• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 14, 2009

With display advertising hit hard by the recession and click-through rates fast disappearing, Web publishers and others have been pushing lately for evaluating the effectiveness of display ads beyond the click.

The idea is that online ads can generate consumer interest and actions even if people don't actually click on them. The Online Publishers Association last month released findings from a recent study showing that among people exposed to 80 brand campaigns on 200 popular sites had a greater likelihood of visiting those brand's sites and searching related terms than those who didn't see them.

That research, conducted by comScore, followed a similar study in December by the Web measurement firm --"How Online Advertising Works: Whither the Click?" -- which reached similar conclusions to the OPA report and advocated moving away from the click as a proxy for online ad effectiveness.

Tapping into that movement, Compete has come out with a new service called Ad Impact for measuring display campaigns based on what people do after seeing an ad besides clicking. Analyzing more than 75 campaigns since the beginning of the year, the Web tracking firm says ad exposure increases traffic to marketer sites and boosts brand search.

Ad Impact tracks user behavior in three categories: branded site visitation; search phrases, visits to rival and third-party sites and social media; and campaign profile data including demographic, impression and frequency reporting. Clients can also request customized metrics.

Compete, a unit of TNS Media, promises the new service will deliver higher returns on ad spend and includes a testimonial from Michael Rucker, product marketing manager, YouTube and Google, in its announcement.