# Banner Ads, CPM, CPC...need help



## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

I’ve been looking into the different methods of advertising my site online and how varying sites differ in the ways they charge for advertising.



Mainly, I’ve been looking at sites that my market (urban wear) visits and thought some nicely done banner ads would be great for building some brand awareness. I need a little help wading through how sites charge for their advertising. I’ve seen CPM (cost per thousand impressions) and CPC (cost per click). Some of the sites I want to place ads on strictly use CPM. As an example, one site charges $100 for 5,000 impressions. Meaning I pay $100 and my ad will show throughout the month, a total of 5,000 times. Another site charges a combination of the two. They want me to pay per impression, AND when a visitor clicks on the ad and are taken to my site. 



Is this situation common? 



Also, if done right, can banner ads be effective way to advertise, and if so, how effective are they? Normally I just see them as something that takes up space, and it really takes a lot for me to click on a banner ad.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

I can tell you that $100 for 5000 impressions is VERY expensive for a banner ad. That's a $20 CPM (which is what you might expect to pay in 1999 for banner ads).

Some larger media sites still try to charge these amounts, but I don't think they are suited towards the smaller business. More towards large corporations that have ad budgets to burn.

Charging for the impression AND per click sounds like a double poke in the eye  I don't think I've actually ever seen that before.

For the money, I think you could spend that $100 more effectively on Adwords/Overture text ads, or on targeted ads on smaller site. Even site sponsorships of smaller sites in the urban market. Sponsor a newsletter, give them some free t-shirts. I think it's easier to work with the folks that are on the same level as you, rather than working with big corporations that are used to large media buys.

I think CPM ads are best for someone who has a lot of money to spend on branding.

With the right targeted market, the right placement (on the part of the site serving the ad) and the right ad (designed by the advertiser), banner ads *can* be effective.

However, I think it's good to think outside the "normal" channels when trying to market your business. Some of the lower cost methods can actually be more effective (word of mouth, media mentions, etc), text ads, search engine marketing.


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

Thanks for the response, Rodney.

I’m just trying to research all of the available options for marketing. I plan on trying a combination of things to start with, then see what is working best, and put more focus on those areas.


I thought charging for the impressions AND the clicks seemed a little strange. That was just one site, though, so I’ll be sure to stay away from them. 

The $20 CPM was for a 336 x 280 Island Unit on Vibe.com, and one of the highest I found. They also have leaderboards and skyscrapers for $15 CPM. I checked with them, just to see what the rates were like for a big site like that.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Comin'OutSwingin said:


> The $20 CPM was for a 336 x 280 Island Unit on Vibe.com, and one of the highest I found. They also have leaderboards and skyscrapers for $15 CPM. I checked with them, just to see what the rates were like for a big site like that.


If the minimum buy is low enough, it might be worth a test.

If your goal is branding, it might be a good venue.

If your goal is direct response (getting sales directly from the ad), I would question whether folks visit the vibe website to find something to buy, or are they looking for the latest hip hop/entertainment news. Could be both


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