I think a click through to the site might be more effective in that oit leads the customer to the desired site so he/she can see what's on offer. However, CPM could also work well if a ncie catchy banner is created that gets people's attention.
I preffer pay per click over pay per view. I want people to go to site not just see banner or ad. You could pay alot for impressions and get very little hits to your site.
My personal preference is pay-per-order. Meaning, only pay on a click that generates an "action" (e.g. order, filling out a survey, signing up for a newsletter, etc.). It is very rare when you can set-up terms like this, but opportunities are there if you go deep and find a Web site that serves a specific niche and partner with them on a campaign. However, pricing becomes much more expensive, but it is very targeted. One challenge to keep in the back of your mind is tracking all the way through a completed "action". For example, tracking placing an order through a secure shopping session. I have tried, but keeping a cookie or other tracking mechanism in place through an eCommerce Web site's check-out process is pretty difficult. About the only way I have been able to do it is assign a coupon code and include it within whatever the offer was to begin with. So, this doesn't exactely answer your question of what is better between PPC and CPM, but it is another way to go. -PRADCO
Pay per order is the affiliate marketing model and there are a number of networks out there (CJ, Linkshare, Performics, etc...) that will manage the tracking process for you. Agreed with most here - CPC advertising is more attractive to me as the visitor is taking an action to view my site. Fraud is an issue to watch here...CPM is better as a branding effort and will not likely have the ROI of CPC.
Sorry, I thought most affiliate marketing models were more PPC geared vs. pay-per-order, but I have little experience using affiliate marketing tools. I work within a very narrow niche and have found that contacting individual Web sites/Blogs/etc. directly and partnering with them on individual campaigns has been successful for me in the past. I will have to look into the affiliate networks you mentioned to see if I can take advantage of any of them. Thank you! -PRADCO
I use a particular affiliate network and on our affiliate programs we have it set up as Pay Per Lead (PPL). On both sites we pay when the affiliate drives the customer to our site and that customer then signs up. The different programs suit different campaigns you want to run and what your market is. Theres an order to them as well within the consumption cycle. CPM (Cost Per one thousand iMpressions) Here its all about trying to get a potential customer to come to your site. In a way its the sale of a promise that your site has what they want. Its also very much a branding exercise, don't expect a high CTR. Depending on the market and the site you want to advertise on CPM can range from a few dollars upwards. Impression fraud can play a part in the low CTR but nowhere near as much as click fraud does with PPC. PPC (Pay Per Click) Again its about trying to get a potential customer to come to your site. Probably the most common and used out of the lot but comes with its disadvantages, namely click fraud. PPC is great for all industries because you pay when you get a potential lead. Its a foot in the door and is the next step in the consumption cycle. PPL (Pay Per Lead) By paying when you have the lead (either a sign up or perhaps an enquiry) you are guaranteed something for the money you spend and helps keep your customer acquisition cost level. The lead is the next step in the consumption cycle. PPS (Pay Per Sale) Well this is the last stage in the consumption cycle, the sale! With these types of programs you only pay when you make the sale! Generally the amount you pay is a commission of the sale but it can be a fixed dollar amount. I have used all of these methods for advertising in my years but to this day I still prefer the PPL because at least I am not taking a leap faith in a CPM or PPC campaign to deliver leads. With PPL I am guaranteed them! Thats a very brief summary but you get the point. I could talk about it for ever. lol Dan