Advertising websites

The industry average cost of advertising per 1, 000 pageviews is probably about $2, only you'll hear LOTS of argument on that point.NOTE: I'm going to talk about dollars per 1, 000 pageviews (known as CPM), but that's not meant to suggest that advertising should be purchased on this basis. Advertisers should try and pay per click, unless they're able to purchase banner impressions for a lower effective cost per click (which happens when advertisers offer both CPM and CPC rates).

But from a publisher's standpoint, it's helpful to think of revenue in terms of income per 1, 000 pageviews and set ad rates from that perspective.

Part of the reason for the argument about advertising costs is that the value of an impression differs from one type of site to the next - social media sites, for example, find it hard to command more than $1 per 1, 000 pageviews, as the their audience isn't terribly engaged in advertising. Niche-focused blogs, on the other hand, can earn $25 per 1, 000 pageviews, as they cater to an audience that's ready to spend money. Video and email placements are more valuable than placements on a site with a lot of search traffic. Etc.

Additionally, please note that this is an average rate per ad placement. If you have three ad placements on a page, for example, you might find that your effective earnings are actually closer to $6 per 1, 000 pageviews ($2 per pageview per ad * 3 ads).

In any case, the best advice for pricing your advertising:

1. Review this report, see where your niche falls, and make sure you're giving advertisers the chance to buy ads that perform well: