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4 items tagged "MSN and ContentAds"

Related tags: adCenter, Search, Microsoft

Search Engine Roundtable

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  Publishers Giving Microsoft pubCenter Second Chance

  Posted: June 21st, 2010, 4:02pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  MSN ContentAds  

  Now that Yahoo Publisher Network is done, where do publishers go when their earnings with Google AdSense falter? Well, if they are lucky enough to get into the Microsoft's Content Ads, aka PubCenter then they can use that as an alternative.

  In fact, one publisher did so and is reporting at WebmasterWorld that he has been impressed with the earnings with PubCenter ads in the past few weeks. He said:

  This last drop in adsense revenue pushed me to try Microsoft ads again and I am happy to report, it is paying what adsense paid before the drop (more on some days)!

  I thought this may be temporary, but it's been a few weeks now and I'm impressed. The targeting is way better than it used to be and I can't tell you how good it feels to know there is another option that works.

  Not everyone agrees and still says the targeting is off and the income is bad. Here is a sample ad to see how good or bad the targeting is, in live:

  Are you liking Microsoft PubCenter or sticking with Google AdSense?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld

  
  

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  Microsoft To Open adCenter Content Ads As Public Beta

  Posted: April 22nd, 2009, 4:11pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  MSN ContentAds  

  I spotted a member in a DigitalPoint Forums thread with a level of certainty that Microsoft will be announcing at adTech San Francisco today that they are opening up ContentAds (also may be known as PubCenter) as a public beta. ContentAds is Microsoft's competing Google AdSense product.

  An open beta means that virtually anyone should be able to sign up for the product and test it against Google AdSense. It is also rumored that Microsoft will set up a companion blog for the ContentAds (PubCenter) today, April 22nd.

  In March 2008, Microsoft began accepting beta users via a sign up form. Since then, it has remained fairly quiet except for some comparisons made by beta users between ContentAds & AdSense. ContentAds began being tested in June 2007 by a few publishers and some really early tests in October 2006. The earliest rumors of this product came in December 2005 and then again in February 2006.

  Hopefully the big beta launch is today.

  Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

  Update: Microsoft confirms this and adds more details.

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  MSN adCenter's Content Ads Showing Horrible Click Through Rates?

  Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 2:31pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  MSN ContentAds  

  Brent Csutoras published results of his Microsoft ContentAds test by accident. I wasn't able to see all the results because he pulled them after being notified that he is not allowed to share any stats because he is in a private beta. I can tell you that I tested the ads on my personal blog and actually removed them about a week ago, due to the poor results in revenue making.

  That being said, what I did see Brent post in his MSN Adcenter’s Publisher Beta vs. Google Adsense, which is now 301 redirecting to the home page. He said that the CTR (click through rate) was a fraction of what he noticed with his Google AdSense ads. I believe it was less than half, but possibly even worse.

  Clearly, a publisher program that gets paid out by click and not impression, with a low CTR is not a publisher program that publishers want to participate in. MSN Content Ads is still very new and in very limited beta. I suspect it will do much better in 2009, but it appears they still have a long way to go to earn the trust of publishers and take market share from Google AdSense.

  Note, if anyone has a cached copy of the post, please share it with us. :)

  Forum discussion at Sphinn.

  Update: I received a screen capture of the original post and posted over here. You can see that the CTR with Google AdSense was .11%, but with Microsoft Content Ads it was .01% - huge difference and it showed in the earnings.

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  Microsoft ContentAds Publisher Program Pilot Sign Up Form

  Posted: March 31st, 2008, 2:42pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  ContentAds MSN  

  It seems like you can now request to join the pilot Microsoft ContentAds program as a publisher. Currently, there was really no public method to request to show Microsoft ContentAds, via the adCenter content network, on your site. But now, there appears to be a form at [advertising.microsoft.com] that you can sign up at.

  By completing the form, you have a chance at:

  • To keep informed about new developments
  • Receive invitations to participate in focus groups or feedback sessions
  • And most importantly, possibly be considered for participation in an upcoming pilot program

  So does this mean that Microsoft will soon be opening up their publisher program and be competing directly with Google AdSense and Yahoo Publisher Network? If Microsoft opens up the program soon, they can likely take away publishers from Yahoo. Yahoo is still closed to non-US based publishers.

  Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.