Chitika has announced a new, large contextual ad unit that they’ve chosen to name the MEGA-Unit.
At first glance it’s just another ad size (550×250 in fact) but what’s more extraordinary are the claims being made by some of the people using it.
Chitika reckons that, across the network as a whole, the unit’s click-through rate (CTR) is four times higher than other ad units.
Added to which, Chitika cites three real-world examples.
AskDaveTaylor.com increased revenue from $85 per month to $2,000 per month by adding the site (that’s around a 2,350% increase).
ArticleAlley.com reported a 721% increase in income “without any noticeable knock on effect to our other income providers”, while CouponMom.com doubled eCPM and revenue by adding the MEGA-Unit to one page.
These are likely to be top-end examples, and some of the buzz may well wear off as visitors become used to the new format. However, if the claims are true, it’s a pretty impressive leap in revenue by simply implementing a new type of ad in the same program.
I’m testing out the new format on a couple of blogs that already do fairly well for Chitika advertising.
Of course, as with any advertising, you’ll have to balance the desire to generate revenue with placating keeping readers, and that will vary from site to site and blogger to blogger.
Chitika has had significant bad press in the past. What do you make of the latest addition? Just another type of ad or are they on to something?
