24/7 Real Media said yesterday it would soon track user behavior across the 400 sites in its ad network to offer advertisers targeted audience segments.
The company's Insight ACT technology uses cookies on Internet users' computers to track which content areas they visit. That data is used to compile audience segments, which are sold to advertisers seeking particular audiences for their products. The technology links to 24/7 Real Media's ad-serving technology to serve ads to targeted audiences.
“I think for companies to do [behavior targeting] successfully, they're going to have to network this across sites,” said Nate Elliott, a Jupiter Research analyst.
The 24/7 Web Alliance network boasts a reach of 66 million Internet users, thanks largely to its recent deal to include Lycos. Tony Schmitz, president of technology at 24/7 Real Media, said the tracking enables smaller sites to attract high-priced inventory for valuable audience segments.
He said the company would respect users skittish about a third party compiling detailed profiles of their Web surfing habits. None of the information collected is tied to personal information, such as a visitor's name or address.
