The site evaluation framework
A published, repeatable method for deciding whether a placement is worth buying. Work through each check, and know what to ask the seller — and what their answer tells you.
Traffic verification
Third-party traffic estimates and their error margins
Ask: Which analytics platform do you run, and what were the sessions for the period?
Read-only analytics access
Ask: Can you give me read-only access to your analytics for the last 3 months?
Traffic source mix
Ask: What is your traffic-source breakdown — organic, direct, referral, paid?
Traffic trend over time
Ask: Can I see the last 12 months, not just last month?
Screenshot vs verified data
Ask: Can you screen-share the live dashboard on a call?
Audience quality
Audience geography vs your market
Ask: What share of visitors are in the countries I sell to?
Engagement signals
Ask: What are your average time on page, pages per session and return-visitor rate?
Newsletter list quality (if bundled)
Ask: How was the list built, what is the open rate, and is it double opt-in?
Audience relevance to your offer
Ask: Who is your typical reader, and why would they care about my product?
Device and context mix
Ask: What is your mobile vs desktop split, and where do ads appear on each?
Placement quality
Above or below the fold — verified
Ask: Can you show the exact placement on a live page at my viewport?
Ad density in the viewport
Ask: How many other ads share the screen with this placement?
Sitewide vs page-specific
Ask: Does this run sitewide or only on specific pages, and which?
Site ad-saturation
Ask: How many advertisers run on the site right now?
Viewability
Ask: Do you have viewability data for this slot?
Fraud indicators
Bot traffic patterns
Ask: Have you filtered bots, and how?
Purchased-traffic signatures
Ask: Do you buy any traffic, from where?
Spikes without coverage
Ask: What caused the traffic jump in [period]?
Appears on many broker lists
Ask: Is this placement listed on any marketplaces or broker sheets?
Referrer and geo anomalies
Ask: Can I see your top referrers and visitor countries?
Commercial terms
Link attribute
Ask: Will the link be followed, or marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow?
Permanent vs monthly
Ask: Is this monthly or "permanent", and what happens if the site closes?
Reporting provided
Ask: What reporting will I get, how often?
Refund and make-good terms
Ask: What happens if delivery misses the estimate?
Who you are actually paying
Ask: Who receives the payment, and are they the site owner or a broker?