Menu of ad options

There are many location and rate options depending on your budget. Below is a tasty menu.

(A) In-Article for small to medium advertisers

This position is best suited for small or medium advertisers who want to target specific audiences. These ads appear only on your choice of pages so you can really target your audience like a laser. For example a BBQ sauce might want to advertise on one or more of the sauce recipes or perhaps on the page with a BBQ ribs recipe. You can pick whatever page you want except the home page, only one ad per page, first come first served.

Ads can be up to 200 pixels wide by 400 pixels high, and they are highly visible right in the midst of the article text above the "fold" (high on the page). Click here to see an example.

Monthly rates are $10 per 1,000 pageviews ($10 CPM) and are based on the past 12 months of traffic according to Google Analytics. The actual rate will be much lower because the actual pageviews will probably be much higher. For example, if you pick a page that had 24,000 pageviews over the past 12 months, the average was 2,000 pageviews per month, your fee would be $20 per month. Minimum order is 6 months so your bill would be only $120.

As you can see from the chart at the top of the page, pageviews are increasing rapidly every year so you are guaranteed significantly more viewers than last year. For more information, for a list of the top 100 pages, or for a quote, contact Meathead.

(B&C) VerticalSearchWorks &
Google AdsWords

VerticalSearchWorks and Google AdWords offer ads that charge you only if someone clicks on it, known as Cost Per Click (CPC).

Advertisers go to their site and bid on a list of keywords that appear in the articles on each page. Google AdWords are text only, and you can put a picture in your ad with VSW. If you work with either of these services, you can specify that you want to be on AmazingRibs.com or simply arrange to have your ads placed on sites related to your products.

(D) Leaderboard 728 x 90
(E) Top Button 300 x 250
(F) Skyscraper 160 x 600

federated_media These positions are best suited for major corporations with significant ad budgets. You pay per 1,000 pageviews (CPM). Ads are run of site, meaning they appear on all 400+ pages. This means your ads enjoy maximum visibility and impact. You can buy for as long or short as you want, or set a dollar limit. You can also have your ad appear on other high quality sites represented by Federated Media. They set the rates and sell the space exclusively. Click the link to contact them.

(G) Google's Meebo Ads

At the bottom left of the browser window, regardless of where the page ends, you can always see this small strip of ads, which sometimes expands to overlap the content of the page. They really catch the eye. They are sold by Google.

(H) Pro Bono Ads

This space is reserved for free ads for charity. It is usually occupied by an ad for Leader Dogs for the Blind because I raise puppies for them. It is a great service. These dogs mean freedom for the visually impaired. Click here to read about Leader Dogs, and perhaps make a donation.

Other sizes, locations, sponsorships

Other size and location options, including premium location in the upper left of Smoke Signals, our monthly email newsletter, are available upon special request. Specs are 160 x 320 pixel at 72 dpi plus a text caption/link. Contact Meathead.

ad in smoke signals

Advertising on AmazingRibs.com

Grow your brand and make direct sales with this rapidly growing site and its passionate readers

AmazingRibs is by far the #1 most popular barbecue site in the world featuring tested recipes, education, techniques, and buying guides. Advertising on AmazingRibs.com is a great way to build your brand or make direct sales.

Stats

Think about this: In 2012, precisely 7,397,282 people visited AmazingRibs.com while 3,542,406 people attended baseball at Yankee Stadium. That's more than double.

I use Google Analytics (GA) to track usage statistics for my site. GA is generally considered the best and most reliable source of traffic stats. Qualified prospective advertisers can contact me and I can supply you with reports direct from Google. July is the site's peak month with May (Memorial Day Weekend), June (Father's Day), August (Grilling Season), and September (Labor Day) close behind. November (Thanksgiving) is catching up.

Top 100 in food!

According to the rating service comScore, AmazingRibs.com was ranked in the top 50 in total unique visitors in the Food category in the US among tens of thousands of food sites. This includes commercial sites. This placed the site ahead of such monsters as Emeril, Saveur magazine, Lean Cuisine, and Oscar Mayer (and they have Wienermobiles)!

