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October 1, 2007 9:00 PM PDT

MPire's new Widgetbucks promise to pay out more than Google

by Rafe Needleman

A WidgetBucks ad keyed off of "stationery." Not bad.

If you're trying to monetize your Web site or blog, you probably know there are alternatives to Google AdSense. I wrote recently about PubMatic, which can serve up ad units from networks competitive to Google if they'll pay out more. And as of today, there's yet another advertising widget you can use -- provided you run a particular type of site.

MPire's new WidgetBucks program is designed for sites and blogs about goods. Electronics, appliances, stationery -- it doesn't matter, as long as the category relates to items that are sold. The WidgetBucks program looks at what your site is about, and puts into its widget offers on related products. You get paid when the user clicks through to find out more about a product.

Data for the products pitched on WidgetBucks comes from eBay and from Shopping.com. The Shopping.com database has sales information from a number of retailers, including Amazon.

The MPire code evaluates the content on your page and attempts to pitch products related to it. I tried some tests on Switchboard, a directory that runs WidgetBucks ads, and found the ads relevant when they appeared.

MPrice CEO Matt Hulett says WidgetBucks pays out a lot more than standard Web ads. If you run a site about products, it's certainly worth a shot.

After the jump, you can see a live embedded widget and judge for yourself how relevant its product pitches are.

Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe.
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Stationary vs. Stationery
by OttoDyeDacked October 2, 2007 12:11 AM PDT
While it's certainly true that none of those items is likely to move on its own, it would be even more impressive if they showed up in response to the keyword "stationery."
Reply to this comment
I can spel reel gud
by rafe October 2, 2007 7:05 AM PDT
Oh man, sorry. Fixing.
PredictAd - another route to site monetization
by tomermolo October 2, 2007 6:01 AM PDT
Check out this article on PredictAd for more info:

http://www.ringofblogs.com/2007/10/01/predictad-navigation-monetization-and-search/
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