Another WidgetBucks Review

Folks from Team Blogger has posted that WidgetBucks is performing better than Chikita.
Here's an excerpt about the split test that they had conducted on WidgetBucks:

I’ve been running it in a ’split test’ with Chitika ads in one position and to this point the WidgetBucks ad is earning more on a CPM basis than the Chitika unit (it’s still early days on that test though). The CTR is higher on the WidgetBucks ad but the click value is higher on the Chitika ads.

Apparently, WidgetBucks outperforms its direct competitor, which is Chikita. And it's not surprising that WidgetBucks turns out to be the better earner compared to Chikita.

Wait, folks at Team Blogger also said that WidgetBucks outperformed Adsense during their test!

Do you need another reason to put it on? Following this code update, WidgetBucks widget ads loads very fast now. And you don't have to worry about the hidden link or Google Penalty since WidgetBucks has removed the hidden link from the code.



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WidgetBucks Hidden Link Issue

Andy Beard wrote a harsh review of WidgetBucks on his blog. One of the main thing that he criticized was the presence of hidden links to WidgetBucks embedded in the widget itself.

Look at the link back to their site which was present in their first code:

script src="http://www.widgetbucks.com/script/widgetMagic.js" type="text/javascript">

[a href="http://www.widgetbucks.com/" target="_blank">WidgetBucks - Trend Watch - WidgetBucks.com

writeWBStyles("www.widgetbucks.com");setTimeout(function(){var day = "" + new Date().getMonth() + new Date().getDate() + new Date().getYear();var widget = new mpireWidget("http://www.widgetbucks.com/widgets/wbtw300x250.swf?uid=TiVAnRMsyRoS1hSy&apiURL=http://www.widgetbucks.com&day="+day,"TiVAnRMsyRoS1hSy");widget.write("container_TiVAnRMsyRoS1hSy");},Math.floor((Math.random() * 150) - (-(Math.random() * 150))) - (-200))

Apparently WidgetBucks realized this and decided to revise the code. Now the new nifty code is:

script src=\”http://images.widgetbucks.com/script/widgetMagic.js\” type=\”text/javascript\”>

WidgetBucks - Trend Watch - WidgetBucks.com[/div>[script type="\”text/javascript\”">writ eWBStyles(\”images.widgetbucks.com\”);setTimeout(function(){var day = \”\” + new Date().getMonth() + new Date().getDate() + new Date().getYear();var widget = new mpireWidget(\”http://images.widgetbucks.com/widgets/wbtw300×250.swf?uid=AVjuaWUzS56vUfdL&apiURL=http://www.widgetbucks.com&day=\”+day,\”AVjuaWUzS56vUfdL\”);widget.write(\”container_AVjuaWUzS56vUfdL\”);},Math.floor((Math.random() * 150) - (-(Math.random() * 150))) - (-200))

The hidden link which used to be there has gone! On top of that, their widgets are now loading fast! This can only mean one thing. WidgetBucks is a company which actually listen to their customers.

We complain about the hidden link. They remove it!
We complain about how the widget takes forever to load. They make it load faster!

If you haven't joined it, now it's the time. Join now before it's too late.



widgetbucks issue

WidgetBucks Ads Format Sample

Many webmasters have difficulty in deciding what format would fit well with their site. Since WidgetBucks is not providing any samples, we have to load the ads one by one in order to find out their appearances and design. This can be annoying since literaly you have to load the whole flash file everytime you switch color or format.

Here are WidgetBucks sample ads images in every available format that I captured from the screen. You can get a feel of these ads format and decide whether any of these ads format will do well in your site. (click the thumbnail to view the ads in its original size).

120 x 600 Ads


160 x 600 ads


160 x 300 ads




















300 x 250 ads



468 x 60 ads


728 x 90 ads



660 x 300 ads


Join WidgetBucks Now:



widgetbucks ads

WidgetBucks Size, Format and Placement

In general, there isn't any best size or format in WidgetBucks. What may be the best format for one, may not be the best format for you. But here's one general conception that I heard from many webmasters, don't over blend your ads.

