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Friday, October 28, 2011

Chitika Tutorial

Chitika is the latest PPC ad network sweeping the internet. It has taken off in the blogging community especially mostly I would say by a combination of excellent product and smart marketing. Prominent bloggers have taken to it and it’s service is attracting the big guns.

Chitika is the next revolution in contextual search marketing (not just my opinion) and will be experiencing explosive growth. It already has a strong subscriber base.

I have signed up with Chitika and my own experience has been extremely pleasant so far. My account console is clear and simple and I was up and running in less than 24 hours. For anyone who has used adsense before it is a breeze.
What’s the difference between Chitika and Adsense

Firstly the similarities are that they both can be contextual - meaning that the ads displayed on a publishers site relate to the content in a dynamic way. However with Chitika you have the option of turning off contextual advertising - and in fact have too if displaying Adsense and Chitika on the same page.

This is a simple matter.
How to turn off Chitika contextual ads

The Chitika code is pasted into your page - just like adsense. There is a line in your code:
ch_non_contextual = 1;

This is actually the default so you really don’t need to change anything to make it non-contextual.
If the value of this code about says 1 it means it is already non-contextual.

Now you can display Chitika ads and Adsense on the same page.
How to change the colours of my Chitika ads

There is a easy point and click colour picker provided in the Chitika admin interface.
How often does Chitika update your stats

From my experience this is done once per day, but they say that they are working on
more frequent updating.
What’s the coolest thing I found out about Chitika recently

There is an important difference with regard to price per click. Currently Chitika pays the same click price to a publisher with only a small amount of traffic as they do to a huge traffic site. Adsense has something called smart pricing which means that if you are low in the search engine you may only be earning a few cents a click while someone else may get several times as much for the same ad.

I have a number of high position pages - but overall with the new adsense smart pricing - my income has dropped from adsense. I believe Chitika is a fresh look. They seem to be taking the best from everywhere and putting it into their program.
How do I get Started as a Chitika Publisher

Simply apply here - once your site is approved - takes about 24 hours - you can place the Chitika code on any of your sites.
How to increase the clickthru with Chitika

Optimising Chitika ads to increase clickthru rate, follows the same principle as adsense. Merge the ads into your site - so that the background colors match - using Chitika color picker - or even hacking the code - they don’t mind if you change the colours to suit your site. Place the ads above the fold (so they are in the most prominent place ) Use Similar positioning techniques to adsense and then test.

The ads are themselves interactive but strangely pleasant. I don’t know how they did this but I’m impressed.

Chitika Blog | Getting Started With Chitika Ads on Blogger

As some of you have probably noticed, Blogger’s layout has changed a little since we last updated our FAQ’s. This post will be helpful to those of you new to Chitika and/or Blogger.

Posting on Blogger From Your Chitika Account

There is a way to post Chitika ads to your Blogger account right after you create your code within your Chitika account. After selecting “Ad Setup”, “Get Code”, and customizing your ad, you can use our “Add to Blogger” widget at the bottom of the page:

his will automatically post the ads to your blog.

*Note: Widget not currently available for List Unit ads.
Posting Chitika Ads From Your Blogger Account

You can also post Chitika ads within your Blogger account. From your account homepage, click “Design.”

Next, you will see a layout of your blog with some blocks that say “Add a Gadget.” This is where you can post Chitika ads. Also note that these blocks can be moved around by dragging them with your mouse. Click whichever one you like.


After you select one of these blocks, a little screen will pop up that says “Basics” with a list of 24 gadgets. Select the 8th one down, titled “HTML/Javascript.”


After you select this gadget, you will see a place to add a title and then the box to paste your ad code. You can title the ad block whatever you like, as long as it doesn’t say “Click Here,” or something along those lines (it is against our Terms and Conditions). Some users like “Chitika” or “Related Results.”


Finally, to preview the ads Chitika Premium ads on your blog, you can add #chitikatest=keyword to the end of your URL. For example:

www.yourblog.com#chitikatest=keyword

Do any Blogger users have other tips they would like to share?

Start Earning Revenue From Your Website Traffic

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How is Chitika different?


Chitika is the only ad-network which knows when not to show an ad, helping to preserve your user experience.
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Can I use Chitika Ads with Google AdSense?

Yes. You can use Chitika Ads with AdSense because Chitika Ads are non-contextual and do not look like AdSense units.
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How do I get paid?


Chitika charges advertisers to be featured alongside your site's content. At the end of every month you are paid based on the previous month's earnings (Net 30). Payments are sent after your account earns at least $10.00 (USD) for PayPal payouts or $50.00 (USD) for checks.