I haven't been involved with Internet advertising since the mid nineties. I'm a little ignorant on the ad business these days, but I know things have 'evolved' since then. I know most sites, like this one, only get paid if people click on the advertisement.
Is this also true for the biggest sites like Yahoo, CNN, the New York Times, etc? Or do they get paid on a pay-per-view basis for their graphical banner ads?
I'm asking this question because I don't quite see the logic in pay-per-click rather than pay-per-view. I know it's more valuable to an advertiser if the person clicks on the ad and visits the advertiser's site, and as such, should pay more for that.
But it seems to me that a view is also valuable and that an advertiser should still pay for that. If I'm General Motors and people see a graphical advertisement that advertises an Employee Discount For All, and only 2% of the viewers click on the ad, I know the ad is really reaching more than 2% of the web site's visitors. A person, even though he or she didn't click on the ad, may say "oh, cool, a discount on GM cars! I think I'll go visit a dealership and test drive that truck I've been eying."
Are there any pay-per-view programs for graphical ads sill in existence, or are they now extinct? If there are some, are they effective? Are major advertisers part of the network?
If I wanted to offer up advertising space on a direct basis and I stipulated that I wanted a pay-per-view contract, would any advertisers go for it, or would they walk away?