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In the last part of the Make Money from Your Blog series, I covered the ins and outs of Google AdSense. Today I want to provide some insight into a recent contender named Kontera ContentLink.

What is ContentLink?

Kontera ContentLink is another contextual advertising service. Its intent is to provide ads that are relevant to the in-page text, similar to Google’s goal with AdSense.

ContentLink is very different from AdSense though. Rather than display an advertisement on a certain location of a web page, this service will highlight keywords and key phrases on your page that match those from their advertising database. If it locates any matches, they will appear as double-underlined links. When the reader hovers over a link, an in-page pop-up will appear with the advertisement details located within it (as per the screen shot below). Clicking the advertisement will take the reader to the website associated with it.

What are the benefits of using ContentLink?

ContentLink is very easy to install, and it does not require any additional space on a website to make the advertisements fit.

The ContentLink program is also much easier to get accepted into when compared to its main competitor, IntelliTXT. The IntelliTXT program has strict guidelines about minimum page views per month. ContentLink initially imposed the same minimum requirements, but ultimately reduced them thereby allowing many more publishers to reap the benefits of the program.

Are there any drawbacks from using ContentLink?

The biggest drawback to using ContentLink is that a significant number of readers find them to be disruptive to the flow of a page. Accidentally scrolling over a link will cause the popup to appear, potentially covering the text that the reader is attempting to read. Some readers have such a strong dislike for this type of advertising that they end up avoiding websites that use ContentLink altogether.

ContentLink’s reporting is also feeble at best. Often times, it is not possible to view earnings over the past several days until more time has passed and Kontera’s databases have been updated.

So how do I get started?

To get started, simply fill out the publisher application form on the Kontera website. Once your site is approved, you will receive an email containing a JavaScript code snippet that must be embedded into the footer of your website. (When I was accepted into the program, the JavaScript did not arrive correctly due to my email provider attempting to prevent potentially hazardous script tags, but it can easily be obtained through the management console.)

The JavaScript includes a default link color, which can be changed manually in the JavaScript. The code will initially contain a line similar to the line below; however, it can be changed to a hexidecimal value as long at the pound (#) sign is included in the quoted string.

var dc_AdLinkColor = 'orange' ;

How do I track my earnings?

Earnings can be tracked through the reporting screen in the ContentLink management console. The reporting lacks any significant detail. Included in the table is information about total impressions, clicks, click through rate, revenue earned, and the eCPM. The data can be displayed as a summary, including only totals during a period, or in detail, including the daily breakdown in addition to the total.

Although the reporting is fairly weak, it does include a means by which to download the reports in Excel format for record keeping.

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