate the overall year-end quality of domains in the databases.

When Trust Metrics applied its scoring labels to the sites that were analyzed, the biggest category was “Limited” with just under 50 percent of sites falling into that category. The number of domains surveyed that were rated “Limited” or “Poor” jumped to about 58 percent. Websites that are scored “Limited” or “Poor”, according to Trust Metrics, generally do not attain minimum quality and/or safety characteristics, or typically fail multiple quality and safety measurements.

“Our analysis was a huge eye-opener for anyone involved in digital media campaigns,” Lerner added. “The fact that a vast majority of sites – almost six in ten – were rated as low to poor quality means our industry has a huge challenge on our hands, and it’s likely worse than any media campaign planner could have imagined a year ago at this time. The Trust Metrics analysis is a wake-up call for all brands interested in maximizing the value and ROI of ad campaigns. Our study shows that the right quality ad environments exist, but they’re harder to find and require the right tools and the right approach. For 2012, the existing models must simply be blown apart, so that the mission is no longer blindly dominated by an avoidance of the negative, but finding and optimizing positive quality domains that deliver the best ROI.”

About Trust Metrics Ratings

Trust Metrics created ratings to reflect the overall quality or value of a site or webpage in a single number advertisers and advertising aggregators (such as networks) can act on quickly and effectively. Trust Metrics ratings enable advertisers to identify the best places for their ads to engage their target audience while enabling publishers, networks, and platforms to get fair value for creating high quality content. The Standard Quality Rating is reported on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being highest quality.

About Trust Metrics

Trust Metrics (www.trustmetrics.com) provides brands and their agencies with the capability to identify and score high value advertising environments at scale. By deploying advanced algorithmic techniques and machine-based learning to analyze sites for their value as advertising environments, Trust Metrics dramatically improves the buying and selling of media by making it possible to vet billions of impressions in real time and in advance of a media buy. Trust Metrics is based in New York City.

Media Contact,

Nicholas Graham,
ngraham@trustmetrics.com