|
Category: Computers & Technology : Internet and Websites
So, you've built your website, drawn users to it, and want to generate some income back. Well, Banner ads are probably the most popular form of advertising on the net. This article should help you get started.
When to start selling banner space
If you are able to sell your banner space (you have an interested buyer or network) - it's probably never too early. Also - by incorporating banners into your website at an early stage -- it gets visitors used to the idea, and also will improve your final site design.
The problem with trying to sell banner ads early, however, is that banner ads don't pay very much per impression or click. As a result, you need to have a reasonable amount of traffic in order to make any real money with them. Plus, many of the Banner Networks require you to have a certain number of visitors/pageviews before you can join them.
A good alternative to trying to make money right off with banners is to join a Banner Exchange. A Banner Exchange is a site that lets you show your own advertisments on other sites, in exchange for showing those same sites banners on yours. The Banner Exchange itself will save some percentage of banner displays for itself, so the exchange ratio is usually around 3:2 (for every 3 banners you display on your site, they will display your banner 2x).
Page Views vs Hits
First, the term "hits" is misleading and should never be used when talking about banner advertising. Loading a single webpage can generate many "hits" to the webserver. The HTML, along with every graphic on the webpage generates a request to the server (aka "a hit"). This number means nothing for advertising purposes.
Now, a "Page View" is what you are interested in. The number of PageViews your site generates in a day/week/month represents how many Banner ads you can display in the same amount of time.
Many Banner ad networks will requires a certain number of Page Views per month before you can join their network. If you are selling banner ads yourself, knowing how many page views you are generating per month can help you estimate how many ads you can sell in a month.
CPM vs CPC
CPM means Cost Per Thousand
CPC means Cost Per Click
Both of these terms are used extensively when buying and selling banner advertising. There are two basic ways that Banner ads are sold - these are either Per Impression or Per Click.
Per Impression - Per Impression advertising means that you earn money based on how many times a banner is displayed on your site. If your website generates 10,000 page views in a month, that means you could potentially display a banner ad 10,000 times in that same month (assuming all pages have a banner ad on them).
When selling/buying Banner ad Impressions, rates are always given in Cost Per Thousand (CPM). So $6 CPM would mean that you would get $6 for every thousand banner ads shown. For that same site with 10,000 page views in a month - if you sold all 10,000 impressions at $6 CPM, you could earn a total of $60 for that month ($6 per thousand x 10 thousand = $60).
Typical CPM rates range from $1 CPM to $20 CPM.
Per Click - Per Click advertising means you get paid a set amount of money whenever a visitor clicks on that particular banner ad.
Per Click Rates are given in CPC (cost per click). So, if your site generates 10,000 banner impressions at $.60 CPC, then you will earn $.60 every time a person clicks on one of the banners. Typical click through ratios (CTR) are around 1%. So, of those 10,000 impressions, at 1% CTR, you would get (10,000 x .01) 100 clicks at $.60/click = $60.
Typical CPC rates range from $.10 CPC to $.60 CPC
Selling your Ad Space
So, are you ready to start selling advertising on your site? Well, there are two ways to go with selling advertising. In general, you'll want to try using a combination of both methods... but many sites use one or the other.
1) Banner Networks
This is the easier of the two methods. Banner Networks are advertising companies which act as the middle-man between your website and the advertisers. They sell ad space to interested Advertisers and pay you to put the ads on your site. As a result, they get a % of the money. However, it does make your life easier -- you don't have to worry about all the details -- just cash your check.
Another disadvantage is that pay rates tend to be relatively low. Expect around $1-$2 CPM for untargetted ads. Some banner networks will try to sell ads specifically for your site. In this case, rates are much better since the advertiser is trying to target your site specifically. ($10-$20 CPM)
Popular Banner Networks:
Burst Media - CPM and CPC
Flycast - CPM and CPC
Advertising.com - Mostly CPC
ValueClick - CPC
ClickAgents - CPC
2) Sell Ads yourself
This requires a bit more effort on your part, but depending on your site, may make more sense.
In general, selling ads directly to the advertiser will generate more money for you. Since there is no middle-man to pay, you get all the money from the advertiser. Also, since the advertiser is interested in your site directly, they are usually willing to pay more for the priviledge of targetting your visitors.
Selling ads yourself tends to be easier for specialty sites with niche markets. These sites tend to get the attention of advertisers early on. As a result, it may not require much effort for you to find them -- they'll find you.
If you do sell your own ads, however, you'll need to find some good banner rotating/tracking software to keep statistics for yourself and the advertiser.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, banner ads are a very popular method to generate some extra income from a website. Many of the larger sites utilize banner ads as their sole source of income. The downside is that you'll need to generate a lot of page views to generate significant amounts of income... but is a good starting point for many sites and can certainly help defray hosting costs.
| Learn more at: |
|
Click To Visit:Geek/Talk Bulletin Board
GeekVillage.com is the definitive source for Webmasters and site owners. Learn from the experts. Share your tips. Candid discussions. Cut through the puff and learn what really works.
|
Other Articles in this Category
Getting Wired Could Mean Getting Taxed
by Leslie Wood
Intro to the Internet and Web Pages (the VERY basics)
by Arnold Kim
The Meaning Behind url, http, .com etc.
by Davis Lingotti
Patience is a Virtue or is it? Ending the "World Wide Wait"
by Leslie Wood
Online Auctions: The Bargain Bonanza For Online Shoppers
by Leslie Wood
How to Search and Surf on the World Wide Web
by Leslie Wood
Intro to ADSL: the Autobahn of the Internet
by Leslie Wood
How to Create Your Own Web Page
by Grady Fox
How to Make Money with your Website
by Arn
Introduction to Making Money on the Internet (Individuals, Webmasters, Businesses)
by Arn
Other Sites
Storkin.com - Baby and
Pregnancy Tips and Discussion
AppShopper - iPhone Apps and Deals
Health Articles
Menopause
Symptoms
HIV/AIDS
Symptoms
West Nile
Symptoms
Diabetes
Symptoms
Pregnancy
Symptoms
Read other Articles -
click here.
|
