Ad networks?

[shawn]

So, apparently, Contextweb/Pulsepoint no longer does business with forum sites. I put OpenX ads back up after being away from them for a few years, and... while it's only been a few days, I'm unimpressed with the fill rates.

Does anybody have suggestions for other ad networks they've been happy with? We're already running Adsense as a remnant, mainly looking for a network that offers high(er) CPM campaigns. We aren't really in a market that does well with direct ad sales, and we're only doing about 1MM impressions/mo, which doesn't put us in range of a lot of the bigger networks.

Suggestions?

 

[Crayo]

Has buysellads ever been an option for you?

 

[craigiri]

Basic economics tell me that only the very rare site can do better than adsense. The reasoning is simple - since it is a much larger marketplace, there is more competition for decent impressions.

I have tried a number of networks over the years - and even amazon affiliate stuff - and never come close to the adsense payouts. As mentioned, there could be exceptions in certain niches.

For instance, if you have a site about macs or ipads, amazon affiliate links could do very well. Some photo blogs ad sites do really well with Amazon also.

I'd love to hear if you find something better - but my basic experience is that adsense pays the most except for direct sales from you to the advertisers and sponsors themselves.

 

[Slavik]

Realy depends what your website has on it.

On highly specialised sites, aproaching big suppliers may benefit much better than using an ad-network.

 

[shawn]

I'd love to hear if you find something better - but my basic experience is that adsense pays the most except for direct sales from you to the advertisers and sponsors themselves.

On a CPM basis, we've had alternate providers that always paid better than Adsense (2-4x better), but they only filled 25-40% of our impressions.... sometimes less. And honestly, it sorta seems like total Adsense revenue wasn't affected by the lost traffic. I guess at a certain point, you just get down in the weeds in terms of leftover inventory with low CPM rates, so it doesn't show for much in your totals.

And I totally agree about direct sales, but I just don't see it happening for our market. We have gotten the occasional inquiry, but only from people who don't really understand what a campaign costs.

 

[craigiri]

Keep in mind that things have changed since goog and bing are now well known for cost per click and cost per action instead of CPM. I think the CPM model is largely dead....although it will hang on for awhile in ad agencies and our private sales. But, realistically, presented with a CPC model and a CPM model, most businesses would choose the first since it ends up working out less expensively....sometimes much less!

Goog is quickly becoming the world's largest ad agency and I don't see much else out there to stop or match it.

 

[intradox]

I use buysellads and they now have the option to backfill impressions which are unfilled via the marketplace. I believe they use google ads/openx/etc. and I'm geting around .70-.80 eCPM

 

[Alston]

Well!!!I read out ll the reviews and i agree with all reviews.I get more information about the ad networks.Ad Networks are based on the notion of representing a group of web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broad audiences relatively easily through run-of-category and run-of-network buys.

 

[Jeff Fuqua]

At the risk of bumping an old thread, I wanted to see if anyone was working with an ad network they'd recommend.

Also, anyone using the new Adsense Direct to sell their own ads yet?

 

[D.O.A.]

Porn covers my dedicated server costs and then some, so I recommend it

 

[KenBrace]

This thread is old so the suggestions might be a bit outdated.

Any recommended money making opportunities for an online forum?

 

[Brent W]

Openx, Gamut, Sovrn, Conversant, GumGum and adsense are who we currently use.

 

[KenBrace]

and adsense

I used Adsense for a few weeks but to be honest it wasn't worth it. I get several hundred thousand hits per month but only earned a cent or two during that period.

 

[craigiri]

Affiliates done right bring in much more money than adsense - although I use both.

 

[KenBrace]

Affiliates done right bring in much more money than adsense - although I use both.

Any tips?

 

[craigiri]

Any tips?

It always depends on the nature of your audience. If you are mostly US and UK based, try Amazon Affiliates- if, for instance, you had a particular forum about Macs, you could insert Amazon Mac ads there and you would get from $20-$80 or more every time someone bought a mac through that link.

It's mostly a matter of experimentation and seeing what your users may respond to and buy.

Shareasale.com handles hundreds of companies which you affiliate with through that one source. Check it out.

 

[KenBrace]

Thanks for the tips @craigiri. I'll look into those options.

 

[Daniel Hood]

Promoting affiliate offers can lead to a nicer income than just praying people click your Adsense. Try applying to https://peerfly.com be detailed and honest in your application for best chance of approval.

 

[drastic]

Adsense is good for targeted niche sites.

Buy sell ads kinda stinks.

We pay $4 per k visitors, with daily bonuses. We can get more clicks for you too because I let publishers chose what to send hits to, where to send it, and don't care that much about the content of your site as long as it's relevant.

Anyone can message me if they want an invite.

We won't ever pay as much as Adsense, but if no ones clicking on your generic ads, at least you can give them something good to click on and make a few bucks.