website ad revenue

September 12, 2005 5:46 AM

Is the ‘revenue-from-ads’ website business model viable for a small tightly focused company, or not?

I’ve invested in a small company that provides fee-based training and a couple hundred pages of free web content much appreciated by specialists in the field. Can it generate revenue by selling ads, or not? I’d love to hear of any success stories. I’d also like to understand how the market works. What are the ad rates? How are they determined? Are there agents? Where do I go to learn more? etc.

posted by mono blanco to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Yes, it can generate revenue by selling ads. I'd say that the question is: is it worth it?

Slap the Google AdWords code on there this morning and you'll have made some money by this evening. (Pays per click-through. Rates vary depending on what the advertisier pays -- higher for more hotly-contested keywords. So it depends on the topic of your site)

You'd generally do better with this type of keyword-based or content-focussed system -- where the advertisers are looking specifically for the type of people that are on your site.

But I suspect that if you did use a program like Google Keywords, a good number of the ads might be from competitors
posted by winston at 7:04 AM on September 12, 2005

Slap the Google AdWords code

You mean Google AdSense. AdWords is when you're advertising on other sites; AdSense is when others are advertising on your site.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:12 AM on September 12, 2005

I recommend you read WebMasterWorld where there are thousands of webmasters like you dealing with this stuff. Specifically the AdSense forum.. you'll learn tons.

And yes, it's worth it. Some people make five figures a month. I make a few hundred dollars a month from my lowly (and unfocused) blog.
posted by wackybrit at 9:32 AM on September 12, 2005