No cabe duda que Adwords proporciona un tráfico de calidad para una web, el gran problema es su coste. Vía este interesante post se expone una completa lista de alternativas, aunque eso si, muy centradas en el mercado americano:

7Search | Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Advertising Network – 2nd tier PPC/Cheap search ads
Ad.ly – Celebrity Endorsements in Social Media – sponsored/celeb Tweets,Twitter Advertising
Adblade – Online Advertising and Monetization Services – self serve display ads, good traffic
adBrite Exchange – display/contextual ads
AdBuyer.com provides the tools to help search marketers keep growing – media buying ad exchange
AdClickMedia Advertising Network – Pay Per Click Advertising, online text advertising, banner advertising, and Interstitial advertising. – self serve banners and contextual widgets
AdEngage – Engaging Internet Advertising – banners/text, similar to adbrite, allow weekly buys
Adknowledge.com | The leading long tail marketplace – social media ads,cheap ads,High Volume (aquired cubics & bidplaceSB)
http://www.adsonar.com – part of advertising.com(aol) -text ads on high traffic US sites like,cnn,cnbc,Huffington post,etc
AdSide: Beyond Standard Ads – self serve ppc, contextual, inline text ads
Retargeting and Display Advertising | AdRoll- retargeting
http://www.adsrow.com -ppc
http://www.addesk.advertising.com – display solutions on AOL inventory
Advertising.com – display/banners, media buys
Advertising | eZanga.com Hop on and go! – cheaper search and contextual
The Microsoft Media Network – microsoft banner display/media buys
Why Buy Blog Advertising? | Blogads – ads on high traffic blogs
BidVertiser – Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. – contextual and banner ads
Online Advertising Marketplace | BuySellAds.com – self serve banners on a range of design blogs
Casale Media – Home – self serve banners
Chitika – Online Advertising Network | Search Targeted Ads, Mobile Ads & Local Ads for websites, blogs, apps & mobile – search related contextual display ads
Online Contextual Advertising and Behavioral Marketing Services – contextual/banners
Clickbooth CPC Network for Advertisers or Affiliates – (Formerly Adtoll)-display/text ads
http://contextweb.com (formerly Adsdaq) -contextual ads/media buying exchange
CPMStar – The Online Network Devoted To Gamers – banners display targetted at gaming sites only
Welcome to CPX – banners/display, media buys
http://elephant-traffic.com – ppv type ads on parked url’s – cheap clicks
Advertising | Facebook – self serve ads on facebook
FinditQuick.com | Search, Shop and Compare – cheap text ads
http://google.com/adwords – You know about this anyway !
Marchex Pay-Per-Click Site-Specific – Contextual Pay Per Click Solutions for Advertisers and Publishers (Formerly Marchex/Adhere)-Cheap PPC Advertsing
Contextual In-Text Advertising and Related Information Solutions by Kontera – inline contextual text ads
World’s Largest Professional Network | LinkedIn – Ads on Linkedin pages
Media Traffic – CPV PPV Contextual Advertising – ppv ads
Connect with targeted users on Adknowledge Miva | MIVA.com – cheap search ads
http://myads.com – self serve banners on myspace & a host of Fox network sites
AOL Advertising – aol banner ad/media buy network
Free Online Dating at Plentyoffish.com™ – Social media self serve ads (CPM)
Dashboard Ad – premium banner ad network
PubMatic – ad network
Pulse 360 – The Leader in Content Targeted Sponsored Links on the Web’s Best Sites – ads on good high traffic inventory
http://rockyouads.com – social media display ads
Connect with targeted users on Adknowledge Miva | MIVA.com – search/contextual on parked pages. ****.
Twitter Advertising : Sponsored Tweets – sponsored twitter posts
StumbleUpon.com: Discover the Best of the Web – Social media ads
Technorati Media | social media at scale – banners
http://trafficvance.com – good ppv ad network
TRAFFIQ ? Digital Media. Smarter. – self serve banners, media buys
trianads.com – failbook app ads, display
Tribal Fusion – media buy banner network
Undertone | The Singular Choice for Quality Display and Video Advertising – premium banners/display/media buys
Hosted Audio/Video Chat Software by Userplane – social media advertising for media buyers
ValueClick Media | The Pure Performance Network – banners, display/media buys
http://www.web.blogads.com – banners/text ads on high traffic blog network
Select Country – Adconion Media Group – video/banner ads, media buys
Adperium Direct Ads – display banners, self serve, similar to adbrite
AdReady | Create an ad targeted to your customers – display ads/self serve banners on yahoo sites
