Selling adspace... pricing and where to start?

[nickoran]

I have a website that just recieved an email from a company claiming to have an interested party in advertising on the site. Apparently they are interested in purchasing a certain amount of space on the site for a product write up that would remain on the site for a year and possibly have the option of renewal.

At the moment the only advertising I've allowed on the site is adsense, but of course if the price is right I would consider it.

I am very wary of the outlook sponsored advertising has on the site and I'm keen to keep the website as independant as possible within means.

Really I just dont know where to start with negotiations, how much can a site charge per unique visitor? and what strengths should I look to highlight on the negotiation table?

[SteveGerencser]

Pick a price and see what happens. If no one bites, it's too high, if you sell out, it's too low.

But, for stats to watch, # visitors, (uniques aren't quite as important) and time on site are keys.

[ep2012]

Why aren't "uniques" important?


Michelle

[claybutler]

Actually your traffic may not matter at all if they are really buying link juice.You could just pick a price you feel is worth it and see if they bite. Most of the time though they have a budget they can spend, so just ask them what they are offering.

I get embarrassingly low offers to advertise on my sites all the time (10 links for three years for $120...are you serious?)

If its a reputable company and you have a decent site don't expect more than $30 per month for a site wide link or one on a high PR page with very high keyword relevance.

[chrisJumbo]

You have to weigh what they will pay vs. what you could lose. If you have a good CTR and earnings on Adsense, this ad could detract from that. So your price should make you more than you would with Adsense, otherwise, what's the point? If you have a 3% CTR for Adsense and the new ad reduces that to 1%, you want to make sure you come out ahead.

cd :O)

[noah0295]

Chris has a good point. I have made that mistake before and didn't realize it until it was a done deal.

Offers can pretty much be all over the place. Over the last few years I have set a minimum of $50 a month for up to 10 links with a three month minimum. So if someone comes in and offers less than that per month I tell them that I will except $xx but with a 12 month mimimum and half up front.

I have had plenty walk away but the ones that have agreed to terms have been good advertisers and have continued advertising for the long term.

[elazarus]

It's not how many people you reach...it's how effectively you reach them.

If your website is THE place for "Widget" talk and information then you can get a higher price for limited traffic as there would be little wasted coverage. If you are a forum for, let's say, "Weather" and there are 1000's of websites with weather then the advertising rate would be based on Impressions, cost per 1000, time on site etc.

Elliot

[namebutler]

Nick,

It sounds like they want to buy a link in context so your unique views are not that important. Set the price high and see if they actually pay. Never put the links up until they pay. Regarding unique views if someone was buying actual page views having a high unique view with several page views per user shows good interested readers. Thats more of a pure advertising page view discussion and not what Nick is dealing with.

[madhushan]

First try some advertising website that brings together advertisers and bloggers. Then, see what these networks charge for a ad-space offering similar number of impressions as yours. Then, demand $20- $40 more or less than that quoted in that site.

[SteveGerencser]

Why aren't "uniques" important?


Michelle

Because ads are ads no matter what the format or where they are, unless you are buying them for anchor text. Some people need to see an add 3, 4, 10 times before they click. Whether it's a matter of instant need, or trust, or just timing. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that a site that is mostly uniques is worse than one that isn't because it shows a lack of community and community sites tend to do better with ads, unless they are MFA site.