I'm starting to sell banner ads directly to advertisers and I'm wondering how you guys handle the issue of performance. I sell ads on a monthly basis so I can't guarantee the number of clicks or how well it will perform. I feel kinda bad if advertisers say they got only a few clicks/visits.
i see. i personally once a go invested some money into these ads. weekly basis. on a 20 millions pageview forums. from the log they sent me, i never get more than 200 clickthrough for the 7 days. bit upsad with the performance actually. my main concern, is to improve the ads clickthrough. so thus my site is profiting, and so does i can reinvest into ads.
No one should expect you to guarantee clicks. The advertiser should determine what he or she thinks is appropriate based on the volume and type of traffic you get. Unless you are charging a backbreaking amount, locking buyers into really long-term contracts, or providing inaccurate information, it isn't your responsibility. The advertiser will review the results and determine whether to continue with you or not, just as they would if they were placing an ad in a magazine. If it isn't working for them, they'll take their pennies and try something else.
Well, luckily I'm not doing any of that and I don't think that my pricing structure is very expensive. Banner ads are known not to have a very hight CTR, and the quality of the advertiser's ad plays a huge role in convertion. In my mind if you are buying a monthly ad spot, it's more about getting your branding out there than actually getting clicks. Just wanted to check and see if others feel the same.