Screw Google Adsense - get real money FROM eBay

Mar 2, 2008

Screw Google Adsense - get real money FROM eBay

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Money tree So! Have you checked your Google adsense earnings lately? What have they been….a dime day day? A few dollars? $20/day? If it’s so little…why are you wasting your precious ad space on something that gives you such pathetic returns?

Did you know that eBay gives you between $25 to $35 PER new user registration?

And that doesn’t even take into account the 50-75% of eBay Revenue bonuses as well?

Hmmmm?

And what about Adsense on really niche sites, like, oh, pen collector blogs or diet blogs or what have you. How much money do you think ads delivered to those niches will deliver? I’ll give you a hint….NOT MUCH!

Wouldn’t it be more peachy than an orchard if you could finally monetize your uberNiche site about Telephone Insulators or your cutting-edge political commentary blog about Parent/Teacher/Association Machiavellian brou-hahas or …(you get the idea, right?) and offer visitors items they truly would crave?

Well! I’ve got one word for you and that’s eBay. In almost all of my sites, I’ve ripped out Adsense and replaced it with eBay. It gives you the same ad dimensions Adsense offers, the same ability to customize layouts…and the potential for far more money in your pocket.

Intrigued? I thought you would be!

Here’s how to do it.

DO THIS FIRST). Make sure you know your eBay affiliate ID number (gotten from Commission Junction).

You’ll need this number to customize your links. Need an ID? Grab one for free here.

Step 1.) Visit the Editor Kit site.

This is where you can customize displays like:

Click on the button that reads, Create an Editor Kit. NOTE! Sometimes it hangs; should that happen, just reclick it - it’s very popular. You’ll be brought to the editor creation page.

Step 2.) Decide the dimensions you want to use.

Editor Kit Dimensions Like with Google Adsense, you can have all sorts of nifty displays:

468×60 - Full Banner
234×60 - Half Banner
300×250 - Medium Rectangle
120×240 - Vertical Banner
160×600 - Wide Skyscraper
120×600 - Skyscraper
180×150 - Rectangle
125×125 - Square Button
250×250 - Square Popup
728×90 - Leaderboard
Custom Display

Now, in what areas should you display the above?

The 250×250 layouts are very popular for wrapping blog text around (I’m sure you’ve seen Google Adsense shown that way).

The 728×90 layout is great at the top of your page if you use leaderboards.

The 160×600 or 120×600 Skyscrapers are useful for left and right hand columns.

If you’re familiar with Google Adsense, chances are you’ve seen their Heat Map. You can use the same ideas when figuring out where to place your eBay ads too! Other resources for ad placement in blogs include:

I have my own particular views on eBay ad placement and will write it up soon. But if you’re just starting out, you really can’t go wrong by including the skyscrapers in your columns.

Step 3.) Decide the THEME (color scheme) you’d like to use.

I confess - the generic eBay color scheme looks mighty pleasing to me. However, you might be of another take entirely! eBay has crafted up several templates you can use and also allows you to design your own.

Here’s 4 pre-made examples (there’s 7 more at eBay):

Bubbles:

Stars:

Wheels:

Electronics:

Choose whatever colors you’d like.

Step 4.) Type in your title if available.

Some display options allow you to type in a title, like:

MacGyver Goodies!

Others are too small and this option will not show.

Step 5.) Choose what columns to display.

Depending upon your dimensions, you can show:

Item Title/Price
Gallery Image
Time Left
Number of Bigs

I personally always select ‘Gallery Image’ because then visitors get to actually see a picture of something they might crave.

Step 6.) Choose your sorting display if available, minimum height, and SEARCH option

eBay Sort The "Custom Display" allows you to sort by 4 different criteria:

Items ending first
Newly-listed items first
Lowest prices first
Highest prices first

I always recommend to use the Items ending first option if you want to appeal to the time-sensitivity aspect (ie, there’s only 23 minutes left to score a deal on an iPod!). It’s a great way to appeal to a sense of urgency.

You can also use Lowest prices first when you want to highlight items that cost 1 cent (yes indeed, many eBay sellers will do that as a loss leader option).

"Highest prices first" would be great for the WOW! factor, ie, if you’re displaying the most expensive cars, boats, luxury items, etc.

You can next select how many items you want returned if you’re doing a custom display. The default is 25; I generally will show 8 to 10.

You’ll also might be given the option to allow a searchbox in the final widget. Always select this! I figure, if the visitors are intrigued enough, it gives an opportunity for them to search further.

Step 7.) Type in your content selection, failure criteria and additional options.

eBay Content This is key! This is how you can control what’s being shown. Notice in the example to the right that I have:

(book,ebook) diet

The parentheses allow you to construct an OR statement. Thus, the search would return items that match

diet book
diet ebook

You can also specify what to do if the editor kit doesn’t return anything based upon your criteria. Show an Editor Kit with no results? Show results from a specific category? etc.etc.etc.

You can find the Category IDs at ebay over at this page.

You can also opt for:

Show items with Gallery images only
Open links in a new browser window
Show Buy It Now items only

I always choose Gallery images only (again, the visual appeal for the visitor). I also choose Open links in a new browser window as I’ve always found it (for me) to be far more efficient.

We’re almost at the home stretch! Finally,

Step 8.) Enter in your tracking services information.

ebay tracking Here is where you finally put your own personal stamp on the Editor kit creation - generally, you’ll select "Commission Junction" and then enter in your eBay ID.

Your Commission Junction SID is simply a way to tag specific widgets traffic from your blog. It’s useful if you’re one who analyzes outgoing ad links.

And then…you click Continue!

Voila! On the next page, you’ll be presented with the javascript you can copy/paste to your blog posting (make certain you’re in direct HTML/source mode when you do so) or add to your template.

And that’s how you add targeted goodies your visitors would adore from the eBay affiliate program to your niche blog. You’ll find it can add a very healthy chunk of change to your blog.

(and if you’d like to get even more ideas for how to utilize eBay and other dynamic affiliate programs, check out my posting Hidden treasures - easily monetize your niche blog via eBay - you can download a complimentary copy of my eBook Dynamic Affiliate Profit Linking).

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

(By the way, if you have any questions about the topics in this posting "Screw Google Adsense - get real money FROM eBay", do comment below - I'll try to clarify any issues).

Barbara Ling and Owlbert

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