Help--What to charge for banner ad?

Discussion in 'Link Development' started by infoworld, Dec 18, 2006.

  1. #1
    Today, I received an email from someone who wants to advertise on one of my newer websites. He wants to place a 150 x 240 HTML banner on the homepage, and he has offered me $200 for the year. I know nothing about advertising rates, so I'm curious whether this is a good deal or bad deal.

    My site (the one he wants to advertise on) is 8.5 months old, has PR 3 (should be PR 4 in a couple of months), and consistently receives 1200 unique visitors a month, all from organic search. Each month visitors are increasing, and the site is very targeted for this particular niche.

    1. Is his offer good? Should I accept?
    2. The banner ad seems pretty long (240 px long). I'd like to see if he would accept a 150 x 200 banner ad. What are the typical dimensions for a vertical banner ad?

    Since I've never sold a banner ad before, I have no idea what's considered "normal." What are your thoughts on his offer and the dimensions of the banner ad?
     
    infoworld, Dec 18, 2006 IP
  2. Swiftpage

    Swiftpage Peon

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    #2
    Banner ad rates are generally billed on a CPM (Cost per 1,000 Impressions) basis. If your site has 1,200 monthly uniques, that is 14,400 per year. $200 for that kind of traffic would equate to a $13.89 CPM - Which is not bad depending on how targeted your traffic is.

    I've had a lot of online ad buying experience on a CPM basis and it seems like general topics can rightfully pull between a $10 and $15 CPM and very focused sites/newsletters can pull around a $25 CPM.

    So, long story short, with your traffic, I think this is pretty good. Sell him a text link though, clickthroughs will be higher, there will be focused SEO benefits and it will be less obtrusive to your site visitors.
     
    Swiftpage, Dec 18, 2006 IP
  3. infoworld

    infoworld Peon

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    #3
    Thanks Swiftpage! Your answer was very helpful. I'm glad someone at DigitalPoint has experience with banner & text link advertising (b/c I sure don't).

    Re: Text link vs. banner ad....I've already asked the guy whether he wanted a text link or a banner ad. He told me that he wanted a banner ad. Who knows why, but that's what he wants.
     
    infoworld, Dec 18, 2006 IP
  4. hhheng

    hhheng Banned

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    #4
    The offer is not too bad, I got 2000 unique visitors per month, and only asking for free link exchange.
     
    hhheng, Dec 18, 2006 IP