5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

eCPM - what's achievable?

by lexilexi
3 replies
Hey folks,

What's a good eCPM?

Now I know this is one of those "how long is a ball of string" questions to a huge extent... and the answer will of course depend on niche, on how targeted your traffic is in the first place, and all kinds of things...

And I know it's not the only metric that counts...

But my interest came about in response to a blog post I read recently where someone made the bold statement "2500 uniques per day ought to be enough to live on."

I found this hard to believe.... but it made me really curious.


So: what sort of eCPM do you think one ought to be able to get with....

a) A blog with advertising i.e. Kontera, Adsense and the "usual" 125x125 ads on the right hand side

b) "Info site" using SEO to get organic traffic, monetized with adsense & aff network ads.

c) Digital product sales page using PPC and selling, say, Clickbank products.

d) Any other examples of types of site / Ad Networks that pick up high eCPM? Any other cool eCPM-boosting tactics you'd like to share? Do you even use eCPM as a gauge for effectiveness of web pages?
#achievable #ecpm
  • Profile picture of the author jaggyjay
    "Now I know this is one of those "how long is a ball of string" questions to a huge extent... and the answer will of course depend on niche, on how targeted your traffic is in the first place, and all kinds of things...

    And I know it's not the only metric that counts..."

    Hey Lexi,

    Well... you kinda answered your own question.

    But, let's consider this. Some years back - I don't know where I heard it - a cpm of $6 was said to be the industry average. At $6 bucks and 10,000 impressions or page views per day - you'd make $60 a day ((10000/1000) x 6).

    However, like you said, it does depend on the niche. If you have a nice where advertisers are willing to pay more, then you'll make more money.

    As far as the blog comment saying 2500 uniques ought to be enough to live on -- well, I have a site that has that kind of traffic. But, the eCPM is very low and it doesn't yet make the kind of money to live on. At least, that's just the way it is for that site.

    I have another site that averages an eCPM of over $25. But, it doesn't get that many pageviews per day.

    Now imagine a site that gets the 2500 uniques, the *HIGH* page views, and an eCPM of $25 -- now you're talking some money you can live on. A $25 eCPM with 10,000 page impressions a day will net you $250 a day - or just over $90K a year.

    The answers to what you might get with a, b, c, and d, of course depend.

    If you can get the kind of traffic that results in *HIGH* page views (ie: thousands of impressions) and combine that with an eCPM of $20, $30 and even $50 - then you'll be smiling all the way to the bank.

    As far as other networks - try ValueClickMedia. They pay you per impression. Anywhere from 5 cents to $9. Not the highest, but at least it's per impression and not per click. If you do use them, be sure to take advantage of their Default Ad feature to maximize your revenue.

    Hope this helps.

    - Jay
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[262048].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Phil Weslow
    Jaggyjay, I am assuming that when you say "Anywhere from 5 cents to $9" for ValueClick, you mean per 1,000 impressions, right?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[262724].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jaggyjay
    Hi Phil,

    Yes mate, sorry about that. It's per 1000 impressions. I should have written *by impression*.

    Imagine if it were *per* 1 individual impression -- Wow.

    Best!
    - Jay
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[264818].message }}

Trending Topics