AdBrite announced today the launch of a cost-per-click (CPC) auction for graphical banner ads. Advertisers can now pay for graphical banner advertising in the same way they pay for search placements and text ads -- paying only when their ad is clicked.
CPC auction pricing is a significant departure from traditional CPM (cost per impression) rates paid by most advertisers for graphical banner ads (display advertising). When advertisers pay for impressions, they are assuming the full risk of impressions that may never convert into clicks or sales. In a CPC banner auction environment such as that offered by AdBrite, display advertisers pay only for clicks. This lowers advertiser risk while increasing performance. In addition to advertiser benefits, CPC pricing rewards AdBrite's high-quality publishers by compensating them for the full benefit of their contributions to each advertiser. Many AdBrite publishers will see a significant increase in revenue.
You may have never heard of AdBrite, but they are the fifth-largest ad network by pageviews according to ComScore (October 2008). "AdBrite is committed to our advertisers' success," said AdBrite CEO Ignacio Fanlo. "Allowing them to pay for performance makes sense. More than 90 million consumers visit AdBrite's sites every month, and our new CPC auction provides an effective and low-risk way for advertisers to engage them."