Honeymoon is over PJN, time to start offering as many linking options as CJ in regards to the advertisers you carry.  I still stand behind my statements that the Pepperjam Network is one of the best online, but they are only as good as the tools they offer.  From where I'm setting, Pepperjam Ads just isn't cutting the mustard.  Lastly, for the life of me I can't get Pepperjam Store to convert, so what does work?

Currently on my automotive website I'm taking a much more proactive approach at attracting visitors for very specific products.  AutoPartsWarehouse.com seems to have plenty of products that can turn into a virtually endless amount of content for me to write about, but how best to link to what I'm trying to sell?  With Pepperjam my options are limited to banners, coupons, and some text links, however Commission Junction offers some fantastic Advanced Link options.

Specifically within AutoPartsWarehouse.com link catalog on CJ you are able to create interactive product searches.  More importantly there are figures published on CJ that prove these types of linking strategies work.  So why hasn't PJN offered these advanced links yet?  Is it a problem with Pepperjam or with the individuals in charge of AutoPartsWarehouse.com's affiliate program?

I've spent some time discussing the virtues of using Chitika ads next to Google Adsense, but my latest experiment has left me looking for lost revenue.  In this experiment I placed Chitika Ads in my highest click-through location, where I used to keep Adsense ads, directly below my post title.  The result was surprising to say the least.

My impressions dropped by almost half and my clicks fell even further.  I can honestly offer up no reasonable explanation as to why Chitika would fail so miserably in prime realestate.  Keep in mind that I removed Adsense completely from the equation, which would lend Chitika to receiving even more clicks.  What happened?

The lack of impressions I can't explain, considering statistics for my site remained virtually unchanged, in regards to search visitors.  But perhaps, looking at the CTR, the reason is because Chitika Premium Ads look like ads.  Cheesy I know, but Adsense does a phenomenal job at blending in with content and looking natural.  I think that my visitors liked the natural look rather than the picture next to an ad trick.

It will take more testing to know for sure, but lets just say for now I've moved Chitika back down to the bottom of the page.  Time will tell if Chitika will ever warrant the #1 paying spot on my automotive website.

I know I promised my results of using Chikita 3 days after my first impression post, but I've been struggling on my approach.  See, there is one side of me that is extremely disappointed and some what frustrated, but another side that sees how Chitika can work and does fill the niche that Chitika is aiming for.  So, as a disclaimer, let me stress the following.

"Chitika is not a replacement for Google Adsense, nor is Chitika trying to compete with Google Adsense."

After listening to Chitika's sales pitch I would have thought that I would be receiving comparable CPC's on my automotive blog.  However, that was not the case and averaging out it looks to be less than half.  Taking it a step further, after the auditing process it potentially could be lowered again, which is where the frustration comes from.

In all of my sites I try to monetize in a way that does not affect readership.  I view my sites more often than anyone, so I attempt to make them as void of Ads and marketing as possible.  So, Chitika just doesn't seem to be fitting in with my own business model.  I have trouble justifying ad placement when it earns me less than half of the cost of a stamp per click.  Higher CPC's may be found in different niches, I'm only comparing Adsense CPC's in the automotive category to that from Chitika.

Chitika Shines

The CTR is of course much higher than Adsense, which is to be expected since they use the tried and true 'image-next-to-ad' technique.  Google banned this method over a year ago because it created less than optimal traffic for the advertisers.  Essentially, you are tricking visitors into clicking on a link, nothing more, nothing less.

A higher CTR would be super awesome, if only it paid out decent.  Where it stands right now, I would need 5-6 times the amount of clicks just to equal one click from my Adsense Ads.  So why even bother taking up valuable real estate on my site and just annoying my visitors?

I'm struggling with the answer to that last question.  Be damned if I'm going to sacrifice my Adsense earnings.  That's why Chitika focuses on alerting Publishers that Chitika can be used alongside Adsense ads.  It doesn't make sense for me, because I'm getting clicks, why would I want to sacrifice half my clicks for a lower paying ad?  I wouldn't.

