An article on MSNBC caught my attention this morning:

Advertisers still don't know what surfers want
Disagreement continues over how to best gauge potential to buy

I can only imagine what an Internet/New-Media Marketing Manager is thinking:

"Does the Holy Grail of web metrics exist? Is it even possible to create a Holy Grail?"

Personally, I have a hard time thinking that there will ever be a holy grail to measure ROI. There never has been a perfect system, and the web won't enable one either. It's too complex a marketplace with too many channels that require specific solutions.

Instead of looking for the ONE answer for metrics, marketers have to combine different tools and understand trends rather than specific counts.

Click-stream and other observational data sources work best side-by-side with self-reported data that consumers provide.

The debate over THE source for data is a red herring for conservative companies to justify delaying a greater investment in online sources. The irony of the situation is that those companies will suffer in the end.

Netpop, is based on self-reported data and helps understand "surfers." Our Framework for understanding broadband consumers offers a clear perspective on how to approach them via product vertical, personal interests and a variety of other demographic and psychographic directions. Which is right for your particular product? It depends on what your particular product is.

Which brings us back to the original point. One of the reasons why there will never be ONE solution for measuring the ROI of online advertising is that each product and brand requires a unique strategy for creating effective advertising. Each campaign requires special handling.

Yet, the findings of our Netpop research and what Media-Screen conducts on behalf of clients, reveals a significant gap between user-behavior and the allocation of resources by most companies today. Avoiding online advertising today due to a lack of complete transparency could cost you more than missed opportunities. It may remove your ability to compete effectively tomorrow.