On bigger website with a dedicated sale team most if not all ads are CPM payd per impression.
Edit: Also I don't really buy the "I've never in my life click on a website".
I only have an idea on the numbers in the country I live where I work for an online only news website that makes all the revenue with only advertisement.
I think I'm safe to say that we are talking about websites that are big enough to have a small team with at least one "Ad Sales Rep".
The Sale representitive will go directly to companies and sell ads either by impression (CPM) or a flat rate for a fixed period of time.
Since the amount you can sell a flat rate for a week/day/month is based on your number of impressions/users is basically another kind of CPM sale.
No, really, a lot of people just don't ever click on ads. They don't even really see the ads. There are sometimes parts of websites that I subconsciously filter out because I'm used to seeing ads in that area or they've made that bit look a bit too much like an ad.
For more extreme view-points there's the Boulder Pledge, and some people really do see any form of advertising as a type of spam. Like I say, this is a minority extreme viewpoint, but it does exist.
Most people that say are not influenced by ads actually are even if they don't even notice.
And I'm confident that most of the people that are using adblock are not in that minority.
If you are not influenced by ADS because advertisement has no effect on you so much that you don't even notice why bother blocking them out ?
And I'm confident that most of the people that are using adblock are not in that minority."
Is it not then their choice whether to view advertising? If they know it's likely to affect them, even just in terms of subconscious brand awareness, and don't want that to happen?
"If you are not influenced by ADS because advertisement has no effect on you so much that you don't even notice why bother blocking them out ?"
Popups, popunders, animations, annoying noises, things that get in the way, try to grab your attention.... All sorts of horrible annoyances. Also unintended consequences - I had genuine trouble finding a download button on a website a little while ago because they'd used a bright, perky-looking graphic that hit my mental ad filter. I really couldn't see it for a couple of minutes.
Maybe three times, ever. And not in the last 5+ years.
Advertising of any form provokes an annoyed reaction in me now. It doesn't grow your brand (with me), it doesn't make me think about your product, I don't care if it's cute or hip, it gets switched off or blocked or even just mentally filtered out. And if you do manage to break through my technological or mental walls I'll remember not to buy your products, ever.
I don't have a problem with targeted/useful ads... Hell, lots the posts in HN could be considered advertorials, just the same, I appreciate knowing about more... Where my problem is, I don't like highly intrusive ads, or far too many ads.