I am suppose to make this post 10 days ago when I received a notice from Paypal to approve the payment sent by Mpire Corporation, the company behind Widgetbucks. I was excited but not excited enough to make a quick post because I was quite tied up with tonnes of work since 2 weeks ago. I am sorry.

Email from Paypal

Also, this payment may be the last payment I will receive from them since Widgetbucks no longer accept clicks generated from outside North America and their international CPM ad program is not impressive at all. I earned USD 0.03 from 6000+ impression.

Being curious on how other publishers fare in their CPM campaigns, I visited some forums and found that many publishers were disappointed with WB’s CPM program, with some intending to drop WB for good.

How’s WidgetBucks treating you? Let me know

WidgetBucks has launches International CPM ads today which will be included in all Widgetbucks widgets.

The new system, which uses geolocation technology, will determine the location of your visitors before displaying the ads. Visitors from US/Canada publisher will see the regular pay-per-click (PPC) widget while visitors from outside USA/Canada should be able to notice the new CPM ads.

I will try out the new system to see if it worthwhile for non-US/Canada in continuing this program. Subscribe to my blog for updates!

Update:

Here is the CPM ad that was displayed on my site

Just after 5 hours I made a post on Widgetbucks, I received an email from Widgetbucks informing publishers that they will be introducing International CPM Ads in early December. What they say:

Here’s an upcoming feature. In early December, we will start serving CPM ads to the non-U.S./Canada traffic. This will give you revenue, per impression, for your site visitors who come from other countries. This is designed to help publishers who have a blend of traffic from a variety of countries.

Our system will do the geo-location for you, determining where the visitor is coming from. Then we’ll either show the regular pay-per-click widget (to visitors from the U.S. and Canada) or show an ad that pays per impression (to visitors from other countries). You’ll see a new column, called “CPM Revenue” in your earnings reports.

We’re also working on pay-per-click arrangements with global merchants, but those will take longer to implement. We’re glad to deliver a way for you to monetize almost all of your traffic in December.

Coincidence or what?!

Most probably, they had received a lot of negative feedbacks from non-US publishers. I will test their CPM program and keep you guys updated.

If you read my blog regularly, you will probably notice I have made a few good posts on Widgetbucks and have highly recommended my readers to sign up with them.

Here are the snippets of my previous posts:-

Oct 29

I placed two widgets on my site and WOW! .. i must say it again .. WOW! it starts generating extra income for me. At the moment, I am earning an average of 28 cents per click which I think is a good rate for publishers. Give it a try!

Nov 12

If you read my introductory post on Widgetbucks, I mentioned that I am earning an average of $0.28 per click (approx RM 0.90 per click). Now, amazingly, I am getting an average of $0.56 per click! You may want to give this program a go!

and recently Nov 22

To be fair, WidgetBucks dealt with the situation well and I am genuinely impressed with them. Keep it up!

Today, I have decided to drop WidgetBucks because they no longer accept clicks generated from outside North America. I was not aware until I read the following from their site:

… WidgetBucks can be placed on any site that has traffic. Because all of the current products are from US based merchants we do limit the clicks to be from North American site visitors.

I once said that they handle things professionally but this time, I would like to take my word back. Firstly, they did not inform us of the new “changes” and kept me wondering if they were facing technical problem when the ads did not generate any click for 8 consecutive days.

Secondly, I emailed them to check on this matter and till now, I have yet to receive a reply from them. Nowadays, good customer service is crucial to any organization and if they do not offer that, then it is GOODBYE WidgetBucks!

WidgetBucks recently encountered problem tracking clicks for widgets that are configured to use the MerchSense products option. Before I continue, here is an explanation on what exactly is MerchSense :-

MerchSense™ is Mpire’s patent-pending contextual algorithm engine. It detects and analyzes the content of your website or blog to determine what product offers are most relevant to your audience. If you choose the MerchSense option when creating a new widget, simply place the code on your site and let MerchSense automatically provide the most appropriate ad content. MerchSense evaluates your editorial information daily, so, as your content changes, WidgetBucks will dynamically offer the highest-yielding products.

The reporting issue resulted in a loss of click data for specific widgets between November 16, 2007 and November 20, 2007.

Unfortunately, I used MerchSense for all my widgets and yes, I did not receive a single click during this period. At that time, I was not panic ..  well, I thought it is just coincidence that the ads did not generate clicks for 4 consecutive days. So with all the reasoning like shopping trends and all, I manage to keep myself calm and cool over this matter.

Then, came an email from WidgetBucks yesterday and AHHHhhhhh! what a relief :-

We have recently identified a reporting issue on your account relating specifically to those widget(s) configured to use the MerchSense products option (to identify which product set to display on your site).  The reporting issue resulted in a loss of click data for specific widgets between November 16, 2007 and November 20, 2007.  The issue has been corrected today and in the interest of ensuring you are properly credited for the missing click activity, we are crediting your account this evening to reflect a volume of click activity equal to the average CTR that each widget has received to date in November.  This credit should appear in your account by tomorrow morning, 11/21.

And today, the credit is reflected on my account. To be fair, WidgetBucks dealt with the situation well and I am genuinely impressed with them. Keep it up!

It was Oct 23 when I started placing Widgetbucks ads on my site and it proves to be another income generating program for me. I am expecting a cheque from them by end of January since I have already met the minimum cash out amount of $50.

Psst! Grab this opportunity -

When you sign-up with WidgetBucks, you’ll automatically receive a $25 bonus into your account to get the ball rolling. This means you are half way to your first payout with WidgetBucks.

Why January 2008 when you earned more than $50 in November 2007?
Widgetbucks send out cheques for all revenue earned within 45 days after the end of each month, as long as you’ve earned a minimum of $50. For example, if you signed up for WidgetBucks in November, you would receive your first commission payment within 45 days of Nov. 30, approximately mid January.

If you read my introductory post on Widgetbucks, I mentioned that I am earning an average of $0.28 per click (approx RM 0.90 per click). Now, amazingly, I am getting an average of $0.56 per click! You may want to give this program a go! Simply click on Widgetbucks logo below.

Thank you!

I was a bit skeptical when WidgetBucks claimed:

You reap the rewards of PPC ad widgets that earn better than $2 CPM. We’re seeing $3-$6 CPM on our widgets, about three times that of traditional ad networks.

and I decided to try it out to see if it lives up to my expectations. So I hit the main page and found out that WidgetBucks is giving a free bonus of $25 if you sign up now. Tempting.

The sign up process is simple which require your email address and preferred password. You will receive an email to verify and activate your account. Then customize your widget and paste the code into your blog/widget. Here is a sample ad:-

Let’s weigh the Pros and Cons of Widgetbucks:

Pros

1. Interactive ads which will attract more clicks
2. Publishers can choose to receive payments via PayPal
3. Good PPC rate
4. Reporting is good

Cons

1. Slow loading time of the widgets
2. Ads that have too many animation may annoy readers

I placed two widgets on my site and WOW! .. i must say it again .. WOW! it starts generating extra income for me. At the moment, I am earning an average of 28 cents per click which I think is a good rate for publishers. Give it a try!