So where is some good data as to how much traffic can convert and how much CPM one can get with various types of traffic? I've been all around googling this to come up with almost nothing. I know one must work on getting users first, but this is not always a viable method, and sometimes one must worry about monetization later on.
Very little in life is free. <p>Today's internet clearly proves that.<p>Very few websites cost money, and very few websites are free of ads. These ads are a charge to users in the form of annoyance, inconvenience and spam. They ruin a site's layout and distract from valuable content. <p>Worst of all these ads are EXTREMELY far from being useful. I'm sure most of you have seen the abysmal figures of facebook's 0.04% click through rate. Even giants like facebook and myspace with their millions (or billions) of monthly page views aren't profitable based on traditional ad based business models.<p>Maybe paid sites are the way to go. <p>I know i'd be fine with the death of banner ads.<p><i></i><i>
I predict the future holds one last method of advertising (pat.pend.) and then hopefully in a few years someone will be able to introduce a form of micro-payments that will actually catch on.
In some ways, it's a lot like the kid selling lemonade for a nickel across the walk from some Coke machines. For next to nothing, your expectations can be a ton lower and you'll still feel like you're getting some value. And if these free sites can actually beat out the established players in features and community, they'll basically be dead in the water, 'cause there's no price that beats nothing.<p>Then again, I heard that when Yahoo! started charging to get into their online dating service, they actually saw dramatic increases in membership due to the added ensurance of reputation a fee provides. <p>