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

Out of curiosity, I conducted a short cross browser test on my blog to see if the widgets and CSS are working correctly.

While my website looks perfectly the same in all browsers, I notice a slight difference in my MyBlogLog widget. The most the crucial of the widget which says “YOU! Join my community” is MISSING in Firefox. Check out the images below:-

Firefox	Safari and IE

Is it just me or it happens to you as well? I hope Yahoo will look into this matter as soon as possible.

Update:

Thanks to LiewCF and Superhero.. they pointed out that if you did not login into Mybloglog when you are using IE/Safari, the top part of the widget will be shown.

If you need any help regarding Mybloglog, you can check out the links below (Thanks Ian) :-

• MyBlogLog Help Pages
• Community Guidelines
• Widget Installation Tutorials
• Yahoo ID migration FAQ
• MyBlogLog on Yahoo! Groups
• MyBlogLog Blog
  
• If you can’t find what you need, the best way to contact MBL for help is via the help form

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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!

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!