IAR Bits and Bytes for November 3, 2003

ClickTracks Upgrades and Previews

ClickTracks previewed version 5.0 of its software for tracking Web site visitors’ behavior, while releasing version 4.1. The new version includes improved analytics with additional reports making it easy to segment and compare visitors who came through paid and organic search.

The company promises that version 5.0, which it expects to ship in December, will be able to analyze the value of site visitors over time and compare the behavior of visitors who do such things as purchase with the behavior of those who don’t. It will also include a set of tutorials, called the ClickTracks Way, to help marketers solve problems and figure out best practices for their particular scenarios. ClickTracks will also add the ability to analyze paid search results from additional search engines in addition to Google and Overture, which it already supports.

Poindexter Lets Advertisers Return Ads Unlikely to Produce Conversion

Poindexter Systems, provider of marketing optimization software and services for advertisers, enhanced the PassBack functionality of its Progressive Optimization Engine. PassBack lets advertisers return ad inventory to the publisher when it’s unlikely to provoke a response, thereby enhancing the performance of the entire campaign.

The enhancement uses advanced statistical modeling to compare the proposed ad with complex information about the site visitor and make a decision on the probable response of that visitor to that ad. The system could decline to serve the advertiser’s ad, choose among different creative executions for the one likeliest to garner response, or serve the queued ad.

Although the product is used by advertisers, Poindexter said that PassBack could benefit publishers because they could resell the inventory to another advertiser for whom it might perform better.

The core optimization and ad-serving offering is charged to advertisers on a CPM basis, with an additional monthly license and CPM fee for PassBack.

DigitalGrit Optimizes Contextual Ads

DigitalGrit announced Publisher eRevenue Solutions, a software and services offering for publishers designed to help them increase ad revenue by optimizing sites to take advantage of contextual advertising.

DigitalGrit consults with publishers to help them understand the variations in technology of contextual advertising networks Google, Overture, Sprinks (recently acquired by Google) and IndustryBrains. DigitalGrit’s account executives provide services including selecting contextual advertising networks, monitoring technology provided by ad networks or tweaking creative and the placement of ad inventory on the site. The company’s software provides full search engine optimization services and custom and standard reports.

Accipter Releases New AdManager

Marketing technology vendor Accipter released AdManager 7V, the latest version of its ad serving technology, and VIBE, a standalone behavioral analytics tool that works as a plug-in with other ad-management and analytics software. Based on technology from ProfileServer, VIBE anonymously captures and stores a unique set of recency, frequency and duration data for each visitor, allowing marketers to target ads to any combination of attributes.

AdManager 7V includes Vibe, along with controls that let ad exposure be varied according to how many impressions a visitor should be served per minute, hour, day or week. Marketers can use AdManager V7 to combine Web analytics with ad serving data in real time to create custom reports combining a wide range of variables. The application also provides real-time reports on targeted or untargeted ad inventory. AdManager 7V is available on license or hosted through Accipiter’s AdBureau service.