WidgetBucks — alternative to Google Adsense?

James Ryan Jonas

WidgetBucks is, in short, a money-making widget. Just like Google Adsense, you place a small code snippet in your site, the widget displays ads, and every time a visitor clicks on the ads or signs up as one of your referrals, you earn money.

When you sign up, you also get free $25 which is already halfway the minimum payout.

If you’re interested to sign up right now, click HERE.

To find out more details about WidgetBucks, read below.

How do I make money from WidgetBucks?

  • You earn money each time someone clicks on a WidgetBucks ad widget on your site, also called pay-per-click, or PPC. You can also earn money by referring people to WidgetBucks.

How much do I make?

  • How much you earn depends largely on your site’s traffic and content. A number of publishers who have tested WidgetBucks are seeing a $3-6 CPM.

Is there a referral program? How much does it pay?

  • Yes. When you refer a new WidgetBucks user, you will receive a 10 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people you refer. You’ll receive this 10 percent for the full 12 months after the new member joins.

Can I place more than one WidgetBucks ad on my site?

  • Yes, there is no limit to how many you can place on your site.

Can I run WidgetBucks with Google AdSense?

  • Yes, WidgetBucks is compatible with all other ad systems.

How do I get paid?

  • Payments are sent via check or via PayPal. Earnings are paid every first of the month for all revenue earned during the previous month, as long as the $50 minimum is met.

How do I get started?

  • First, sign-up with Widgetbucks. Second, login to your Member Account page and customize the ads. Third, paste the code into your blog or Web page or integrate it with popular blog platforms such as TypePad, Blogger and WordPress. A step-by-step process on how to do this can be accessed in your account.

What I personally like about WidgetBucks:

  1. It’s a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program, meaning, visitors don’t have to purchase anything or sign up in the advertiser’s site in order for you to be paid. They just have to click on the ads.
  2. You have the option to choose the ad categories (books, movies, ) that would show up or you can let WidgetBucks’s MerchSense algorithm serve contextually relevant ads based on your posts or topics.
  3. You automatically get a $25 sign-up bonus, so you only need to work on the other $25 to receive your first payment.

What I don’t like about WidgetBucks:

  1. They only offer 5 ad widget sizes at the moment, so you have limited options on what you can use.
  2. All advertised products are from US based merchants and are in US dollars, so the likelihood of click conversions and the cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) may be lower for non-US based sites.
  3. Unlike in Google Adsense, there is no real-time reporting of ad performance and earnings. Revenue reporting is currently delayed by 48-72 hours.

We’ll keep you updated on the performance of WidgetBucks as a new method of monetization on our site.

James Ryan Jonas teaches business management, investments, and entrepreneurship at the University of the Philippines (UP). He is also the Executive Director of UP Provident Fund Inc., managing and investing P3.2 Billion ($56.4 Million) worth of retirement funds on behalf of thousands of UP employees.