engine - 4:41 pm on Oct 30, 2006 (gmt 0)

Internet companies have had great success selling advertising space, in part because the effectiveness of those ads is supposedly so easily measured. But marketers, even as they continue to push more of their ad budgets online, are starting to ask for better proof. A group of large companies, including Kimberly-Clark, Colgate-Palmolive and Ford Motor have said that by the middle of 2007, they will demand that online publishers hire auditors to check their ad and viewer counts. And analysts say they believe that online ad growth over the long haul will depend on the eagerness of large advertisers like these to shift more dollars online.

Marketers Demanding Better Count of the Clicks [nytimes.com]

Any evidence is better than we have currently. Other industries use independent firms to audit samples of the circulation claims. Is it now time for the PPC players to work with an independent body to carry out random audits?