Forum Moderators: martinibuster
First, cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) ads operate on a different payment structure than cost-per-click (CPC) image ads. With CPM ads, you’ll be paid each time an ad is displayed on your page. With CPC ads, you’ll be paid only when a user clicks on an ad.
So, how does AdSense decide whether to show CPM ads on your site?
Your site is automatically eligible for CPM ads. There seems to be concern that CPM ads will lower your earnings. However, in reality, if CPM ads show on your site, you should be paid as much or more than you would with traditional CPC ads. Our technology chooses which type of ads to display based on whichever options will generate the maximum revenue for that page.
Also, many of you have wondered whether CPM ads are image-based or text-based. The answer is both.
How will CPM ads affect your reports?
Currently, we are unable to provide separate reporting for CPM and CPC ads, so you’ll see combined impressions and earnings for both types of ads. This means you may notice a decrease in your click-through rate even as your earnings go up.
Lastly, what do CPM ads mean for the AdWords side?
Site targeting allows AdWords advertisers to select sites or groups of sites on which they want to advertise. Usually, these sites are chosen because they have high-quality content on a subject that matches the interests of both the advertiser target audience and your users.
Advertisers can then bid for these ads on a CPM basis. If our technology determines that this CPM bid will generate more revenue than traditional CPC ads competing for the same page, we’ll show CPM ads on your page.
So, if you would like to attract CPM ads, the best advice I can give is to continue producing great content!
Hope that helps,
-ASA
1) We want to display at min. 2 dollars+ cpm ABOVE THE FOLD, in space that is uncluttered. We won't pay you a cent if you have a creative space at the very bottom of the page, because NOW, we pay for impressions...3) If you use multiple creatives of the same format on a page, forget about it. We're not paying to be displayed on your page twice, particularly if one or both of the displays are going to result in NO clicks because of their positioning...
5) We (others may differ) use both skyscrapers, but we do NOT plan on using 468 banners, leaderboards,or inline rectangles because the placement of these on most of the sites we reviewed tells us we will get zero clicks. skys are hard to stick below a fold, but the others can easily be buried. Of course, if we find a site that has a well placed 468 banner that will get us our clicks, we might produce some creatives that size. But right now, we don't want to be buried at the bottom of pages. And that's what we are finding on most sites, so we simply don't choose them. INTEGRATE the creatives properly with enough white space so they stand out. Set it up so we get clicks, and you get our money...
But, if you do have it set up well, AND we get a few conversions from it (not just clicks) we'll jack up the CPM for your particular site. If you are valuable to us, we'll pay you more...
Let's suppose that I have "optimized" my site for CPC ads, which includes placing ads among "clutter," "buried," below the fold, maybe even at the very bottom of the page (a placement that in some cases works well for CPC).
Let's also suppose that, even with all the CPC "optimization," I am disappointed. I think I might do better with supplemental CPM. I'd like to give CPM a try. What should I do?
Should I undo my CPC "optimization," rearranging my ads and placements--above the fold, in uncluttered spaces, etc.--to accommodate the hypothetical CPM advertiser?
What guarantee do I have that any advertiser will select my site for CPM ad placement?
I have one site where, with the sole exception of horizontal AdLinks (which of course does not accommodate CPM), none of the other ad types have worked. I have pulled the other ad types from most pages leaving just the horizontal AdLinks.
I am itching to try CPM ads on that site. Am I--on a mere hope--supposed to add a leaderboard to the top of my pages, or maybe skyscrapers to the right or left, or large rectangles above the fold, front and center? What if I do this, ruin my CPC (and AM) performance--AND NO CPM ADVERTISERS COME CALLING?
I am not willing to gamble my CPC revenues (not to mention my other affiliate income) on the bet that maybe CPM advertisers might choose my site someday.
I really think there needs to be some way for CPM advertisers to send a signal, directly or indirectly, to potentially attractive publishers: Hey, if you would just redo your ad layouts to accommodate CPM better, I'd be happy to begin advertising on your site. Or even more specific: I have this leaderboard ad that would be perfect on X, Y & Z pages of your site. Will you please set this up for me?
