
Traffic Bait Doesn’t Bring Ad Clicks - donohoe
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/business/media/18revenue.html?src=twr
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arn
They don't go into much detail, but they are talking about contextual ads
(google adsense), so this isn't that surprising at all: contextual ads on
celeb stories pay less than contextual ads on mortgage stories.

But, for large sites that sell its own ads against its traffic for good CPM
rates, then, you do make good money off page views (even the celebrity ones),
and more page views over time = more income.

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rarestblog
> more page views over time = more income

Advertisers are getting wise. If they'd see no return because their content
was mostly displayed next to celebrity articles, instead of more attractive
ones (let's say finance) - they'd leave, taking their money with them.

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danfitch
Use Googles AdWords Keyword Tool enable the estimated CPC column. Take the
keyword "mortgage rates" the CPC (Cost Per Click) on similar searches is
around $30. Which most search terms are around $1,2,or 3. So even if a few
people interacted with the ads you are getting alot more in return for ads
being displayed. Now put Lindsay Lohan as the topic. You maybe break $1. I
wonder why those articles perform better.

I work for the company that delivers ads to travelers before they travel,
below your printed boarding pass. And ads that work well are ones that are
contextually relavent to actions they are about to take or might take while on
their travels. But the CPM is much higher than just random search terms, but
it takes that guess work out of what internet ad servers are trying to do. We
know exactly what the person is doing and can deliver ads to them based on
where they are going, coming from and such. Most people searching for mortgage
rates are not interested in the history of mortgage rates they are interested
in the current rate and how they can perform the next action of refinancing,
which means a big payout to the lender.

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aniket_ray
_A mortgage broker can advertise its loans on an article about mortgage rates,
and readers were more likely to click on an accompanying ad. The same applies
for an immigration lawyer who bought space on a piece about immigration
policy._

 _“I think that this runs counter to a lot of the conventional wisdom in the
industry, and it was a bit of a surprise,” said Tim Ruder, Perfect Market’s
chief revenue officer._

Makes me wonder why the _conventional wisdom_ was so. Intuitively, relevant
ads is what makes sense. Aren't relevant ads the whole strategy behind
adsense?

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Andrew_Quentin
I can't quite understand how they made $129 per 1000 page views unless this is
direct advertising.

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aristus
... says NYT linkbait.