Retargeting and Display Advertising | AdRoll – self serve banners
AdSide: Beyond Standard Ads – self serve ppc contextual inline text ads
http://www.bidplacesb.com/ – self serve banners, owned by AOL
BURST MEDIA – banners/display/media buys
Canoe Klix – text ads on the canoe.ca network
Home | Collective | The Audience Engine – media buys, banners/display
DSNR Media Group – Result Based Online and Mobile Advertising – display, media buys, unknown quantity/quality
Etology – Advertising 2.0 – banners/text ads, cheap
Targeted internet marketing – online advertising – online analytics – interclick – banners, high volume media buys
Self Service Advertising and Direct Sales Tool For Publishers | isocket – closed beta, but will be banner/display ads
AOL Advertising – retargeted ads at search traffic
MediaWhiz | Home – banners/display, media buys
Réseau Sélect – Accueil – banner and offline targetted at quebec
Right Media – self serve banner exchange
Home – Specific Media – banners/video display, media buys
Index of / – self serve text/widget ads
Matomy Media – banner/display media buys
DSNR Media Group – Result Based Online and Mobile Advertising – display banners, media buys, large inventory
https://adcenter.microsoft.com – search and content text/contextual ads
https://marketingsolutions.yahoo.com – search/content contextual ads
Additions to original traffic source list :
Advertise on Digg | Digg About – sponsored ads on digg.com
Adfunky – Display/rich media, some high traffic inventory
AditAll- Create & Run Video Ads Online – produce and run video ad campaigns
AdJuggler – Ad Serving & Management – display/media buys
Affiliate Ad Solutions | Publisher Ad Solutions | AdMedia – self serve inline contextual text ads like kontera, also display ads
Pay Per Click Advertising | Pop Under Ads | AdOn Network – banners, contextual, search – self serve (pop under)
Adoori – Reinvent Your Advertising. – ppv popups – self serve
Online Advertising Company : PPC : Email Traffic : Remarketing : Display Advertising : Online Ads : Pay Per Click Advertising : Advertise.com – self serve text, search and display ads
Affinity Contextual Advertising – Advertiser & Publisher Solutions – search, parked pages, text ads – good 2nd tier inventory
http://engagebdr.com – media buys on high traffic inventory (25k pre-pay)
Ero-Advertising: Home – Web & mobile display/banners on adult inventory
FetchBack – The Retargeting Company – Retarget the ones who didn’t sign up first time
Welcome to Hola Networks – media buys targeting hispanic demo only in USA
inLinks – In Content Link Market Place – inline contextual ads, like Kontera
Intermarkets, Inc. – display/banners – media buys
Social Media Marketing | IZEA – self serve sponsored tweets/blog posts
LeadImpact – formerly zango – pops/CPV ads
LinkWorth | Search Engine Marketing – Text Link Advertising – self serve contextual/inline text ads and good SEO services
LookSmart > Pay-Per-Click Search Advertising – self serve search/contextual text ads
http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/cat…ertising-space – small direct banner buys
RevTwt – Twitter Advertising - – advertising on twitter
http://traffictaxi.net – self serve banners/display/popunders – global
Targeted Advertising – Accelerator Media – UK banners/media buys
Global Home | The AD2ONE Group – media buys on premium UK, Irish & Aus. sites + Ebay
ADBORSA – Display ads for largely Turkish demography
Select Country – Adconion Media Group – display/media buys, good for Europe
Admanage affiliate and advertising network – PPC, CPC Banner, In Text, Display Ads, CPV, Domain Parking – Contextual, inline & display, pops, parking
AdOptim, monetize your audience – in-video, text and banner ads
http://www.adpepper.com – European banner display + Affiliate network
Adtegrity.com » Welcome to a different kind of ad network. – Media buys/display, high volume
Adverline, Publicité en ligne – Media buys, good quality French/Euro inventory
Online Advertising – AdvertiseSpace – Direct display buys on low inventory
Targeted Adult Traffic, Buy and Sell Adult Traffic – AdXpansion – Display/banners on adult inventory
Aim4Media – Leads the Way – Display media buys mainly European traffic
http://www.ampkeywords.com – self serve text ads
The adexchange experts: uncomplicating the complicated – media buys/banners, good european reach
Black Label Ads – The Internet’s Adult Ad Marketplace – Text & banners on adult inventory – adult version of adbrite
BrightRoll | The Leading Provider of Online Video Advertising Services – media buys, banners/video
