Can you still make money on banner ads?

July 2, 2005 11:43 AM

Let's assume that I have an idea for a web site that will draw lots of people. Let's assume that it involves a fair number of images, and so probably high bandwidth. Is it still possible to make money on this kind of thing through banner ads?

The main question seems to be whether banner ads could ever generate enough money to pay for the presumably large bandwidth fees I would be racking up. Hopefully someone with experience running this type of web business can speak up.

Let's say that this potential web site is of a type that commonly has lots of banner ads, so presumably someone is making money on it. I don't want to buy into one of those "Start your own web site business!" packages where you pay a big fee, and you have to use that company's banners alone. (Those seem like a ripoff.) Otoh, I don't even know if it's possible for an independent small-fry web site to get more lucrative banner contracts. So the secondary question would seem to be: What's the best way to get the best banner ads contracts?

Bonus question: If you're anticipating a large but unknown bandwidth usage, is there a type of hosting account that will let you rack up a certain amount of usage, then cut you off, to avoid over-large usage fees?

Finally... what are the barriers that I'm not thinking of?

posted by pornucopia to work & money (6 comments total)

Let's also assume that I don't have to worry about the source of my images, and that I will have a constantly refreshing supply of images that people want to look at.
posted by pornucopia at 12:15 PM on July 2, 2005

Can we also assume that it's a porn(ucopia) site?

It would have to be some damned good porn to compete with all of the other sites out there. But if it is damned good porn, you could make money with banner ads for other porn sites if the banners are the sort that would appeal to the sort of people your site would attract.

But if you've got a steady stream of interesting images that are yours to sell, why not try selling them to an existing site? You might be able to make money without having to worry about hosting and bandwidth. Just email them to the site host and get a payment.
posted by pracowity at 12:39 PM on July 2, 2005

To answer the bonus question: Yes, bandwidth capping is a common way of guarding against blowing your budget.
posted by gentle at 1:44 PM on July 2, 2005

Also keep in mind that it's very easy to overpay for bandwidth if you're not familiar with what's available. Check out WebHostingTalk to get an idea of what's out there. The "offers" section has a lot of good stuff.
posted by trevyn at 7:48 PM on July 2, 2005

The problem with capping, from my view, is that people will try to come, find nothing, and never return. You would be found unreliable.

I know nothing about web advertising beyond what I've read in the news. However, it strikes me as likely you could charge the most for ads if your site has specifically attractive demographics (folks that control more money to spend on the advertised products).
posted by Goofyy at 10:05 PM on July 2, 2005

Yes, bandwidth can be a costly problem, but it really depends on the site.
Exactly what scale are we talking here in terms of 'fair number of images'?

Better idea: drop me an email - it should be on my profile right now.
I'm no expert, but I've gotten handy with high-bandwidth sites, and the advertising thereon.
(To give a size I'm talking about, the main site I admin has well over 5mil visitors/month).
posted by nafrance at 2:36 PM on July 4, 2005