Green Llama

Early in April, I decided to give Kontera ContentLink a try. I hesitated to join the program, because I generally found the ads to be slightly annoying. Not so annoying that I would stop using a site that had them, just that I preferred sites without these ads. In any case, I did want to give the program the benefit of the doubt, and see if I could earn enough money to offset the annoyance factor. I hate to rule out advertising options without giving them a fair shot.

What are Kontera ContentLink Ads?

Kontera ContentLink is an advertising program that shows in-line advertising links. The links are created automatically using contextual matching technology ( similar to how Google Adsense picks which ads to show ). You don’t need to dedicate a specific spot on your site to Kontera, since the ads are inline. Kontera picks where the ads show, and they are simple text links, so they don’t take up extra space.

You can see in the picture to the left what a Kontera text link looks like - they are double underlined. “income” and “Adsense” are both Kontera links. I hovered over Adsense to show what the ad looks like when it loads - it displays a small box when you hover. Again, I find the ads somewhat annoying ( I don’t personally care for stuff hovering over other stuff on my sites ) but not overly obtrusive.

How do I get paid?

Kontera ContentLink Ads are a PPC form of advertising - that means you get paid when a user actually clicks on the hovering ad. For those of you familiar with Adsense, this is nothing new to you. As with Adsense, payout per click varies drastically, and depends heavily on the niche that you’re writing about. Any niche that is lucrative for Adsense is likely to be lucrative for Kontera.

Control where your ads show

When you get approved for Kontera ContentLink ads, you get a piece of JavaScript to place somewhere on your page - the footer is as good as any to me. However, you do want to have some control over where your ads show - you don’t want ads in your header, sidebar, or footer, now do you? There’s an easy solution for this. Simply wrap the content you want in a div with class “Konabody”. I.E. Place <div class=”KonaBody”>where you want ads to start, and </div> where you want them to end. Voila, your ads show exactly where you want to, and nowhere else.

Can I run Kontera ContentLink Ads on multiple sites?

Yes. However, you need to install your ad script on the first site first, and then submit any additional sites for approval. Once approved, you’ll need to install the site-specific ad code so that the tracking will work properly. Kontera says it can take up to two weeks for ads to become targeted and optimized, so be patient if you see some goofy ads and poor earnings in the beginning.

Can I use Kontera ContentLink Ads with Google Adsense?

Yes. Google is now OK with you using other contextual advertising programs, so long as they can’t be confused with Adsense. ContentLink Ads look nothing like Adsense ads, so you can safely use both on the same site.

Earnings comments

Earnings are heavily dependent on your niche. So far I’m using Kontera on two blogs - this one and one product-based blog. The performance here has been decent - nothing earth shattering but not terrible either. I may yet turn off the ads here. But on the product based blog, the results have been fantastic. I installed Kontera there on April 13th, and based on just over half a month, I nearly beat my entire Text link ads income for all my sites. I can only imagine how a full month will turn out. The best part is that my Adsense income didn’t drop like I was concerned that it would - in fact, it skyrocketed.

Conclusion

Kontera ContentLink Ads is a fantastic addition my my income sources. I don’t mind the slight annoyance factor if it means I’m making money. And that’s what I’m here for, to make money online. Kontera gives me an alternate income source that doesn’t take up any site real estate. Since I’m such an anti-clutter freak, I think that’s a great thing. The only think missing from Kontera is an affiliate program. I’m not John Chow, and I can’t refer thousands of users. I’m sure I can refer a few though, and I wouldn’t mind earning a little coin for the effort. Anyone listening at Kontera?