Please Educate me regarding Ads on sites

[bassvax]

Can someone explain how the ads on sites work? I mean, does the advertising agent pay a flat fee to the web site owner or is it based on the number of clicks on that particular ad? Sites usually ask for help by having us click on the ads. I would like to support some sites (like this one) if all I had to do was click on the add and look at what they had to offer. While I am not into the ads I feel a small sacrifice on my part is not too much to ask when I really like the site and spend a lot of time there.

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Jerry

[Charles Kozierok]

Here's how it works. The ads run, and then the site gets paid nothing. Well, it only seems that way lately. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif
There are some ads that are paid by the number of times they are displayed. These are sometimes called "CPM" ads. Others pay based on the number of clicks. These are "CPC" ads.
Some sites ask you to click because they get paid more. Frankly, I just find it cheesy. I don't want people to click ads unless they are interested in what they see. Though I certainly appreciate your interest in helping out the site.

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Charles M. Kozierok
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
Note: Please reply to my forum postings here on the forums. Thanks.

[bassvax]

Thanks Charles for feeding my thirst for info. Ya know, I often see things in ads that interest me, but I havee this "shields up" mentality that keeps me from going there. I have clicked a few and even got some use out of 'em. Thanks again. I went to that Rainforest site. They had some great pics for sale, but they should really ad quite a few more. Anyways...

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Jerry