Key metrics growing rapidly

Founded in early 2006, AmazingRibs.com is enjoying rapid growth. This growth is due to its prominent ranking in organic (unpaid) Google Search and other search engines. The site is fortunate to have more than 30 important keywords listed in the top 10 on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other search engines. This is a reflection of quality.

Year	Pageviews	Visitors
2006	129,467	9,622
2007	608,125	116,904
2008	1,572,794	316,958
2009	3,698,281	913,015
2010	6,657,722	2,317,979
2011	10,844,360	3,303,858
2012	14,130,648	7,397,282
2013 Projected	18,000,000	10,000,000

Demographics

I use Google's DoubleClick and Quantcast to measure the demographics of my site. They differ significantly because measuring demographics is an inexact science at this time. Here's a typical snapshot:

48% Female
52% Male

12% Under 18
25% 18-34
33% 35-49
30% 50+

13% $0-30k
25% $30-60k
31% $60-100k
31% $100k+

84% Caucasian
5% African Am.
3% Asian
7% Hispanic
1% Othe

53% No Kids
47% Kids

37% No College
46% College
17% Grad School

Click the red links to see the latest demographics of my readers according to Google's DoubleClick, and Quantcast.

General terms of sale

1) Your site must be informative, accurate, original, well maintained, and well-designed. The identity of the persons in control must be clear and plain, and contacting him or her must be simple.

2) You must conspicuously post your privacy policy on your web site and make it available to all visitors. Your privacy policy must comply with all laws and accurately disclose your collection and use of visitor information.

3) Your site or your advertisers must not include or promote pornography, hate, bigotry, libel, violence, discrimination, or illegal activity.

4) Your ad may include motion or animation so long as I do not consider it annoying. I accept jpg, png, gif, or swf files.

5) All ads are subject to my approval. I reserve the right to reject any ads that I wish at my discretion without explanation.

Understanding usage stats

Pageviews, which are about the same as impressions in print and broadcast media, are the most important and valid measurement of web usage. They count how many pages were viewed. Just as in magazines or TV, impressions are the count of how many times a prospect sees your ad and how many opportunities a prospect has to click on your ad. That's what really matters.

Hits are a misleading stat. Hits are the number of objects sent from the website's server to the viewer's browser, so a page with a block of text, and four graphics, counts as five hits. Hits doesn't tell you anything meaningful. If someone is trying to sell you an ad based on hits, run. Here's an example: In July 2009, AmazingRibs.com had 9,508,281 hits on 531,448 pageviews.

Visits is not a very helpful stat. Some visits are one pageview and seeya. Other visitors look at many pages. Some never come back. Some come back several times. What does that tell you? What matters is how many times they see your ad. That's pageviews.

CPM means "cost per thousand" and it is the way many web ads rates are calculated. Advertisers are charged a fee per thousand pageviews.

CPC means cost per click. Advertisers are charged a fee every time somebody clicks on your ad. This is the method made popular by Google AdWords, VerticalSearchWorks, and others.

For more info on the subject of understanding web stats, click here.

Questions?

If you have any questions, contact Meathead or call 708-485-3761 from 9-5 Chicago time.

Please please please read this before posting a comment or question:

1) Please use the table of contents or the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Please click the "Follow Conversation" button or the "Email" button below your comment so you will be alerted when we reply.
3) Please don't ask any questions that involve temperature unless you tell us that you are using a digital thermometer! Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so we can't help you. Please read this article about thermometers, then buy one of our recommendations, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit us with your questions.
4) Please tell us everything we need to know to answer your question like the type of cooker you are using.

5) If you are shopping for a grill or smoker and need help, tell us your budget!

About this website

AmazingRibs.com is all about the science of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and tips on technique. Learn how to set up your grills and smokers properly, the thermodynamics of what happens when heat hits meat, as well as hundreds of excellent tested recipes including all the classics: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, steaks, barbecue sauces, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, and accessories, all edited by Meathead.

Advertising on this site

AmazingRibs.com is far the most popular barbecue website in the world and one of the 50 most popular food websites in the US according to comScore and Quantcast. Visitors and pageviews increase rapidly every year. Click here for analytics and advertising info.