europeforvisitors - 11:48 pm on Jan 22, 2008 (gmt 0)

um. does anyone actually believe hitwise data? I've never found it better than ballpark, sometimes right out of the ballpark

Nielsen/NetRatings isn't perfect, either. For one thing, sites can assign their traffic to other sites, which is legitimate for purposes of advertising sales ("Our network deliver an audience of XX zillion readers") but creates confusion and inaccuracy if you want to compare the real-life rankings of Site A (which assigns its traffic) and Site B (which doesn't).

Even in the print world, traffic figures can get fuzzy. If the WIDGETVILLE POST distributes a million free copies per month via a sponsorship deal, is it legitimate for the POST to claim those million copies as paid circulation (as some metropolitan newspapers have done and maybe still do)?