Chitika or Widgetbucks?

Today we’re gonna look at two very similar programs for monetizing a website, Chitika E-mini Malls, and Widgetbucks. Both of these programs provide clickable widgets which you can insert into your blog or webpage. These widgets feature products on them, special deals you can find on them, and where the best place is to buy them. Which one is better though? Let’s take a look and find out.

First, let’s look at Chitika. They are the older of the two programs, and are one highly touted by Darren Rowse. Some of you may know him from his little site, Problogger. Their flagship product is the eMiniMall. eMiniMalls are extremely customizable widgets that come in a variety of sizes. Each widget features several tabs, showing you a description of the product, a “best deals” tab, and also a search tab. An example (250 x 250) can be seen over on the left. This is known as a multi product widget. That’s pretty self-explanatory. Whichever product you hover over will be moved into the main spot, and the tabs will re-load with the appropriate information. (Note: To insert eMiniMalls into your wordpress posts, please visit the following link and download the appropriate plugin.)

Chitika also has an affiliate program. This means that you can earn additional revenue from people you refer over to Chitika. How much will you earn? Here’s what it says on their website:

• You’ll earn 10% of what your referrals earn - the more friends you refer, the more you make!
• You’re eligible to earn commissions for each referral for 15 months following each referral’s approval date.

The minimum pay threshold is only $10, and they pay by Paypal or by check. (Check minimum is $50) This means that you don’t have to wait until the Adsense $100 threshold to get paid. Great for smaller blogs.

Now, let’s look at Widgetbucks. This is a very new program, having just launched. One of the main things that make this program so appealing is that they are offering $25 to new publishers! That’s pretty awesome, and its much like what Auction Ads is providing. (Way to throw in another plug there :-]) Widgetbucks has a little less customization available to their widgets. The colors are bright, which does make it stand out, and the widgets are very animated. They also lack a search function. They are definitely very noticable! An example of a Widgetbucks widget is over on the right. (To insert Widgetbucks code into Wordpress posts, see this link. Using the < code > tags in the code editor also seems to work)

Again, like Chitika, Widgetbucks has an affiliate program. Their program pays out 10% of affiliate sales, just like with Chitika. However, it is only for the first 12 months after the affiliate has been signed up. I do feel as if they have the better banners for attracting people though.

So, which one of these programs wins out in the end? I think it is Chitika. They have more customization available, and the widgets are easier to blend in. Their affiliate program is also slightly better than Widgetbucks. Both ad systems are best implemented on product sites, especially if you are providing reviews. This will then offer an option to purchase the item you were writing about, or perhaps something similar. So check out these programs and start making money!

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