What kind of eCPM can my facebook application generate?

One of the most common questions I hear is "What kind of eCPM can my facebook application generate?" The answer is, it depends!

There are two primary factors that effect the eCPM:

1. The country of origin of your users
2. The Click Through Rate / Conversion Rate
   

The country of origin is simple to explain. The fact is, that there are simply more advertising dollars to go around in certain countries. More advertising dollars competing for inventory means higher eCPM's for you as a publisher. In an interview with Michael Arrington a while back, Chris DeWolfe (CEO of myspace) claimed that 95% of their advertising revenues are coming from 9 countries! Essentially, if you have lot's of eyeballs from these more monetizable countries, this will bode well for your eCPM. What are these countries? I can name a few: U.S, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, and France. Any thoughts on the other 2?

The CTR / Conversion Rate is a little bit trickier. This can depend on several factors:

1. Ad Size and Placement - Ideally, you should choose a large ad format (300x250, 728x90...) and place it above the fold.
2. Ad Density -You can expect a higher eCPM if you limit your application to 1 (maybe 2 ads). You don't want to plaster your application with advertisements.
3. APPLICATION/AD ENGAGEMENT- This is the biggest factor by far. If you have a gaming application where users are fully immersed in the game and the advertisement is blindly refreshing (away from where the action is) you can deliver millions of impressions and never get a click. Apps that are more casual, and less engaging in a way, perform much better. Another strategy that pays dividends is to place ads strategically. Maybe your application is a game, but right smack in the middle, after every 5 turns, an ad appears and the user must click skip to continue playing. Although this may be annoying for your users, it can work to drive up your eCPM.
   

I still haven't thrown a number out there yet, but I probably should. At AdParlor, based on hundreds of applications, we have seen eCPM's that range from 1 cent to $5! That goes to illustrate my point - it depends!