Chitika Insights Methodology
As an ad network, Chitika Insights measures usage share based on ad impressions served within our network. An ad impression is measured when an individual user loads a page containing Chitika ad code. Chitika Insights’ method does not measure unique users, it measures overall Web usage. This means that if a user views ten pages that contain Chitika code, they will register ten ad impressions. All Chitika ad impressions are generated through Web browsing, not mobile or desktop applications.
Methodology
Chitika Insights utilizes the user agent generated by each website visitor to determine the Web browser, operating system, and (if applicable) the mobile phone or tablet in use by that user. Chitika maintains an extensive database used for identifying user agents. Although we attempt to be as comprehensive as possible, this database is constantly being refined as new devices and software are released. Chitika ad impressions also record the HTTP Referrer of every ad impression, which we can use to identify search engine market share. In the case of our market share reports, each ratio is determined by:
Valid Impressions, in this example, are all impressions that fit within whatever constraints are stipulated within the study (e.g. country limitations, only measuring Android impressions if trying to understand Android version distribution). As an example, for the O/S Market Share report, to calculate Windows’ market share, the “Number of Valid Impressions within Category” would be impressions with Microsoft Windows in the U.S. and Canada. The denominator would be all impressions from the U.S. and Canada. Countries Excluded: Unless otherwise specified, all Chitika Insights reports include data from the U.S. and Canada only. Date Range for Study: For each study, we specify the date range of the report within the text. Additionally, every month we select the same date range from which to calculate the monthly reports to ensure maximum consistency. The date range is typically the last full week available in the month of the report. In the event that the range is adjusted, (potentially due to data unavailability) Chitika Insights will include an applicable note in the report. Sample Size: Our typical sample for a study consists of approximately 300 million U.S. and Canadian impressions, as measured by page views rather than unique visitors (as explained in “General Methodology”). However, this number can vary based upon the length of the study or what is being measured. Network Size: The Chitika network is composed of website owners who register one or more domains within one user name. The number of users who provide Chitika with North American traffic total over 100,000, encompassing more than 300,000 websites. Chitika ads appear on sites ranging from the Alexa Top 10, to smaller, “long-tail” type blogs. Data Accuracy: All Chitika Insights reports are generated by analyzing the Chitika ad network. While we aim to ensure representative results through large sample sizes and a varied network of publishers, we can make no guarantees that these results are 100% representative of the Internet as a whole. We can only measure what we see in our network.