Advertise Online with CBS Interactive – media buys on very high traffic CBS sites
Criteo – Retargeting
http://www.directaclick.com – Owned by Fox, media buys, US Hispanic traffic
Pay Per View PPV Cost Per View CPV Contextual Online Advertising Network – cpv, self serve popups
Ero-Advertising: Home – Web & mobile display/banners on adult inventory
ExoClick.com – Innovative PPC platform – Text/display on various inventory. Similar model to adbrite
Filiado.com – Media buys for Brazilian inventory
Glam Media . The Pioneer of Vertical Media – media buys, display, very good inventory for female
Global Interactive – Your site representation company with a wider reach! – Smaller scale banner/pop media buys
http://www.harrenmedianetwork.com – Media buys, South American/Hispanic traffic
Hi-media , Groupe Media On-line – display/media buys, mainly European traffic
Marchex Pay-Per-Click Site-Specific – Contextual Pay Per Click Solutions for Advertisers and Publishers – now called adHere – text ads on mainly tech sites
Targeted internet marketing – online advertising – online analytics – interclick – media buys, display, high volume
http://interstitials.net – interstitial ad network
Welcome to Intergi | Digital Site Rep Agency for Video Games and Entertainment – banners and static/video in-game adverts
JuicyAds.com – Adult Advertising, Adult Traffic – Buy and Sell- Buy Ads and Sell Ads – Get Juicy! – Display on adult inventory, flat rate buys per week/month
LinkWorth | Search Engine Marketing – Text Link Advertising – Banners, inline, contextual, plenty of cheap inventory
Megaclick: Internet Advertising 2.0 – banners on 2 high traffic file share sites
Mirago – Home – UK/French/German contextual/search ads
The Largest Network of Online Games – Mochi Media :: Fueling Creativity – self serve in-game ads, 300×250 only
HomePage – Retarget the ones who didn’t sign up first time
Blue Noodle – the leading ad platform for casual games – static/video in game adverts
Pamoja Media | Digital Marketing Agency – Adify powered, banners for African traffic
RealTechNetwork – Your Revenue Synchronized – Variety of formats, self serve platform
reddit.com: advertise – self serve direct ads on reddit.com
Reduxmedia – Display, media buys, some good blog inventory
ReTargeter – Retarget the ones who didn’t sign up first time
Welcome – Rubicon Project – media buys, nice interface/inventory
Salem Web Network, Christian Online Advertising – Display ads on Christian website network
SHE NETWORK; ett vertikalt annonsnätverk för annonsörer som vill nå kvinnor i sin Internet annonsering. – Adify powered, target Swedish women
Smowtion – display banners, most South American inventory
Snap.com: Delivering Contextual Content And Advertising – text/inline type ads
Home – Specific Media – Media buys/display on UK/Euro premium inventory
Advertisers – Tatto Media Advertising Made Simple – banners/display/media buys
Traffic Junky – Buy & Sell Targeted Website Traffic & Advertising – self serve display/banners, good volume inventory
Epic Marketplace – display/email ads, media buys
What is AdRands? – banners, South African traffic
Tremor Video, Inc. – media buys, good range of new formats
Unanimis – display/video media buys, UK traffic
Utarget.FOX : 21st Century Video – UK display/rich media/video, owned by Fox
Vibrant – The Leaders of Contextual and In-Text Advertising – inline contextual/rich ads, media buys
Advertising Execution : XA.net – Real-time media buying and online media planning tools – Display/retargeting/facebook ad exchange
Interstitial Ads – Full Page Ads – Online Marketing Services – Interstitial full page ads
YuMe Video Ad Network & Platform – in-video ads, media buys
ZEDO Advertising Technology Partner – display/media buys
GlobalTakeOff – display/media buys
GFY Webmaster Board
Traffic Holder Auto System / Buy & Sell Adult Traffic
ExoClick.com – Innovative PPC platform
Traffic Junky – Buy & Sell Targeted Website Traffic & Advertising
Ero-Advertising: Home
JuicyAds.com – Adult Advertising, Adult Traffic – Buy and Sell- Buy Ads and Sell Ads – Get Juicy!
Targeted Adult Traffic, Buy and Sell Adult Traffic – AdXpansion
Crakmedia Network
Traffic Shop
TrafficBroker.com – Buy Traffic / Sell Traffic / Make Money!
Etology – Advertising 2.0
Traffic Force Ad Broker
AdultSense.com – High Quality Pay Per Click Adult Advertising.
TrafficMack – Your Internet Advertising Solution
Wildline! The Best Adult Traffic, Period. Premium adult traffic experts.
Chokertraffic: Buy quality adult traffic at discount prices
GTSAds | The Source for Adult Traffic
Adult AdWorld : Adult Advertising Network