Without that signal (direct or indirect, general or specific), am I supposed to guess, hypothesize, dream your intentions?
Do you see the quandary we publishers are in?
I think that until Google solves this signaling problem, until we publishers have reasonable reassurance that rearranging our sites for CPM might pay off, most of us will play it safe and stick to our CPC comfort zone. The new CPM program will languish as frustrated CPM advertisers will, like you, observe a shortage of sites set up "just right" for CPM. Some of us publishers will be likewise frustrated, but for different reasons.
How about it, ASA? Does Google perceive this as a problem?
My forum traffic is worth something in branding but 2 dollars is a way too much. I would value my forum traffic more like 50 cents CPM.
One of the things that oldtimers know (as advertisers) is that it's NOT cost effective to brand via CPM.
The traditional way to brand (let's say to get eyeballs to see your add enough to remember your domain name) is to purchase CPC ads and use creatives so that people will NOT want to click on the ads. So, the ads get displayed, get seen, but very few clicks, and very little cost. But there's more.
You can't brand well via google. Because the genius of their system for keyword targetting is that low click thru ads won't get shown.
You CAN brand this way via overture, and other straight CPC systems.
I know this is more of an advertiser strategy, but the more publishers know about how advertising works, the better they are.
Let's suppose that I have "optimized" my site for CPC ads, which includes placing ads among "clutter," "buried," below the fold, maybe even at the very bottom of the page (a placement that in some cases works well for CPC).
Ok. Please remember that I'm both a publisher AND an advertiser.
1) Bad site design for CPC ads is probably going to be bad site design for CPM ads. It's just that if you want CPM ads, you are going to be scrutinized by potential advertisers, so it becomes more important.
2) Google CPM ads are going to be valuable to publishers with currently low eCPM for keyword ads. If your current eCPM is $1.00 per thousand for keyword ads, then you will probably attract CPM ads that will pay you more because of the way google has structured its system (i.e. CPM ads will NOT be displayed on your site if the bids are going to earn you LESS money than keyword ads - don't know exactly their algorithm, and we probably won't know).
3) If you run a high eCPM site now (let's say $20 per thousand), for advertisers to get their CPM ads on YOUR site, they are going to have to have to pay enough so that their ads show on your site. In other words the CPM ads have to trump the CPC ads. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. IF a company is willing to pay that money way in excess of the minimum (perhaps, let's say $22 CPM bid), you make tons of money. If nobody wants to go that high for YOUR site, then you don't get the ads, or see the ads. If you get 20 eCPM NOW, and the only CPM type bids are for $2. they won't show on your site (neither will they drop your income, theoretically).
4) We don't know the google algo that determines whether CPM will be displayed on your site, instead of CPC. But if it takes into account your current ECPM, and you have multiple badly placed, low CTR keyword targeted ads NOW because you have too many creatives in bad places, advertisers will get a much BETTER price to be on your site, then if you had less ads, higher CTR, etc.
5) Obviously cpm model will work best for publishers with low CTR currently and low eCPM. If google has trouble targeting your site and displays irrelevant ads, then CPM may work better.
6) CPM model will work best (I'm speculating a bit on this one) if you run tightly focused sites on narrow topics. The reason is that if I sell red plastic widgets, and you have a single page among thousands for red plastic widgets, if I run a cpm ad on your site to sell red plastic widgets, it's also going to show up on all your ad spots on all pages, even if you have pages on computer memory, cat toys, and dog kibble. That's a waste of the ad money.
If, however you run a site on red plastic widgets, and I sell red plastic widgets, and ALL your site pages are on that topic, then the ads on all the pages of your site are valuable to ME. So, if you have a focused site, have an excellent layout so ads stand out, then I'll pay you for that. But if my ads are going to be shown on non-red plastic widgets pages, your site has little value to me for CPM.
