Benchmark Ad Prices by Format: Display and Video CPMs, Search CPCs, Takeovers

In a product manager interview at Ask Media Group, you are asked what price ranges you have seen for online advertising. Give typical ranges for the main ad formats and channels, each in the pricing unit it is usually sold in. ```hint Fix the unit before the number A price means little until you know what it buys. Group the formats by the unit the market sells them in, then think about what separates the cheap end of each range from the expensive end. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should the ranges reflect the United States market, or a global average? - Do you mean what advertisers pay, or what the publisher keeps after ad tech fees? - Which formats matter most for this role: display, video, search, social, or homepage-style takeovers? - Should directly sold premium inventory be separated from inventory sold through open programmatic auctions? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Plausible, order-of-magnitude ranges for display, rich media, video, connected TV, social and search, each in its usual unit. - Fixed-fee placements such as takeovers and sponsorships, priced per day or per flight rather than per impression. - The factors that move a price within its range, such as targeting, inventory quality, buying method, seasonality, geography and competition in the advertiser's category. - Converting between units so that formats sold differently can be compared. - Candor that figures vary by year and market, and awareness of the gap between what advertisers pay and what publishers receive. ### Follow-up Questions - Your site's display CPMs drop sharply every January. Why, and what would you do about it as a PM? - An advertiser offers to pay per click for a placement you currently sell per thousand impressions. How do you decide whether the offer is better? - Of what an advertiser spends on an open-auction programmatic impression, how much typically reaches the publisher, and where does the rest go?