Standard CPM Rates

[cyphix]

I'm considering advertising on a rather large website which has many different categories & naturally they told me that the more targeted the category the higher CPM it commands... I've gone for a pretty targeted area but I was wondering if anyone here knows what the standard CPM rates are for highly targeted surfers?

The prices he gave me I gather are CPM rates since that's the only method he mentioned in his email, but to me they seem ridicuously high, even for highly targeted eye-balls.

Basically he said $40 (CPM?) for the category I wanted.

The category isn't anything with huge bids on OVT or anything like finance.

Thanks!

 

[theparrot]

web hosting?

 

[mike031]

the webmaster can charge whatever he wants, it's upto you to decide if its going to be worth it or not... it's always a good idea to experiment in different enviornments... just test the advertising out and see if its converting well or not, simple as that.

 

[deepstar]

$40 CPM seems very 1997ish. CPM is fairly outdated as well, I would offer a CPC rate 25% of what #1 position at overture and google are going for.

Likely they do not sell out of advertising at $40 CPM, it is more likely they have 0 clients paying this therefore they must have a decent amount of unsold inventory. I would tell him if they ever have any unsold inventory to contact you.

 

[Domagon]

CPM is still alive and well on the net ... $1 to $2/CPM range is a reasonable cost for most niche sites and $5 to $10/CPM range is a reasonable cost for many big name sites; ~ $40 CPM is common on some big name sites, but advertisers experienced with negotiations typically don't pay anywhere near that.

PPC ... pay per click is often a better deal if all you seek are clicks ... however, if you're seeking exposure too (branding), then CPM can often work out as good, if not better.

As a poster above suggested, negotiate a bit - ie. asking about "unsold" inventory. Also ask if they offer PPC (pay per click) pricing at all.

Ron

 

[David G]

...Basically he said $40 (CPM?) for the category I wanted.

That seems quite high. I believe most webmasters would consider about 1/2 of that as doing very good, IMO. Except some niche sites may possibly achieve that number.

 

[deepstar]

One thing I forgot to ask was how big the ad creative was and where on the site will it be placed. If it is a full page creative then maybe $40 CPM is not bad. If it is a 468x60 then with good creative and good placement above the fold you may see a 1% CTR so basically you would pay $4 per click.

 

[cyphix]

Thanks guys for the replies!

The ad sizes are 160x600 towers and 728x90 leaderboards.

From what I can tell the towers are placed a screen length down but not sure about the leaderboards.

As for unsold inventory, ATM they appear to be serving ads from checkm8.com for the tower in the category I want.

 

[deepstar]

As I mentioned, you will likely still be paying at least $1 per click at $40 CPM so you may want to compare the prices at overture and google as these clicks tend to convert much better than banner advertisement clicks.

 

[cyphix]

Well I'm not neccasarily looking for clicks per se.... I am more looking for exposure as valuenames put it!