7) As a publisher, we long ago eliminated multiple ad units, based on performance, uncluttered most of our sites, etc, because it's better for our visitors, and therefore it results in better CTR on CPC ads. The ads stand out some but are content integrated. So, for us, we're ready for CPM ads because we believe our sites (not all but most) WILL impress potential advertisers.
What we don't know is whether advertisers will pay enough for CPM to actually display, because as a result of our renovations, our eCPMs for most sites is high. So, for some sites, CPM advertisers would need to bid 15-25 dollars per thousand impressions just to show. And that may be worth it to the advertisers that are currently paying 8-13 bucks per click in the CPC system.
If they don't bid high, we continue to receive cpc ads. If they bid high enough, we will probably get a mix. It's probably a no lose situation.
I really think there needs to be some way for CPM advertisers to send a signal, directly or indirectly, to potentially attractive publishers: Hey, if you would just redo your ad layouts to accommodate CPM better, I'd be happy to begin advertising on your site. Or even more specific: I have this leaderboard ad that would be perfect on X, Y & Z pages of your site. Will you please set this up for me?
First direct contact with google publishers or advertisers is a bit dicey and I doubt google will encourage it.
But second, as a publisher, I'm not going to spend my time contacting you. Either your site works for us, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, I'll find someone else. If it's designed primarily for adsense, I'm not interested in talking to you anyway. If it's designed for human beings, is topical, and above all if the design is excellent, then I don't NEED to talk to you, because you already "got" me.
The whole point of adwords/adsense is that it's FAST for everyone. If I have to contact you, wrangle, etc, I might as well approach you directly, and I have no interest in doing that.
Google CPM ads are going to be valuable to publishers with currently low eCPM for keyword ads. If your current eCPM is $1.00 per thousand for keyword ads, then you will probably attract CPM ads that will pay you more because of the way google has structured its system (i.e. CPM ads will NOT be displayed on your site if the bids are going to earn you LESS money than keyword ads - don't know exactly their algorithm, and we probably won't know).
According to Google, whether to display a CPC ad or a site-targeted CPM ad is determined on a page-by-page basis. So a given site could have a high overall eCPM but still get minimum-bid CPM ads on some pages.
CPM model will work best (I'm speculating a bit on this one) if you run tightly focused sites on narrow topics. The reason is that if I sell red plastic widgets, and you have a single page among thousands for red plastic widgets, if I run a cpm ad on your site to sell red plastic widgets, it's also going to show up on all your ad spots on all pages, even if you have pages on computer memory, cat toys, and dog kibble. That's a waste of the ad money.
That depends on the site and the advertiser. On my European travel-planning site, for example, a large multi-country tour operator or guidebook publisher could do well with CPM ads, because anyone who's reading about Britain, France, Italy, etc. is a potential buyer of the company's varied products. On the other hand, an advertiser who sells walking tours in Rome would be better off with contextual CPC ads, because CPM ads would provide too much waste circulation.
The same thing would be true for sites on other topics: A general photo-equipment retailer could justify buying CPM ads on a photography site, but a maker of tripods or view cameras would be better off with CPC ads on targeted pages. Similarly, a major cruise line or cruise travel agency might want to run CPM ads across a quality cruising site, while a travel agent that specializes in Elbonian river cruises or Whatsitonian barge cruises would be better off with contextual CPC ads.
In any case, the best way for a publisher to get CPM ads is obviously to have a site that will appeal to advertisers. I suspect this has less to do with optimizing for ads than with optimizing for the reader.
Side note: Site-targeted CPM ads are a nice way for Google to outsource the task of quality control to advertisers. Maybe we'll see site-targeted CPC ads in the not-too-distant future for the same reason. If that happens, site quality will become more important than ever, and "run-of-network" CPC ads (such as we have now) will exist mostly for bargain hunters and bottom feeders.
First direct contact with google publishers or advertisers is a bit dicey and I doubt google will encourage it.
