OpenX (previously OpenAds), developers of another popular free ad server, recently made their concerns known. But in doing so they cleverly painted a picture of Google as Big Brother…placing doubt in the minds of readers about Google’s master plan. Normally I shrug this kind of stuff off, but their point resonated with me. It is in Google’s best interest to determine what margins are being earned on their web publishers’ properties – and reduce that margin to the lowest the market will bear.

Did it stop me from signing up for a test drive of Google Ad Manager? No. But will I think twice before managing all my ads with a Google product? Absolutely.

Side note: As conversionrater.com accurately points out, free has its price, and some businesses are looking for more than just a low price point. And just as Google Analytics shook up the analytics world (didn’t kill it, like some expected), Ad Manager will probably do the same. Competition can be a very good thing.

Additional Factors to Consider that May Affect the Cost of Your Website Project:

by flickr.com/sgw

• Number of Pages:  An easy way to measure the size of a website – which is closely related to cost of production – is the number of pages. Consider that many of your website’s pages may utilize the same design, so while your website may have 20 pages, maybe 15 of them share the same design, leaving you with 5 unique page layouts (this is how many layouts your graphic designer will have to create, and her pricing should be tied to this number (more pages = more cost)). 
• Branding / Identity: If you want your website to be an extension of your offline marking and branding, a graphic designer will be needed. A website that doesn’t reflect the brand you’ve worked to build offline will do you little good in terms of brand recognition. Expect to spend $200 to $2,000 on a logo alone. If you have no pre-existing offline brand, you have more latitude in creating your new online brand, and can save some money by keeping it simple. If that’s the case, consider working with one of the popular budget logo design shops. Your may also consider hiring a designer through Elance, or working directly with a local provider – but either way be sure to check portfolios. Not all graphic designers are logo / identity specialists.

• Shopping Cart: This is a must-have feature for e-commerce sites. There are dozens of options available, in all different price ranges. From $40/month hosted subscriptions (Yahoo!) to $750 one-time purchase solutions (X-Cart Gold) and up. Keep in mind that if you’re going to take credit cards for payment, you’ll need to have a merchant account as well (which will charge you a percentage of each purchase – usually 1% – 4%). This isn’t an endorsement of GoECart, since I have never used their product, but they do have a page listing most of the major shopping cart vendors. Take their feature comparisons with a grain of salt (they might be biased toward their own product).
• Ads / Ad Serving: Is your site going to generate revenue from advertisements? If you’re going to use display ads (also called banner ads) you’ll need to make use of a “banner manager” or “ad server.” Most CMS systems, as well as WordPress come with (or can be easily modified to have) basic banner management capability (which track ad clicks and rotate banners). Remember, though, in order to earn ad revenue you have to have significant site traffic…something that most new sites do not have off the bat. Your best bet is to use Google AdSense as your sole ad provider until you start to see checks coming in. At that point you may be able to earn more by working directly with advertisers. If you then need more advanced ad serving capability you can consider installing OpenX (previously OpenAds, previously PHPAdsNew) – an open source ad server which is free to download, but will cost you some time and/or labor dollars to install.
• Analytics / Statistics: One great thing about the web is that it’s the most trackable and measurable media there is. Savvy website owners take advantage of this and track the “statistics” of their website, to find out things like:
  • What are people searching for when they find your website
  • Which other websites are directing people to your website
  • What are the most popular pages of your website

Answers to these questions can help you gain valuable insight into your customers’ mindset. And the good news is that there is a great free analytics solution available from Google (Google Analytics). Someone will charge you for installing the analytics code on your website, but it shouldn’t take more than a couple hours.

• Other more robust analytics solutions are plenty, but are generally not justified by small business websites. In fact, the other analytics solutions can be complex to the point of requiring a part time dedicated resource just to make use of them. But here are a few other reputable names ($150/month and up):
  • Webtrends
  • Omniture
  • ClickTracks
  • Indextools

Next: Business Website Cost (Part 7): Form vs. Function

Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8