Chitika have today announced changes to their Chitika LINX ad unit. Now instead of it just being a text based ad unit they’ve added an image and styling (it’s much better than the old one).
I’m not sure that I’ve really featured this ad unit here before on ProBlogger – so let me give you an introduction to it if you’ve not seen it.
Chitika LINX is a PPC (you get paid if someone clicks them) in text ad. If you activate it on your site you’ll see some words on your posts become links with little double underlines under them.
If your readers put their mouse over these links a little popup appears that shows a Chitika ad unit (pictured left). If your reader clicks on the ad unit you get paid.
These in text links have been offered by other ad networks for some time and publishers are generally in two camps on them.
On the one hand the ads do tend to convert reasonably well because they are in your content contextually and as a result in the line of site of your readers. So some publishers love them.
On the other hand some publishers see them as intrusive and disruptive (due to the pop up element) and other don’t like them because they like to keep their content area free of advertising.
I’ve text this type of advertising (using other networks) on a couple of my blogs at different times and did find them to convert well. I was also surprised that I didn’t hear any negative feedback from readers. Having said this – apart from the odd testing of them I’ve decided not to use them on my blogs.
Other options if you’re looking for in text ad link alternatives like Chitika LINX:
• Kontera
• Amazon Associates offer Context Links
• IntelliTXT – from Vibrant Media
Can this be run alongside Kontera and IntelliTXT?
Those kinds of ads really annoy me sometimes. Because you mose over them and this little window appears that you just didnt really want.
I saw this and I was intrigued too, Darren. I have experimented with Kontera and didn’t find it to convert too well. Then again I don’t get the traffic that you do. However, that being said, I don’t think I’ll try this one because of the reason why Thomas Sinfield said above.
I have to admit that they do look good. Thanks for keeping us posted on ways to make money!
Maybe you haven’t had any complaints because the people who object to them most strongly don’t come back. I despise them myself, and the content on a site has to be exeptionally usefull for me to put up with them. Even then, I resent being forced to maneuver around them.
The bottom line is: how are these links any different from the popups that we all try to avoid by using popup blockers?
I think I’m still not convinced about this sort of advertisement.
While seeing it on a site is not enough to make me not come back, I find it distracting and quite annoying.
Maybe sites that are delivering exceptional content can get away with it, but for the most part I’d say it is a “traffic killer”
My mouse tends to “fly” away from them as soon as they open and quite honestly I don’t even bother to look at what is advertised.
i’ve tried Kontera, as I wasn’t accepted into the Chitika program. They’d never even sent me an email to let me know I was declined or why. I can safely assume that it’s due to their traffic requirements.
However, I ended up removing Kontera because it wasn’t bringing in any money. Besides that, I use a pop up blocker, so I can imagine that those ads have to annoy my readers, as well.
Update for those interested. Running Chitika Linx alongside Kontera violates Kontera’s TOS!
I agree with Thomas and A. I think those pop up ads are REALLY annoying. Why should users treat them any differently than pop up windows? Anything that appears on my computer screen that I did not explicity give permission to appear angers me greatly.
This is great, since I’m being rejected into Kontera I definitely gonna try this out.
Just to add to your list of in text contextual links, LinkWorth has a similar product called linkwords. Their program is very easy to get into even if your site has lower traffic.
Like some of the others that have commented above, I can’t stand this type of advertising as a consumer. It is so distracting and frustrating I abandon reading any article that contains this type of intrusion.
But as an advertising tool for my own blog, I’m not sure my opinion about this is similar to my readers. Of course I’m only 2 months into this gig so I have to depend on the feedback of all of you that post and learning by trial and error on my own part.
I’ve been using Linx on one of my product oriented websites and it converts well. Yes, it’s annoying for me too if I come across it but maybe it’s because I am rarely looking to buy something online.
I want to learn stuff and those links confuse me.
I think a regular home user who comes across the link which helps her find the camera / vacuum / juicer / whatever is not too annoyed with the Linx links.
In my opinion, this is a great approach to take if you want to lose readers. I have no data to back this up but I can tell you that I personally unsubscribe to sites that use ads like this.
I am not a believer in decreasing the user experience…
Again, just my opinion…
Jay
I agree it depends on your traffic on whether it converts will or not.
That say, I really dislike pop up, so I won’t be adding this to BlogMunch.
I am not using Chitika because it is against the Google Adsense program policies. But if they pay more PPC and Click through rate is more as compare to Adsense. I will think to move ? give few Suggestions …
I am new to advertising and at present have just started to use Google adsense, I would be intereseted to know how Chitika compares to Adsense, for example who pays the most, who is more reliable.
Regards.
Having used Kontera for several months, I have only ever received one complaint about it. That person now happily reads my site via RSS feed. (I keep my RSS feed full-text and ad-free to cater to those of my regular readers who really hate advertising.)
Kontera converts quite well for me, much better than the similar Chitika and Amazon programs, as those are product-focused, while Kontera has a much wider inventory of ads.
Kontera doesn’t pull in quite as much as AdSense for me, but it runs alongside it and makes a nice little extra chunk of change.
If you have any sort of product blog, then Chitika and Amazon’s offerings are definitely worth looking at. If your blog isn’t product-oriented then I would say go with Kontera.
These kind of Pop-Over ads seems to becoming more popular on BBS/Forums, where the obtrusiveness and general annotance to the users is negated by the fact that BBS/Forum members tend to be a loyal bunch of people who put up with anything, if the information and interaction on the site is of high value.
On Blogs/normal websites, I find them annoying, and tend to steer clear. Good to see the Chitika version have a very clear X in the corner to close them off.
I assume these Chitika ads are not allows alongside adsense due to the contextual nature of the system?
i actually made sure that the links for Kontera on my site were less visible (using lighter grey as link color) than normal links and since then I had no complaints whatsoever from my readers.
It’s nice money on the side as Michael puts it even though the money per click is way below adsense for instance.
I find these ads really annoying. Going through a blog should be a pleasant and interesting reading experience.
We run Kontera in our articles and most users didn’t mind them. One complained they didn’t like them when they would accidentally mouse-over the links, but another said they thought the links added value and were less annoying than the Adsense blocks embedded in the articles.
We’ve been using them for about a month now and have not heard any unsolicited complaints. Plus the extra cash is nice and it didn’t affect our Adsense earnings.
Does Kontera impact your Google PageRank? Google started penalizing those selling links. Does this fall under that category?
Hey guys- if your wondering if the new Chitika | Linx is compatible with Google Adsense check out our latest post: http://chitika.com/blog/?p=306
-Karla Escolas
Chitika, Inc.
DHC,
Kontera doesn’t impact PR as far as I’m aware!
My recently registered site has jut been updated from a PR0 to PR4 and Kontera has been running for sometime!
Hope this helps.
John
I, in fact tried the Lynx ads the other day and I’ve been pretty impressed. I wrote about my earnings which were impressive for the small amount of traffic that website brings!
I have to admit that they do look good. Thanks for keeping us posted on ways to make money!
do u i add Chitika linx in Blogger Beta??
hi, could you please help me, do you know how to put Linx code in new blogger template?