Chitika Customer Service

I had the opportunity to talk with Ryan Travis, Director of Client Services at Chitika.  My initial phone call was a service issue, dealing with accurate impressions, but all was working well(I'll save info for another post).  Ryan and I ended up talking about optimization, where Chitika see's itself in the marketplace, and where they hope to go.  Ryan was quick to respond to emails, a pleasure to talk with, and part of the reason why I will continue to use Chitika at some level.

Who Should Use Chitika

The only people who should be using Chitika are those who receive a lot of traffic from search engines.  Of those people, the only ones who should be using Chitika are those who can't get Google Adsense to convert.  Chitika Premium ads are only shown to search engine traffic, so those of you getting traffic from other sites need not apply.  And as mentioned above, don't risk losing higher paying Adsense traffic to get a few more clicks on your Chitika ads.

Conclusion

I will continue to use Chitika in hopes they will increase their Automotive inventory of ads and eventually increase CPC's.  Ryan feels that the online marketing industry as a hole is trending toward higher search traffic CPC's, rather than content related marketing like Adsense for content.  I hope he's right and I wish Chitika luck in their niche.  We need options in the market place as both a publisher and advertiser.

In the not to distant future I will be publishing some more results from my Chitika ads.  The Chitika 'auditing' process could prove to be a deal breaker, but I will reserve judgement.

Adwords is a phenomenal and arguably the best PPC advertising medium currently available.  It's easy enough anyone with 5$ can get started, but advanced enough to meet any veterans needs.  Adwords operates on auction style pricing, meaning those who bid the most for keywords get highest placement, more visability, etc.  However, an individual ads pricing may need to be higher based on an ads quality score.

The qualitys core is described by Google as a dynamic variable, which takes into account many on page factors (your ad landing page) to determine keyword relevancy.  The more relevant the landing page is to the keyword you are bidding on, the lower your bid must be to gain placement.  There is an easy way to find out what your Adwords Quality Score is, for each individual keyword within your Adwords campaign.

1. Sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com.
2. Select the campaign, then select the ad group for which you'd like to see keyword Quality Scores.
3. Click Customize columns at the top of Keywords tab in the ad group table.
4. Select Show Quality Score from the drop-down menu.
5. Click Done when you're finished.

For more official tips on maximizing your Google Quality score and finding out the official Google word, please view their Quality Score Help Page.  Getting a high quality score is extremely important to get low cost bids on keywords to maximize the ROI for any campaign.

Maybe the title is an unfair assesment of the new self advertising medium MySpace is now providing.  I mean, I've yet to actually see the results from the network, since my ad has been pending approval since Sept 24th!  That's going on 13 days that my ad block has been setting in the hold bin pending approval.

Completely and utterly unacceptable.

Furthermore I contacted them, letting them know how long it had been and looking for some sort of indication when I could expect the campaign to run.  I was responded to within 24 hours, but no real information was given, only that they had a back log, sorry.  Such terrible execution of what could have been and may in the future be a good program.  For now and in the immediate future I will be taking my business elsewhere, it's obvious MySpace doesn't want nor need my advertising dollars for now.

Maybe I would have saved some time had I snail mailed my ads to them with an out-of-state check.

My wife and I used to go to the movies almost every single week. We love movies, we love seeing them in the theater, the experience, everything. One of the best parts of going to the movies was getting a taste of the previews, to see what we could look forward to in a few months. That 'good point' about going to the movies has now been bastardized, at least on a local level.

Last Saturday I went and saw the new movie Cloverfield and mixed in with the previews were national ads for shit I could care less about. An ad for Musinex sinus medicine, the Marine corp, something else, and something else...I was so disgusted. I'm a paying customer who has already paid a fee for seeing a movie which may or may not be good, why am I being subjected to advertising at this point?

Maybe I'll get a discount on the price of my ticket since the Cinema owner just whored out my eyes.

Nope, I still paid $9 per ticket and a $8 for a coke and popcorn. What a rip. Am I the only one who is outraged by such senseless advertising and selling of ones soul? I'm strongly considering boycotting the local theater because of this, but it looks like there are no alternatives in my city. It'll go on and it'll just get worse, because no one speaks out, especially since no one is listening.