General rule of thumb:

1. For blog, experiment by placing 330 x 250 ads on your post.

2. If you have the space, try the 660 x 300 ads blog. It displays product description, price and picture all in one ad block. No one will miss that huge ad blocks either.

3. Experiment with color. Just because your site is red doesn't mean that red WidgetBucks ads will do well too.

4. Match the ads category with your topic (duh).

5. Don't place too many widgets in one page. Three WidgetBucks ads are already too much (three will take forever to load). Generally I have never placed more than one WidgetBucks ads.

Join WidgetBucks Now:


widgetbucks tips

Is WidgetBucks Adsense Safe?

According to WidgetBucks FAQ, they allow publishers to display their advertisement along with Google Adsense. But I am not utterly confident about this and decided to shoot an email to Adsense support.

Here's the reply from the support team:

Thanks for your email.

AdSense publishers may display ads from other contextual ad networks on the same page as Google ads only if the formatting or color scheme of these ads is sufficiently different from the layout of the Google ads.

In other words, if you choose to place non-Google ads on the same site or page as Google ads, it should always be clear to the user that the ads are served by different advertising networks and that the non-Google ads have no association with Google. If the formats are naturally similar, we'd ask that you use different color schemes for the competing ads.

Look at the sentence that I bold there. The point is, you are allowed to place WidgetBucks (or any other ads) along with Adsense as long as their appearances are different.

Take a look at this typical WidgetBucks ads:


Now take a look at this Adsense Ads:


They look completely different :). So go ahead and put WidgetBucks ads along with your Adsense, it's completely okay.

Join WidgetBucks Now:


widgetbucks issue

WidgetBucks Facts

What is it?

WidgetBucks is a new advertising network which enables blogger and webmaster to display shopping advertisement in their sites or blogs and earn bucks whenever someone clicks it.

Who's behind it?

Mpire corporation is the company who delivers WidgetBucks to us. Mpire company is award winning meta shopping service company. While Mpire company is still 2 years old, it's driven by enthusiastic people such as former eBay executive Richard Rock.

What's so special about WidgetBucks? They aren't revolutionary.

While it's true that WidgetBucks isn't anything revolutionary, WidgetBucks has currently lived its reputation as best paying ads network. People are reporting significantly higher earning per click compared to traditional ad network. Combined with proper placement, this can brings you significant additional revenue.

Are they going to be big?
Time will tell. Even a big company can go downhill in a year time. But so far they are gaining momentum and look very prospective indeed. WidgetBucks is already gathering over 5000 publishers within a few weeks of its launching.



How do you know they aren't scam?

WidgetBucks are backed up with company who has strong credential. If this is a scam, they have a lot of to deal with. Worst thing that could happen is, they will go bankrupt but that can also happen with every other ads network in this planet.

There isn't any proof yet that they are a scam. The first batch of test whether they are scam or not will be unleashed at December 15. That's their first payment date to publishers.

What kind of ads do they display?

They have two options for that. The first one is called Merchsense. Merchsense is supposed to be dynamic, contextual widget who will display ads that match your content. However many people have found this option to be irrelevant so they choose the second option.

The second option is, you can choose topic which matches your blog content. They have 15 topics to choose from, starting from Video Games to Kids and Family products. They will be adding more and more topics in the future so obviously there will be much more choices for you in the near future.

Does WidgetBucks comply with adsense?

Yes, it is adsense safe. Please refer to this post if you want to read the email that I received from Adsense Support.

Why should I join WidgetBucks now?

First, because they are running a promotion where you will get instant $25 if you sign up. This is a great incentive and can possibly become the easiest money that you earn online.

Second, they pay very well. Many publishers have confessed that they receive 3 - 4 times higher EPC (earning per click) compared to other ads network. $3 - $6 ECPM (earning per thousand impressions) has also been reported by publishers (traditional ads only pay less than $2 ECPM, or if your blog is new $0.25 ECPM).

Third, they are new. Which means not many people have heard about WidgetBucks. You can refer your friend and families to WidgetBucks and earn 10% of their income. Sounds like a sweet deal isn't it?

So join now and claim your $25.



widgetbucks review