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Last Updated on March 25, 2023 by Work In My Pajamas
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Cost-per-Click
CPC is a commonly used abbreviation for Cost-Per-Click, which is a metric based on performance of certain actions. For example, the owner of the site will only get paid when a person who is looking through their website clicks on the given ad – and it doesn’t make a difference what amount of impressions (eyeballs/2 on the ad) they are served when attempting to gain the click.
Marketers always tend to favour this kind of advertising (as they only pay for leads) – however publishers don’t really like it as much due to typically not being able to plan content around the advert they have never interacted with before or even tested. The pricing structure of this is pretty much fixed and increases per lead are rarely heard of until you are in the big leagues.
For blogs who want specific advertising for a select demographic, this probably isn’t the advertising for you. However, if you are a smaller blog this type of advertising can be right for you – and if your blog is popular enough you can potentially make a nice bit of revenue for site.
CPA
CPA is an abbreviation for Cost-Per-Action and is favored by advertisers worldwide, which is down to the only pay-out they make is when a sale or action is made (not on every single click-through). This could be as simple as collecting email addresses (or you could even buy email lists) or telephone numbers, or having people sign up to free trials.
This type of online advertising is how ‘Affiliate Programs’ work – and unless your blog is a complete niche relevant to an affiliate scheme it’s not worth doing. However, if you find a great niche affiliate program and construct a blog around it…well big bucks are to be had!
What Is an Affiliate Scheme?
Another term for an affiliate scheme is an ‘associate program’. These programs are set arrangements by which commission is made from a publisher’s blog sending a website traffic – and then buy a product from the certain website.
For example, you might have a blog which talks about all the different BBQ sauces around the world – so you would look into an affiliate scheme in BBQ sauces with perhaps Amazon or another popular BBQ sauce dealer. If people see the BBQ links in your blogs and click on them, and then end up actually buying the BBQ sauce from the Website who holds the affiliate scheme, then a small amount of commission is made.
The amount of commission is varied, depending on the affiliate scheme…normally the smaller the niche of the product, the higher commission it brings in. Amazon’s affiliate scheme is a great program for people starting out, whereas alternatives like schemes offered by clickbank and other affiliate networks can bring in big money by referring ebook sales.
CPM
CPM is an abbreviation for Cost-Per-Mille – a mille being a thousand. This means the price of the advertising is based on every 1,000 impressions from web traffic on a certain blog. Publishers risk nothing and favour CPM advertising, for the advert does not even have to be interacted with by web traffic perusing their page – just seen. Marketers’ attitudes to this form vary massively.
Finding advertising for your blog is sometimes a tricky process depending on what you want. You must think about your audience; how many people you pull in and what your demographics are. From doing your research properly, there is no reason why any blog publisher can’t make a little extra on the side.
