Guarantee CPM if you want me to join your ad network

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If you run a web site of reasonable popularity, you probably get invitations to sign up for ad networks from time to time. They want you to try them out, and will sometimes talk a great talk about how well they will do.

I always tell them "put your money where your mouth is -- guarantee at least some basic minimum during the trial."

Most of them shut up when I ask for that, indicating they don't really believe their own message. I get enough that I wrote a page outlining what I want, and why I want it -- and why everybody should want it.

If you have a web site with ads, and definitely if you have an ad network, consider reading what I want before I'll try your ad network.

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Those of us not involved in web advertising would benefit from a quick explanation of what "CPM" means.

Stands for cost per thousand, namely the price an advertiser pays to get their ad displayed 1,000 times. (Sometimes called page impressions/pageviews or ad impressions, and even sometimes still called "hits.")

A site by and large has pageviews, and it wants the most money for them. While most advertisers day pay per click, most page owners don't really care how many clicks you get, other than that it keeps you happy. They just want to know if they sell you 1,000 ads, what will you pay. Perhaps half the people (500) will click and this will cost a penny, or one person will click and it will cost $5 per click. It's all the same to the site.

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