*** Mobile Ad Networks ***

Mobile Advertising, App Advertising and Analytics, Mobile Ad Exchange, Mobclix
InMobi | Global Mobile Ad Network
AdMob | Promote Apps | Monetize Traffic | Measure Performance
www.quattrowireless.com
https://www.decktrade.com
Jumptap | The Leader In Targeted Mobile Advertising
Mobile Advertising with Mojiva’s Mobile Ad Network
ZestADZ – Mobile Ad Marketplace | Mobile Ads Network | Mobile Advertising and Publishing Platform
BuzzCity – Mobile Internet Advertising
HUNT Mobile Ads

Con motivo de un email que he recibido, donde me solicitaban si podíamos actuar de comercializadores de los espacios publicitarios de una web, me ha hecho pensar de nuevo lo difícil que es vivir en Internet exclusivamente de la publicidad.

De mis años de experiencia en el sector puede destacar los siguientes inconvenientes que hacen para una empresa casi imposible vivir de la publicidad:

- Un mercado marcadamente cíclico, con una tendencia a la baja. Si medimos el rendimiento de una web como BPM (ganancia generada cada mil impresiones) veremos a lo largo de los años que ha variado notablemente, con unos periodos de bonanza cortos en el tiempo, y una tendencia a largo plazo a ir reduciéndose.

- Una concentración de riesgo peligrosa, son pocas las alternativas que se ofrecen a los soportes para rentabilizar su trafico. Descartando alternativas irrisorias (programas de afiliados y similares), se pueden resumir en 3  opciones: una agencia intermediaria, reservada a un grupo reservado de webs de renombre y que no asegura muchas veces un mínimo de campañas razonable, una comercialización proactiva mediante comerciales, quizás la mejor elección a largo plazo, pero con unos altos costes iniciales y una infraestructura costosa, y finalmente adsense, con un balance rentabilidad/esfuerzo razonable, pero que acentua aun más la concentración de riesgo y nos deja al albur del capricho del Todopoderoso cibernético.

- Por si nos fuera suficiente, debemos tener en cuenta que se necesita un volumen elevado de visitas para obtener un ingreso razonable, y que para más inri es más difícil mantenerlo que no llegar a él. He sufrido en carnes propias ver como algunas de nuestra webs llegaban a más de 2 millones de páginas vistas al mes y al cabo de dos años esa cantidad se reducía a menos de la mitad.

Evidentemente que hay excepciones, pero son eso excepciones, y aconsejaría no invertir nunca en proyectos que se basen exclusivamente en la obtención de ingresos publicitarios. Otra cosa es que pueda ser una vía de ingreso complementaria, o que estemos hablando de proyectos sin casi costes de estructura, pero eso es harina de otro costal…