europeforvisitors - 11:40 am on Apr 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

If you could answer every single question then the surfer might end up, for example, reaching a page describing a particular type of glue that they need for their current project, how to use it, etc.. But then they still have to buy the glue, and that is where the adverts come in. And, according to smartpricing, you'll likely get a very good rate for the click because the page is highly relevant and there will probably be a high conversion rate.

Bingo. I see this phenomenon on some of my review pages, which have extremely high EPCs, CTRs, and eCPMs for the simple reason that I'm delivering high-quality leads to advertisers. If a reader has read about a tapdancers' festival in Widgetville on my site and clicks a travel agent's ad for escorted tapdancing tours to Widgetvlle and Widgonia, the odds are extremely good that the click wll represent a hot or at least a warm lead--not just a click from someone who hasn't found the information he wanted and has clicked on an ad out of frustration. Result: Better conversion, a lower "smart pricing" discount for the advertiser, and more money for me.

Smart pricing was invented to protect advertisers from paying full retail for junk traffic. If you're intentionally creating junk pages to encourage clicks, be prepared to join the "My EPC is falling!" crowd in this forum's gallery of unhappy souls.