Web analytics, web metrics, and how to use them to track and improve conversions

An article in the NYTimes today called Waiting for the Dough on the Web highlights a common problem many larger companies are having - of how to represent web earnings in an Annual Report. 

In fact, many companies will not report the amount of their earnings from web media because there's not enough revenue being earned yet on the web (and the money spent is seen as an investment to future - where money will be made...hopefully).

An illustration from the New York Times (above) shows that companies are waiting for the money to pour out of the web - but it has not happened yet.

"Don't take my word for it. Flip through the financial statements of some of the biggest names to see what they say about their Web sales and profits. You won't find separately broken-out figures at Disney, Viacom, or Time Warner (aside from AOL)."

And yet, a couple of newspapers (that dying breed) has managed to make some money on the web:

"Among newspaper companies, I'd posit that the Washington Post Company and Dow Jones — and, yes, The New York Times Company — stand out for their online strategies. "

....."Disney's chief financial officer, Thomas O. Staggs, recently told an investors' conference that the company was generating roughly $500 million in online advertising sales across its properties, which include ESPN.com. But this is at a company that, over all, is expected to generate revenue of $34 billion this year."

So the point is that as much as the internet is catching on - that more and more money is being spent to advertise online and provide services - the Web has yet to produce more than a fraction of the profit that more mainstream media provides.  I think we're about 10 years away from that (maybe 5 years if changes happen faster than anticipated).