Which this magazine has. And yet, despite owning its category, it still struggles to adequately monetize its website.

And it’s not alone. Over the past few months, I’ve met with senior managers at some of Canada’s biggest media companies. While some are succeeding in the new media ad world, many are failing.

This isn’t news, of course. Everyone knows that traditional media companies are struggling to survive the shift to web publication.

What fewer people talk about is one of the primary reasons why: an obsessive focus on the quantity of a site’s traffic rather than the quality.

The primary culprit, from what I can see, is cost-per-thousand (CPM) ad sales. Why? Media buyers representing brands haggle to drive CPM prices down, as their clients want to see the greatest exposure for the least spend. Unfortunately, this means that they pay far less attention to the quality of impressions than the quantity.

This is particularly problematic for niche publications, which offer a highly targeted audience, but far fewer impressions than general interest publications.

One solution I’d like to recommend to niche publishers, based on my experience on both sides of the fence: focus on return on investment, and change the conversation.

When we represent clients buying media, we’re always looking for return on investment.  With our web analytics work, we know that quantity is no measure of success. Ultimately, actions relevant to clients’ business objectives are meaningful. Everything else is just a step along the way.

So if you’re a niche publisher, think about programs, systems and sales pitches that emphasize return on investment. This can include everything from demonstrating your audience’s receptiveness to particular products, to implementing a custom cost-per-action advertising platform.

Advertisers will pay more money for your audience if they’ll get returns unavailable elsewhere.

But they won’t just take your word for it.