Good news for XING – comScore enhances measuring methodology

Our comScore figures back in November showed that XING is by far the most actively used business network. The results clearly demonstrated how users spent more time on XING than any other European business network and that 98% of all page impressions on professional social networks in Germany could be attributed to XING.

comScore gathers its data on the basis of a so-called panel of Internet users, whose online behavior and clicks are statistically recorded and evaluated. Up until now, this panel has been primarily made up of users of computers for private use.

This aspect of the methodology has often led to a distortion of results – especially between websites that are focus either primarily on private usage or on professional usage. comScore has now enhanced this process: In addition to the former panel, so-called tracking pixels are now being added that measure the actual usage of websites.

This advanced hybrid method means that comScore figures have changed for some sites, or will be altered in the near future.

This change isn’t simultaneous everywhere, depending on when comScore decides to launch the new method in a particular country. It is expected that US companies in particular will see big jumps – depending on user behavior – in traffic of up to 50 percent, before European providers. But we are expecting to see a similar leap too.

The adjustment will probably take effect in February at XING, from which point we too will be able to benefit from the increased accuracy of data, worldwide. It is good news for us that the refined methodology now allows for a comparison of websites used primarily at work and those used mainly at home.