Bidvertiser, a CPC ad network that competes with Google AdSense, recently went through a top to bottom redesigned and wanted to get the word out. What better way to that than by ordering a ReviewMe review from John Chow dot Com?
I love these types of reviews because this is the kind of stuff I would have written about anyway. The fact that Bidvertiser is going to pay me for it is a bonus. I’ll chalk this one up to another win for being evil. 😈
Bidvertiser For Web Publishers
If you already run Google AdSense on your blog, then you’ll have no problem getting up and running with Bidvertiser. I was able to set up my account within ten minutes. As far as I can see, Bidvertiser has very low entrance requirements so most sites and blogs should be approved. The question you may have is why you should even consider running Bidvertiser on your site if you already run AdSense?
One of the reasons would be the minimum payout. You only need to make $10 in order to be paid. Big publishers wouldn’t care about this but for many small blogs that are still waiting to hit that magic $100 Google payout level, getting pay at a lower level is quite attractive.
Bidvertiser Is Not Contextual
Bidvertiser is based on the concept that you know your site better than some big Google AI. Because of that, Bidvertiser is not contextual. The publishers decides the best category to place their sites in. Therefore, if your site is about computers & Internet, you won’t have to worry about getting a fishing ad if you decided to make a post about going fishing.
The Bidvertiser Ad Control Panel
Creating text ads with Bidvertiser is as easy as Google AdSense. They did a really good job on the redesign, making the site extremely easy to use. Like AdSenes, Bidvertiser offers options to control the colors and size the ad size. Unlike AdSense, Bidvertiser offers a custom ad size in case you don’t like any of the preset sizes.
If you’re going to run Bidvertiser alongside Google AdSense, or as a default, then you must make sure to change the color so they are not the same as the AdSense ads. Google’s new TOS states that you cannot run other ads that look and feel the same as the AdSense ads on your site. Just make sure the colors are different for Bidvertiser and AdSense and you should be OK.
Bidvertiser doesn’t seem to state their revenue share. I looked everywhere on the site but couldn’t find anything telling me how much commission they take for displaying ads on your site. What they do provide however, is the current maximum bids from advertisers. Right now, it’s from Irish Business Hosting, who will pay up to $3.03 for a click. However, it’s geo-targeted to Ireland and UK only. In second place is 24hr Forex Trading at up to $2.30 per click.
Bidvertiser For Advertisers
Bidvertisers has their advertiser and publishers control panel on the same page. If you’re a Bidvertiser publisher, it’s real easy to become a Bidvertiser advertiser, and visa versa.
Creating an ad to use on the Bidvertiser network is as easy to do as setting up a Google Adwords ad. However, all new ads need to be approved before going live. This was when I got a taste of Bidvertiser’s excellent customer service. After looking over my ads, their rep emailed me and recommended I place the ad in four other categories that he felt would do better. I doubt you’ll get anything like that from Google.
Bidvertisers ads are sold are on a CPC model. Advertisers enter a maximum bid they’re willing to pay for a click. However, that doesn’t mean a click will always cost the bid price. Bidvertiser is set up so you only have to beat the next advertiser by 1 cent in order to take his spot. For example, if you bid $1.00 for XYZ site and the current high bid on that is 45 cents, a click from XYZ will cost you 46 cents and not a dollar.
Bidvertiser will allow you to target a group of categories or even a single site. You can even run your eBay listings through the network. Geographical targeting is also available.
Bidvertiser Ad Performance
So far, Bidvertiser has spent $7.90 of my $50 test budget. I’m quite happy with the results because it’s really hard to get 5 cent clicks from Google Adwords anymore. The quality of the traffic Bidvertiser is sending is comparable to clicks for the Google AdSense network.
The Affiliate Program
When a user signs as an advertiser and first spends $100, Bidvertiser will credit your account with $20. When a user signs as a publisher and first earns $100, Bidvertiser will credit you another $20. That’s not bad but nowhere near as nice as the Text Link Ads affiliate program.
I have added Bidvertiser as a default to my Google AdSense. I really don’t expect to show many Bidvertiser ads since so many advertisers buy Google Sitematch ads on this blog. What I like most about Bidvertiser comes from the advertiser side. While Bidvertiser can’t deliver the same amount traffic as Google Adwords, that traffic cost less money. Saving money is always a good thing. 🙂