Are Chitika eMiniMalls a major threat to Google Adsense
| by David Callan There is no doubt that the brand new Chitika eMiniMalls PPC (pay-per-click) ad format is causing a sensation among publishers all over the World Wide Web. Especially when a few bloggers have reported being able to earn some very good income from them and in some cases even more than what they usually make from Google Adsense.Things tend to happen very fast online and this is a clear sign that in the
months to come we will be hearing plenty about this little known enterprise
that is challenging the mighty Google for a slice of the lucrative and rapidly
growing PPC ads market.
All indications are that for the first time, the hugely successful Adsense program seems to have a serious competitor at its’ door step. The question on the minds of many observers is, are Chitika a major threat to mighty Google or just a passing fad?
What Are Chitika eMiniMalls?
However, many people are still not familiar with this brand new ppc ad format that is causing such a sensation amongst bloggers and other site owners. Chitika ads come in a range of different sizes and colors (you can actually adjust the color to suit your site) but usually have a picture of a product and then some tabs running across them that include such topics as ‘best deals’ ‘description” ‘reviews’ and so on.
As the name suggests, the ads are designed to appear like tiny mini malls where visitors to a site can take a closer look at products of interest. Just like Adsense and other PPC ad formats, Chitika ads pay for clicks that happen at the host publisher’s blog or site.
So What is All The Fuss Really About?
Although it may be too early to tell exactly what effect this new ads will have on market leaders Google Adsense and the PPC ad industry in general, there have been reports that some publishers have completely abandoned Adsense ads in favor of the Chitika eMiniMall ad program. This is all the more telling when one considers the fact that there are many other publishers happily carrying both ad formats on their sites. You however need to adjust your Chitika eMiniMalls ads to a version that carries images and looks completely different from Adsense text ads. Chitika actually have an ad format that looks very similar to Adsense.
The introduction of this new ad format for publishers that looks like it will be wildly successful can only be good news to numerous bloggers and site owners. To start with, there has been a feeling in recent times that Google have gotten too powerful and that their total control and domination of the market may not be a good thing for their clients. Actually the same backlash we have seen Microsoft experiencing in recent years seems to have finally caught up with the giant search engine.
It goes without saying that although Adsense customer service has been of a fairly high standard, it is bound to get even better with the prospects of a serious competitor in the horizon.
Google Are Holding On To Text Ads
There have been admissions that although Chitika ads pay much more per single click, on average than Adsense, people click much less on them than they do Adsense text ads. Online marketers will know that he almost ugly-looking text ads are usually much more effective that beautiful color banner ads. The fact is that people do not like being advertised to online. In fact most folks hate it so much that they do not mind paying money to buy software that blocks advertising.
The Chitika eMini Mall ads look like ads. They can hardly avoid this as they mainly concentrate on trying to sell products. Interestingly they do have another text format of their ads that is extremely similar to Adsense text ads. However it has not been extensively tested as bloggers carrying them will be forced to abandon their Adsense ads. Still it is obvious that the text ads are much more effective and attract many more clicks that the banner-like ads.
It is instructive that Google have so far had no problem in accepting the Chitika banner-like product ads to run in sites where Adsense ads are also present. They will however strictly not allow any textual ads similar to Adsense ads. Not all publishers make a high income from Adsense and some of the ones who are not happy are bound to shift.
Still, time is the only determinant that will tell if Chitika is just a passing fad or the next major player in the high stakes PPC ads industry.