New Ad Network Serving Contextual Shopping Widgets That Outperform Traditional Ad Networks and Integrate with Facebook

SEATTLE (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) October 2, 2007 -- Online shopping service Mpire today introduced WidgetBucks, a new e-commerce advertising network that helps publishers, affiliates and bloggers earn three to four times more money compared to traditional ad networks.

WidgetBucks serves Web publishers who are looking for better-performing online ads and ways to make money from the exploding widget market. In August 2007, 239 million widgets were used by Internet users in the U.S., where it is estimated that nearly half the online population — over 87 million people — use widgets, according to comScore.

Using patent-pending technology called MerchSense™, WidgetBucks (http://widgetbucks.com) displays contextual shopping widgets in publishers’ advertising space. Additionally, WidgetBucks is the first ad network to support general Web publishers, as well as be offered as an ad unit within popular social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Over 2,000 publishers and partners, including InfoSpace, RockYou, SixApart, Whateverlife, BuddyTV, WidgetBox and ePage, as well as content partners eBay and Shopping.com, have tested WidgetBucks during the recent private beta period.

News Facts about WidgetBucks

• Automated, scalable ad units complement other networks such as Google AdSense and Yahoo! Publisher Network
• Product offers from 30,000 merchants, including top brands such as Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, NewEgg, Macy’s and Gap
• Publishers and bloggers earn money every time consumers click WidgetBucks ad content on their sites and are linked to a merchant’s offer
• MerchSense™ automatically matches products with editorial content, meaning consumers receive more engaging, meaningful and relevant ads
• Flash-based widgets, presented in part as top 10 lists, cover 100 different categories, 300+ configurations and buying trends of 100 million online shoppers
• Constant monitoring auto-optimizes widget rotation based on success rate

• Publishers and bloggers receive a $25 sign-up bonus, and affiliates also earn a 10 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people they refer. The 10 percent commission lasts 12 months from the new publishers’ sign-up date.

Quotes

Attributed to Jim Kukral, veteran online marketing consultant and award-winning blogger:

• The challenge for website publishers has always been to find high-quality monetization solutions they can use to drive revenue for their efforts. Up until now, the options were Google AdSense and a handful of others. WidgetBucks delivers a new kind of monetization widget driven by everyone’s favorite online activity … shopping.
• Finally, a strategy to help publishers get all of their eggs out of Google’s basket … which is a good thing.

Attributed to Matt Hulett, president and CEO of Mpire:

• Traditional ad networks are quickly becoming the dinosaurs of the online ad world, and WidgetBucks represents the quickest way to increase revenue for larger publishers and bloggers alike.
• WidgetBucks gives publishers and bloggers a business model for widgets on their sites and ads that deliver three times more money than traditional online ads.
• WidgetBucks helps Mpire further push its strategy of distributing our shopping analytics across the Web.

About Mpire

Seattle-based Mpire is an award-winning meta-shopping service that brings together thousands of online stores and marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon, Shopping.com, Target, WalMart and Gap. Along with its affiliate marketing service, WidgetBucks, Mpire’s universal shopping experience combines proprietary pricing analysis for both new and used items, coupons and reviews, as well as distributed shopping features such as the Mpire Plug-in, shopping-trend widgets and Web service APIs. Founded in 2005, Mpire is backed by Ignition Partners and former eBay executive Richard Rock.

Related Links

Press Room/Photos/Logos: http://www.mpire.com/corporate/aboutPressroom.html

Launch Event blog/photos: http://widgetbucks.blogspot.com

Technorati Blog Tracking: http://www.technorati.com/posts/tag/widgetbucks

del.icio.us page: http://del.icio.us.com/widgetbucks

del.icio.us RSS feed: http://del.icio.us.com/rss/widgetbucks

Technorati tags: Mpire.com WidgetBucks online+advertising widgets ad networks blogging+money

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