Maktoob.com has become the largest and most popular Arab online community in the Middle East, it has been revealed.

A recent third-party audit of its Internet audience has confirmed that the website has a monthly audience of almost 7 million users, the company said in a statement.

The website conducted its first audit in June 2007. The audit was conducted by UK-based ABC Electronic, which is recognised worldwide for its data certification, the company said.

The ABC Electronic certificate issued for Maktoob.com confirms that during the month of June 2007, 6,969,475 users visited the website, with a daily average of 463,105 visitors, it added.

“At Maktoob, we are privileged to be a major part of the Internet story in the Arab world. And with that role, we recognize that we have an overarching responsibility to both our rapidly growing audience - to deliver world-class Arabic-language information and communications services - and to our advertising partners - to ensure the full transparency and best-of-breed tools that foster confidence in our medium,” said Maktoob group vice-president and Maktoob.com general manager Ahmed Nassef.

“The move toward transparency and data accuracy is a sign that our company, and our industry, is indeed coming of age, and at Maktoob, we will continue to be fully committed to international online advertising best practices,” he said.

“It is highly encouraging that Maktoob.com is delivering both comparability and transparency by committing to having its site traffic figures independently verified to industry agreed standards,” said ABC Electronic Managing Director Richard Foan.

“ABC Electronic audited figures continue to provide the online media industry with an important tool to support media buyers and advertisers in their buying decisions, and for the market as a whole to demonstrate accountability of spend online,” Foan added.

“We are delighted about the results of the ABC Electronic audit,” said Maktoob.com Senior Sales Manager Hussein Freijeh. “The results of this audit confirm that the Internet in the region is undergoing unprecedented growth - the Middle East being one of the fastest-growing online emerging markets in the world. This also marks a paradigm shift as marketing as well as advertising professionals can now confidently move a greater percentage of their advertising budgets towards online media.”

ABC Electronic audited data provides the online media industry with a trusted and robust currency on which media space can be bought and sold, and delivers to marketers and advertisers independent assurance that a website is attracting the size of audience it claims. - TradeArabia News Service