eBay Enters Contextual Ad Business - How it Works, How it’s Different
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As everyone knows, Google’s advertising program works on a cost per click basis. That means advertisers pay Google every time someone clicks on their ad, and likewise Google pays the ad publisher a commission for each click. That common model has helped many a site owner earn some money on the side while working a regular job (and even supported quite a few people all by itself). Unfortunately, it’s also vulnerable to click fraud, which involves web surfers or automated programs clicking on ads with no intention of making a purchase or otherwise converting. That hurts advertisers, who pay for useless clicks.
eBay’s model, on the other hand, is cost per action, with no cost per click component to it whatsoever. As one observer pointed out in a forum thread on the subject, “You could have one million clicks, but if no purchases have been made, you won’t make a penny. But, looking at it another way, when purchases are made your commission will often be very much higher than you would be paid for a click.”
That brings us to the second difference between the two programs. Google does not disclose its AdSense compensation schedule to its partners. The search engine giant receives the money for the clicks, but it doesn’t tell you what percentage of that money you receive for running the ads.
eBay, on the other hand, is refreshingly upfront to prospective affiliates about the percentages involved. Affiliates using the AdContext program can receive between 40 and 70 percent of eBay’s revenue (not the item’s sale price) on winning bids or Buy It Now transactions. Also, for every person who registers with eBay as a result of an ad driving them to the site, site owners can earn between $12 and $20.
Google allows webmasters a certain amount of control over the kinds of ads that display on their web sites, and so does eBay. eBay already has an affiliate program in place that lets users provide their own keywords for the auctions they believe would be most relevant to their site’s content. Affiliates can continue to pass in their own keywords, or choose automatic mode to let the system figure out what would be most relevant in context.
The AdContext program offers a nice variety of ad types. You can use text only, text and image, or even flash ads. eBay’s information page about the program (which you can find here) noted that many sizes and color schemes are available, so it’s likely you’ll be able to find something that suits your site.
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