There is now a brand new advertising option for bloggers from which they can earn. WidgetBucks has just been launched and is similar to Chitika eMiniMalls, with interactive shopping ads (widgets) for your readers to purchase different products (many pulled from Amazon) related to your content. There are 5 different widgets that you can choose from - Skyscraper (160×600), Rectangle (300×250), Leaderboard (728×90), Full Banner (468×60) and Custom (660×330). Here is what the Rectangle widget looks like:

WidgetBucks - Trend Watch - WidgetBucks.com

Other than the usual range of colours that you can set the widgets to, there is not much customisation available at present. In terms of contextual-based ad targetting, you can either choose from the 13 different main categories (from video games and media to even cars) or allow a real contextual mode known as ‘MerchSense’.

How Can You Make Money?

WidgetBucks utilises the CPC model - meaning you get paid each time someone clicks on the ads. The early test results claim a $3 - $6 eCPM so it sounds promising in that aspect. Additionally you will get referral earnings at 10% of the referral’s commissions up to the first 12 months. Minimum payout is at a low $50 and you will receive monthly payments by cheque, although there is a PayPal option to be explored.

At the moment, there is a bonus of $25 if you signup now, which means you only need to reach another $25 before reaching your first payout. Sounds much easier to me compared to some other advertising networks.

The Good

The widgets do seem to be easily integrated, whether you are on Wordpress, Blogger or other platforms. Early tests on my end have also shown no ill effects on loading times. The earning model for publishers also provides more potential than Chitika, while it could possibly be a better earning potential than Adsense on certain sites. You can also add as many ad units as you like - there is no limit.

If your site is in a shopping or technology niche, these widgets could be attractive for your visitors. You can even mix it up with Adsense ads. On top of that, there are no minimum requirements to join the program, so as long as you have a blog, you can join now and start earning.

What Could Be Improved

Widget customisability could be improved by offering greater ad unit variety as well as colours. The animated ads might also deter some visitors as it is often reported that animated banners put site visitors off.

The referral system is pretty weak. You only earn commissions up to the first 12 month of each referral. This hurts both ways. I hope the WidgetBucks team would explore this in greater depth.

I have noticed some of the categories do not seem to show a huge enough product catalog. It could be due to my limited testing but I kept seeing the same 10 products being displayed each time.

As usual, I always encourage giving anything a go and to test if the system works for your blog/site. This one should not be any different considering you can join easily and the earning potential. If you do use it, do let me know how it performs for you in a couple of weeks’ time.

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