If you want to make money on the Internet though a content-based site, you should definitely weigh your monetization options. Google Adsense is probably the most popular ad network, but as you can tell from John’s monthly income recaps, it is not the most lucrative.
Prior to this ReviewMe review, I had never heard of ExoClick. After going through their website, I’m still not entirely sure what to think of this so-called “innovative PPC platform“. Is it an Adsense killer or just a minor hiccup for Google? Let’s find out.
What Ads Do They Offer?
ExoClick is a PPC-based ad network, so in this way, it can almost be directly compared to Adsense. The key difference is that the ads are not contextual. The primary product here are the quintessential ad blocks, coming in a variety of standard sizes (468×60, 160×600, etc.), and the ads that they serve up depend on the category your select and the keywords that you enter.
At this time, I have deployed a 728 leaderboard on my blog, as well as a 300 box in this post. I personally don’t like the choice of font, because it does not integrate very well with my blog. I hope that ExoClick adds an option to change the font in the near future. As it stands, you can choose the format (size), border thickness, and the colors for the ad title, ad text, and background.
ExoClick has no problem heading into the more “mature” end of the blog monetization pool. In fact, among the category list for ads, you’ll find gambling, adult, and dating, as well as more conventional categories like blogging, car insurance, and games. Thankfully, there is an option to activate an adult ad filter. There are 17 categories in all.
While the basic ad block is what most people will use, ExoClick also offers categorized web portals, monetized domain parking, and search boxes like the one shown below. These boxes link to the same sites as the web portals.
On a side note, when you check out the publisher information page, the sample ad block shows an image accompanying the text, but this wasn’t the case when I put the ads on my blog. It could be dependent on the category, keyword, or specific ad, but I can’t say for sure. Also, while you can buy them, it doesn’t seem that you can sell ExoClick text link ads.
Affiliate Program
John has always said that the best kind of income is passive income, so it’s good to hear that ExoClick has a referral program wherein you get “a 5% bonus LIFETIME on the earnings” of anyone you sign up. With the basic ad block, the referral link is built into where it says “Ads by ExoClick”.
Weekly Payouts
With Adsense, you only get paid once a month and that appears to be the standard with most other ad networks. Browsing through the FAQ, I discovered that ExoClick promises to pay you every week, assuming that you reach the minimum payout level.
If you want a check or a wire transfer, the minimum threshold is $100. If you’re willing to get paid via Paypal or Epassporte, the minimum payout level is just ten bucks. One big thing that I should note is that ExoClick charges a fee if you want a check ($30) or a wire transfer ($20), whereas PayPal and Epassporte payments are “free.”
Make Money Online with ExoClick
Unlike Google where you sign up as a publisher (Adsense) and as an advertiser (Adwords) separately, the application process for ExoClick is completely unifed. One account for everything. On a related note, the application form is VERY short (name, password, email address) and approval is instantaneous. This way, you can start making money right away.
Given that I’ve only been running their ads for one day, it’s hard for me to pass judgment on whether ExoClick is worth implementing on your blog. The back-end seems to be organized reasonably well and I appreciate the detailed stats. And like most other ad networks, the revenue share is 50%.
Got banned from Adsense or want to supplement the Google machine? Then this PPC-based solution might work for you.
Click here to sign up with ExoClick
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