One of the challenges that publishers face when they are trying to sell ads online is measuring the scope of their audience. With a magazine or a newspaper it’s reasonably straightforward: how many copies do you sell? Online, it’s a totally different ball game, and usually it’s the publisher who gets screwed.
The online metrics tracking company comScore has just announced a new service called Extended Web Measurement, which is supposed to help track how and where content is republished and who is viewing it:
The metrics firm has announced the launch of comScore Extended Web measurement, a product that promises to provide publishers and advertisers with the ability to track content across mulitiple third party sites, such as videos, social media applications, widgets and photos. At the same time, comScore’s Media Metrix service will begin offering gross rating point data for online ads—the equivalent to the traditional media world’s standard GRP metric–which should allow advertisers to better evaluate cross media campaigns.
This tracking ability, coupled with the data that keeps trickling in about how online advertisements can be effective, either by hitting the right audience or by influencing offline purchase decisions, all points towards a future where newspapers and other online publishers are going to be able to charge real money again for their ad space.
Online ads are still in their infancy.
Eat Sleep Publish is a Seattle-based blog that explores the difficulties and opportunities currently facing the publishing industry. 
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