What is the most anyone here has paid for a single ad, whats the least? I have been polling random people in the past month as we are looking for some new (and hopefully decent) areas to advertise in. Right now a few offers that came in are well above our budget, maybe in a few years it would be okay but right now its out of the question. How do you decide if its worth the price or not, esp. when you have never used the place before?

What's the medium? Is it for online banner, adwords, billboard, magazine?

The most I've paid for a single piece of advertising had to do with sponsorship at a golf tournament, but that targeted a pretty wide audience.

The most I've paid for a single Adword was $30 per click, but the return on investment was huge due to the product being sold. Other industries such as Cars and Real Estate I've paid anywhere from $7-20 CPM vertical banners on sites. Can get pretty expensive when you have a few hundred thousand visits viewing the advertisements, and limited click through.

If I'd never used the place before, that can be tricky. You'll want to review past stats information for your industry - nothing wrong with putting SOME money into a mini campaign, and then if it works, hit it hard, but you'll want to test the waters rather than commit 100% right out of the gate (usually).

Well you could go with PPC or you can try to buy banners but the best way for an advertising is mouth to mouth, clients who are satisfied who share their experience with their friends.

This is an interesting discussion and the fact is that regardless of the costs of ads, if they generate targeted traffic and lead to successful signups or sales, the expenses will be covered and you will find a smile on your face. One interesting point I have just noticed is that even some of the websites which have been at the top of Google for months and years too are using paid advertisements.

The sites examined have been at the top for a long time, like weeks, months and even years and their Alexa ranks too are very promising and their niches are very hot and competitive but their admins still spend thousands of dollars through Google AdWords. This already reveals something to us and that is even a first position on Google does not mean absorbing entire traffic shares.

It's not just the matter of spending cents or tens of dollars over clicks but if your ads are placed in front of the customers who look for products similar to the ones listed on your site, you will experience traffic boost and sales. Sometimes it is even recommended to keep using expensive advertising solutions if they generate results, and looking for extra ways to make money to invest in them, rather than looking for affordable solutions.

Bermuda hit it on the head. If you're making money based on the advertising that you're doing, then you should keep doing it.

Much like with the SEO that we run. If I spend $10k in the month on SEO and I bring in $15k of sales, you better believe I'll spend another $10k next month.