How much does it cost to advertise on The Huntsville Cyber Mall?

Because most of our website production work centers around custom bids designed to match the needs of a particular client, we have a general policy of not giving out a whole lot of specific pricing information over the Internet. It's just not practical.

Advertising on the Huntsville Cyber Mall, however, can often be fairly straight-forward. It is certainly one of the most cost-effective means of targeted advertising available anywhere. We offer classified ads for as low as $15/month, display ads for as low as $30/month (with a modest setup fee), and a variety of options to suit the various needs of our advertisers. And since many of the options are flexible, it is somewhat difficult to lay them out in an organized manner that is easily understandable. Certain terms mean different things to different people and disclaimers are often necessary.

We have made the ordering of most classified ads available online. You can go here for details and submission form. Even still, the best approach is usually via direct contact. If you are interested in finding out more regarding the specifics of advertising on The Huntsville Cyber Mall, including some options that you may not have considered, please call us during the day at 936-788-1971. Or drop us a line by email.

Actually, we're even more strict than that. We don't give them out period; not even to potential advertisers.

While recognizing that this policy runs the risk of alienating prospective clients, the fact of the matter is that, to date, we've only lost ONE prospect that we know of because of it. On the flip side, we have managed to retain a number of benefits, not the least of which is a measure of integrity.

We made the decision all the way back in the Spring of 1997 (when there were no statistics to speak of) that we would not disclose this information at all . . . ever . . . regardless of how high they became. Here is our rationale:

• They're Misleading:  What is a "hit"? What is a "visit"? We know . . . do you? Without speaking with you, we would have no way of knowing whether you really understood any statistics we might publish. Did you know that every graphic image that loads is a "hit"? Same with every file, whether it's the HTML, a Java app, a midi file, or whatever. And it gets worse. Consider this: Ten "visitors" could represent one person refreshing the page ten times or nine individuals on their nine separate home PCs plus ninety more on a single network. Every time a search engine spiders the site, it racks up hits to that site. Same thing with email extractors. A bad link may pull up a "notfound.htm" page that yields more "hits" than the one being sought. And what happens when most of the files of a page are already in the visitor's cache? You guessed it. The hits get shortchanged. And the list goes on . . .
• They're Irrelevant:  Even in the best situations, web statistics are highly irrelevant. On a local forum such as The Huntsville Cyber Mall, this claim is even more valid. For example, we could set up reciprocal links with every website in Taiwan and really bump up our numbers. So what? How is this going to give any benefit to the shoe store on the corner. As our tagline states, "the consumer in Bolivia is not going to buy his milk in Huntsville, Texas!" And while we pull up very high on the search engines, we really only want the people who want what we have to offer. We are not catering to the "global village" (thank you very much). Our job is to bring legitimate prospects to our local advertising clients. Thus it will always be impractical to elevate our visitations for the sole purpose of elevating our visitations. Here's the point: As an ad agency, we have many responsibilities to our clients. Among these is the duty to disclaim any "guarantees" as to what they might expect . . . and this goes for any media, not just the Internet. So, what do we tell our advertisers. Simple. "Call the other advertisers. Do searches for the mall on search engines. Look at all the signs around town and the other promotional methods we use. Then try it out for six months. It's dirt cheap and you're not going to hurt our feelings if you decide not to do it."
• The "Truth Factor"  For all you know, we could be lying. WIth a "counter", for instance, we could start the number wherever we want and change it whenever we want. Hey, it happens. And though we have built a solid reputation in the community, you would still have no way of really knowing for sure whether the statistics we were publishing -- understanding and relevance aside -- were even the actual statistics for the site. What better way to avoid even the appearance of shadiness than to simply refuse to play the game? This way, it can never even be suggested. 'Nuf said.
• A Competitive Edge:  Another thing we recognized early is that there would be competitive sites to HCM. What would they do with our statistics? Well, there were really only two choices. If they felt the figures were low, they could attempt to use them against us in a bid. If high, we would be providing them with a target to shoot for, or (and here it is again), a reason to claim that we were being less than truthful. We figured it was best to keep 'em guessing. And we were right. While many of our stat-thumping competitors have in fact "gone under", The Huntsville Cyber Mall has become bigger and better established than ever.

There can be many reasons for the exclusion of items (links, categories, etc.) on The Huntsville Cyber Mall. Of primary concern is our goal of keeping "shophuntsville.com" a family-friendly website. Yes, we believe in (and support) Free Speech. However, we do not believe in Forced Exposure. Consequently, we feel no obligation to link to sites that convey principles perhaps less honorable than our own. Nor do we believe there is anything inherently "noble" in that common practice. Apparently, the vast majority of our visitors and advertisers agree with our position, and we are indeed accountable to both.

Nevertheless, we do grant a measure of latitude, recognizing that even good men and women can hold differences of opinion. As a commercial site, however, there are other things we have to consider. By opening up to other markets and sites, for instance, there is always the possibility of losing visitors, in addition to losing some of the editorial control that is more plausibly attainable in a relatively closed environment. We do support the open market, however, and have in fact recently embraced several businesses that are indeed competitive to our own interests. Are we nice, or what?

Many other reasons can exist for the exclusion of certain items, and it is not within the scope of a FAQ Page to discuss them all. We have decided to take each request on an individual basis, rather than set down a steadfast policy that is either irresponsible or inflexible. In connection, we really do welcome input from our visitors and many suggestions have indeed been implemented. If there is something that you would like us to include, please do not hesitate to Contact The Huntsville Cyber Mall. If it involves a link to another website, please include the URL of that site.