CPM banner rates

[paul12345]

I find myself in a pleasant position. I actually have people making inquiries about advertising on my site. I'm only interested in offering CPM 468X60 page top banners, no popups or pop unders (thanks to having the option of always using Google's AdSense I'm in the driver's seat as to what I want to offer).

Right now this page top banner space just serves FastClick and Burst ads (I server the AdSense ads lower on the page). From what I can tell right now this space just earns me $.5 CPM, so basically I can offer the space for practically anything and its profit for me. And while in general I usually do let advertising go for less rather than more (in return for a good advertising client), I will have to live with the rate.

Does anyone know where I could go to get an idea of current rates for this type of advertising? My situtation is that the banner ads would be precisely targeted and matched to the page's text (as accurate as Google's Adsense).

I've looked at other similar sites to see what their rate cards are. I see $25 to $65 CPM. I have a hard time thinking that these rates are realistic. I also notice these other sites don't seem to have sold any banner advertising, thus reinforcing my thoughts.

[fidibidabah]

2 Years ago I might have said .50-$1 was the best you were going to get. Things have turned around a bit. I remember in 1999 I was getting a smooth $3CPM (pulling in 450 a month easy).. The internet has changed however, people don't want to pay for their ads being shown, or even being clicked anymore! Over 60% of advertising is done on an 'action' basis. CPM is hard to come by. If you can find a ready and willing at $3, I think it'd be fair. However, that depends on how targeted it is compared to the content on your site, how many visitors you get, etc, you might want to think about charging a flat monthy rate also, just an idea :)

[netnerd]

I have a music hobby site which gets about 4000 page impressions a day.

Fastclick reviewed the site and didnt accept it for banner ads etc - must be a poor industry or something. The site is completely legit though with no porn or anything like that on it.

Can anyone recommend a good pay-per-impression agency to try becuase its a shame to waste all these impressions. I do have google adsense on the page but it makes very little.

[tdnetworks]

If you can prove to your advertisers that you can give them a good rio then you can make your rates high. If not, the best you will get these days dealing with networks will be $1cpm for just a banner if that.

Our company has plans to pay some sites $10 cpm just because they have proven to us to convert well. If you can prove that you can make a roi for a advertiser, you will make so much more. But this will be hard to do since only certain types of advertisers will be able to convert well on your website if you only reach a specific type of user.

[Edge]

Initially, I guessed on my advertising rates for my industry and, at first, no takers. Then, I lowered my prices dramatically and now have several regular advertisers. Next year, I plan to start to creep up my prices until I see a unfavorable effect.

-- Adsence is a good way to get a feel for what people are willing to pay.