Accipiter Inc., located in Raleigh, N.C., is slated to release a database product called Ad Manager in October that allows media companies and advertising firms to compile data about Web site visitors and to customize that demographic information for their future visits.

Priced between $4,995 and $30,000, Ad Manager combines a visitor tracking system and an advertising surfing engine, says Jane Foreman, Accipiter's director of marketing.

Founded in early 1996, the developer is competing with an increasing number of software and service companies who are trying to tailor research reports about the Internet traffic.

Like San Francisco-based Internet Profiles Corp.(I/PRO), Accipiter is helping its clients identify who's visiting their Websites, the frequency of their visits as well as crucial marketing information.

But unlike I/PRO, Accipiter is targeting content providers that are devising new ways to attract advertising dollars. Relying on Ad Manager, these content providers will be able to pinpoint the demographics of their visitors and furnish advertisers with information on potential buyers of "quick fix dinner for mom who works," Foreman says.

"They want to get more than rotating banners on the site," Foreman said. "And we can profile the type of users they want to see."

Using a database engine by HAHT Software Inc., Ad Manager will require visitors to register to visit a site. The demographics information they submit will form the basis of an advertising campaign that targets golfers, car lovers, etc., Foreman said.

She added that Ad Manager is being used in a variety of sites, including a game developer, a newspaper publishing company, an Internet magazine, and a client/server vendor.

Roger Edgar, product manager at HAHT, says that while media firms and consumer goods companies can probably develop their own database engines to get the same results, products like Ad Manager allow them immediate deployment. "Accipiter gives you the ability to do it now," Edgar says.

Such requirements are beginning to catch on. Erin Gaffaney, a spokeswoman for I/PRO, says since I/CODE's launch earlier this summer, it has attracted 30 major clients, including The Sharper Image, USA Today, and Visa.

These companies are relying on I/CODE to gather demographic information on anyone who visits their sites, Gaffaney said. Each month, these firms receive reports from I/PRO detailing shifts in site traffic, user demographics, and comparative information about other sites and industry norms.

However, the effectiveness of these tracking tools is far from clear. Tom Niehaus, vice president of SIMBA Information Inc., an online consulting firm in Wilton, Conn., says not only is the Internet marketplace different from traditional media outlets, it requires a separate way of measuring usage.