Nielsen To Begin Tracking YouTube Video Viewership

youtubeGoogle has agreed to allow Nielsen Holdings to place measurement tags on ads running on its YouTube service; the move should allow advertisers to negotiate ad buys on YouTube, according to the Wall Street Journal. Until now, Google has not allowed an outsider to place tags on its YouTube service, relying instead on its own measurement of advertisements. Nielsen’s tags will be accepted across all Google properties, including YouTube, by early 2014.

Nielsen’s tags allow marketers to monitor the performance of online ads by tracking the number of people who see the ads and how often. Nielsen also provides demographic data about who sees the ads.

“We know our clients want meaningful measurement, which is why we’re investing in brand-friendly metrics,” a Google representative said. “While we continue to build measurement options powered by Google, we’re also partnering with industry leaders, such as Nielsen and Comscore, to offer objective, credentialed, third-party measurement options.”

Online-video advertising spending is expected to top $4.8 billion this year.

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Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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