Will banner ads/CPM make a comeback?

CPC and Adsense will make surfers blind to text ads.

[MrSpeed]

Between the outrageous rates for CPC and surfers becoming blind to text ads will the banner make a comeback?

I haven't checked into it too closely but I am sure the are some fantastic deals on banner/CPM advertising. Especially in niches that are very competitive in the CPC arena.

[fliks]

I don't agree. Surfers can't get 'blind' towards text(ads) as they got blind toward 468x60 banners, as ALL information on the sites they visit is always in the text-format and differs in every layout. AND - as a great plus - text-ads tend (though not perfect) to much better fit the interest of the surfer / match the theme of the current site.

Some months ago we've bought up a project that was full of pretty aggressive porn-ads and popups and removed all that crap and replaced it with (basically untargeted) textads from marketbanker.com. This gives no sensational income but has tripled the profit to an acceptable (for that kind of very mixed international visitors) .8 US$ CPM, keeping me and the visitors relatively happy.

Also on our other projects textads are always ruling out bannerads and I don't see any reason why this should change soon.

[europeforvisitors]

CPC rates are "outrageous" only in comparison to CPMs for low-performing run-of-network banners. Instead of comparing CPC text ads like AdSense to banners, you should be comparing them to other direct-response media like direct mail and telemarketing (and, for that matter, infomercials and back-of-the-magazine ads).

[jcoronella]

That is very true europeforvisitors, we are working with a "direct mail expert" and the "typical" conversion rates and cost per lead are something I would never have considered as reasonable on the web! If you can trim your margins, however, you can scale to more users than the web can sometimes provide.

[europeforvisitors]

If you can trim your margins, however, you can scale to more users than the web can sometimes provide.

I'm sure that's true, and it probably varies a lot by topic. For example, travel is a category where the Web really shines, because:

1) According to several industry surveys, more people (or at least more Americans) use the Web than use guidebooks, magazines, or newspapers for travel planning.

2) The Web makes it easy to reach niche audiences that can't be reached efficiently with offline media or mailing lists. If you're trying to sell barge cruises in Burgundy or chalet rentals in Verbier, targeted text ads on search pages and relevant content sites obviously make a lot of (Ad)sense.

OTOH, traditional media may be more effective--and, as you say, scalable--if you're trying to sell a mass-market travel product or a geographically targeted product, e.g.:

- Disney World or inexpensive Caribbean cruises (TV might work for those).

- A geographically targeted product (such as air/hotel packages in Hawaii for residents of Iowa, which might be sold most effectively via an ad in the Sunday travel section of the DES MOINES REGIGTER).

[jcoronella]

[edit]Sorry, arguing the wrong point without clarity [/edit]