How much to charge for direct advertising???

[Gerry]

I have a site that is well used in the Medical Profession.

I have had many offers/inquiries from others to advertise directly on my site.

Yesterday I was contacted by the Business Manager of a respectable organization to inquire about my rates for direct advertising.

I have some pricing models that I have developed in the past but would love more input.

There are many factors to consider but let me give you a basic idea of my site for some background information:



To give you an idea of our reach, 2008 saw 489,000 visitors to our site.

This year, 2009, to date we have topped 800,000 users to our site.

Google Analytics shows that nearly 80% (79.65) are new visitors and we have an average of nearly 3 minutes (2:57) of time the visitor stays on our site. This to me is a staggering number as most sites are luck if they can keep a visitor beyond 20 seconds.

Sources of traffic are 63% search engines, 28% referring sites, and 9% direct traffic.

We use a variety of methods to reach our audience, primarily word of mouth and social networking.

For medical professions represented, keyword specific searches we are highly ranked on both Yahoo and Google.


What rates would you submit based on the reach and the audience?

[Acro]

Mid $xxx /month.

[Gerry]

Thanks, Acro. That was my target number. Plus, I would give a price break paying X months in advance.

[biggedon]

you could check other websites that have similiar traffic stats, content etc., that offer direct advertising and see what their rates are.


get some figures from various sites to compare and then you can offer ad rates at or slightly below the average as an "introductory" rate.

imo...

[Gerry]

you could check other websites that have similiar traffic stats, content etc., that offer direct advertising and see what their rates are.


get some figures from various sites to compare and then you can offer ad rates at or slightly below the average as an "introductory" rate.

imo...

We think alike.

That's my style...I do not need to be the top dollar nor the lowest in terms of rates. I'd rather have a long term commitment at a reasonable rate that will bring in a monthly dollar amount.

Not to mention, a competitor of that advertiser may also want a spot and so-on.

[checknme]

Here's my one minute answer.

Do a little research into if they are currently purchasing ads from major online sites - most likely through their ad agency if so. If they are, they are probably used to paying between $10-$35 CPM for a well-qualified audience under the context of Pharma/Medical.

If they are - throw them a rate based on a $5-$7/CPM and they will likely jump for joy - and so will you.

Obviously, your rate should be tied back to unique users. Most of the time advertisers will want to limit their frequency and maximize reach. Hence, if you had 100,000 unique users, as an advertiser, I would be hard pressed to purchase more than 400,000 impressions from you (assuming, like most advertisers, they begin to reach the point of diminishing returns at this level of frequency).

Add a 25% premium for exclusivity. It has been shown to pay off both directly and indirectly for the publisher.

[Gerry]

Add a 25% premium for exclusivity. It has been shown to pay off both directly and indirectly for the publisher.

I am not ready to make an exclusivity deal yet. Too many plans for courting big vendors.

I am structuring the site to specialty specific and a state-by-state listings. I will have to spend some time creating an advertising structure - for a state listing or a national audience.

As for exclusivity, a 25% premium is reasonable but for my site I think that may be too low.

[checknme]

I am not ready to make an exclusivity deal yet. Too many plans for courting big vendors.

I am structuring the site to specialty specific and a state-by-state listings. I will have to spend some time creating an advertising structure - for a state listing or a national audience.

As for exclusivity, a 25% premium is reasonable but for my site I think that may be too low.

You have to look at Exclusivity in three ways:

1) A reason for them to sign NOW
2) A way to make your space more desirable (people don't find commodity markets sexy unless you trade in them)
3) A way to make incremental money

Price yourself accordingly based on these factors as it pertains to your situation.

[BidNo]

Nice info; thank you for sharing.