The numbers from Facebook are pretty amazing when compared against similar ads I have placed on Google Adsense.

The exact same campaign I ran on Adsense yields on average a CPC (Cost per Click) of around 1 to 2 dollars as compared to .20 cents on average from facebook.

The CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is open to for interpretation. On the one hand the fact that I’m paying .04 cents per impression is great looking across rates across the internet and on ad networks. On the other hand, the fact that it took almost 150,000 impressions to land 39 clicks (at a .03% click through rate) is abysmal compared to other ad networks.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a problem with Facebook’s network. Facebook has a huge stockpile of pageview inventory b/c of the nature of user engagement on the site, as a result, it makes sense that even at this high volume of impressions CTR will not really yield as much relevant data as other ad networks.

In fact, from looking at where my clicks are coming from (Google Analytics and site logs), if Facebook simply only isolated ad displays on profiles and not through search, app, and other impression areas they would instantly see a higher click through rates. All but two of my clicks came from individual profile pages.

Hope this clarifies Fred, update us more as you dig :)

Ge

I know its early but I have not seen any more ads than before, and only a few targeted ads.

My early results from advertising:

Impression: 154317
Clicks:39
CTR: 0.03
CPC: 0.17
CPM: 0.04
Total spent: 6.62

The amazing thing is..this happened in the first 15 minutes I put up the ad…

Most likely there will be growth. I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate here with imagining a horrible scenario.

The scenario that the interface becomes so horrible that it becomes a barrier for entry. A fair portion of the people who are migrating over are those who were already agitated by the myspace interface. If they see an interface laced with ads and viral campaigns, I feel they’ll have trouble adapting to the network.

I don’t see it as extremely likely, but I think it still is a possible scenario. They must tread lightly.

as a long time user,i miss the good old only college days of facebook. Sometimes it’s best to separate tools from toys.

However, in the longer term, the itnerface is a key element to keeping people around. Newsfeed and application spam have pissed off long-term users – they’re the ones leaving Facebook. Without a sane interface, few applications have long-term potential.

Regardless, Facebook will grow..they must deliver a sane experience to keep users there. Without that, people will leave.

It’s ironic how you assume that their usage will swell, but then bring up the ultimate point about the new programs ‘breaking’ the user experience.

Just in your last post you nailed myspace on their horrible interface, yet you semi-assume that facebook is immune to it.

Their interface has been harmed extremely with the introduction of gawdy, viral apps, and I’m quite sure these new viral ads will have a horrible impact.

I’ve seen full screens of notifications for zombie bites already, and I don’t think it’s too long before I see the same with ‘why don’t you rent all of your favorite videos from blockbuster’.

Both of which people will not pay attention to, and will eventually leave the site.

When will the millions of people just learning of Facebook learn about what Facebook can do with the information they share?

It makes me think of a time I went to a post-office, and in front of me in the queue was an old lady who was posting off her pension money to a blatant scammer who’d told her by sending it she’d stand a chance of winning £10,000.

While targeted marketing is better for the consumer than a contextually bereft barrage, Project Beacon seems sadistic.

If targeted marketers were The Dambusters, Project Beacon is Oppenheimer and Groves. Ugh.