Right. How about this: Google adds a section to our Account page that says something like: There are 3 [or x] CPM advertisers who would like to advertise on your site but are currently prevented from doing so/disinclined to do so. To accommodate these advertisers, you need to deploy one or more of [or specifically the following] ad types: large rectangles, leaderboards, etc., above the fold [or at the top of the page, or...] [Or: Refer to the following general guidelines page for CPM ads. Figure it out on your own.] This would be an automated feedback system run entirely through some web interface with check boxes, pick lists, etc.
But second, as a publisher, I'm not going to spend my time contacting you. Either your site works for us, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, I'll find someone else. If it's designed primarily for adsense, I'm not interested in talking to you anyway. If it's designed for human beings, is topical, and above all if the design is excellent, then I don't NEED to talk to you, because you already "got" me.
My sites are designed for users first and foremost, only secondarily to make money. Through long and hard experimentation and testing, I have discovered that what works best for both me CPC-wise and my users is: horizontal AdLinks, with an occasional narrow skyscraper or perhaps vertical banner on carefully selected pages. These are all above the fold, carefully positioned in uncluttered spaces, tastefully blended in with the site colors, etc.
With the exception of the occasional narrow skyscraper, I do not now deploy the other CPM-ready ad types because they don't work on my site for CPC. I might try these other ad types if I have some indication that CPM advertisers are ready and willing to make use of them. You might find my site perfect in every other way, I might already "got" you, except for the fact that I don't deploy your ad unit of choice (or precisely where you want it). So close, but yet so far.
The whole point of adwords/adsense is that it's FAST for everyone. If I have to contact you, wrangle, etc, I might as well approach you directly, and I have no interest in doing that.
Sure. That's why Google should provide some anonymous [and automated, easy to use] intercommunication mechanism so that CPM advertisers might indirectly signal to publishers their wishes/intentions.
If Google doesn't do this, I predict that most publishers will stick to the tried and true CPC. Why should I adopt CPC-inappropriate ad types and placements, potentially ruining my CPC (and AM) revenues, on the outside chance that you and other CPM advertisers maybe will make use of them?
That's why Google should provide some anonymous [and automated, easy to use] intercommunication mechanism so that CPM advertisers might indirectly signal to publishers their wishes/intentions. If Google doesn't do this, I predict that most publishers will stick to the tried and true CPC. Why should I adopt CPC-inappropriate ad types and placements, potentially ruining my CPC (and AM) revenues, on the outside chance that you and other CPM advertisers maybe will make use of them?
Rbacal is just one advertiser. If you were to redo your site to please him, you might turn off another advertiser who prefers leaderboards or ad blocks surrounded by text or whatever.
Ultimately, attracting site-targeted CPM advertising isn't about redesigning your site for specific advertisers; it's about delivering an audience that prospective advertisers can't afford to ignore. If you've got a quality site about Transylvanian Vampire Hounds that can deliver 300,000 impressions per month, breeders of vampire hounds, makers of vampire-hound collectibles, etc. will want to advertise on your site regardless of whether your ads are leaderboards or skyscrapers. Obviously, you'll have a better chance of attracting advertisers if your ads are "above the fold" and if your pages aren't so crammed with other ads and affiliate links that the Ads by Google get lost in the clutter. But that's just common sense--and a publisher should be able to figure that out without engaging in dialogue with advertisers.
Obviously, you'll have a better chance of attracting advertisers if your ads are "above the fold" and if your pages aren't so crammed with other ads and affiliate links that the Ads by Google get lost in the clutter.
But CPM advertisers still have to bid against CPC advertisers for their ads to "win" the best spot. In our site, the CPM advertisers are only showing in the second (a large rectangle at the bottom of the page) and skyscrapers at the side -- both below the fold. Makes sense for us since these two ad formats have eCPM under $10. Our first ad unit - a large rectangle above the fold - seldom shows CPM ads because eCPM is already almost $50. The CPM advertiser has to bid really high to be seen in that spot.
I'd like to try rearranging things to accommodate CPM advertisers, but it's just too risky.
CPM ads might work on my sites, but I guess I'll never know.
Just the way in CPC ads, we have invalid clicks, do we have invalid impressions in CPM Ads?
How does the system take care of CPM Ads impressions when we see our own site?
