WebSideStory launches auditing service

WebSideStory, a San Diego-based company that measures Internet audiences, says it has launched a new service that analyzes Web site traffic for small and midsized businesses. Instead of using Web site log files, the service, dubbed HitBox Professional, is Web-based and uses a technology that places a small code in each page of a Web site. The service, according to WebSideStory, collects no personally identifying information. The cost for HitBox Professional starts at $23.95 per month.

Founded in 1996, WebSideStory's customers include companies such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Intel. In January, WebSideStory teamed with online auditor ABC Interactive to use its HitBox Enterprise service. The service takes advantage of so-called clear-GIF pixels--labeled "Web bugs" by privacy advocates and "Web beacons" by advertisers.