I am using Kontera Text Links

It is a disaster

[asas111]

I have had Google Adsense for just over 2 years now. Generally, it hasn't been bad for me, with an average of $230 per month.

But througout these two years, I have tried three other advertising programs, in hopes of making some money on the side. And let me tell you, they were all nothing short of a disaster in terms of money generated:

-#*$! (has since gone bankrupt I think): stayed with them for about 5 months, and generated an avarage of $25 per month
-Bidvertiser: an average of $10 per month (no kidding)
-The latest one is Kontera, and although I only have it in two of my sections (some 1500 page views a day), I have only been able to generate just under $10 in about 45 days.

In other words, what I have generated from all three programs combined, in a total of over a year, is not even equal to my one month average with Adsense. Sure I have Adsense placed in more places on my website, but still...

I did actually contact Kontera and asked them why I was getting paid no more than 4 cents per click: they replied and told me that it was due to my visitors being mostly from non-US places.

The morale of the story: it is really hard to switch from Adsense to these cheap programs. It may work for some, but it doesn't for the most.

[makes a little sense]

Kontera sucks. Most viewers don't like text ads embedded within the words.

[mivo]

I've got a busy forum but when I put adsense on it, it spelled disaster on my adsense earning as it somehow affected the earnings of my non-forum pages. I pulled out adsense from my forum and my adsense earning went back to normal.

Just recently I put bidvertiser and kontera on my forum. I have so far averaged about $200 a month from the two. Not bad.

[nadia]

Please anyone understand how Kontera works kindly explain to me and what is different from other adsense . I'm new in this forum and online marketing

Thanks
Nadia

[ann]

Kontera does not have the look of Google adsense.

I tried Kontera also but my clicks went down on adsense and Kontera was only paying 4.4 cent per click and....get this....it was delivering the same (EXACT SAME) ads as google!

Removed it in a hurry.

Ann

[andrewshim]

One BIG reason I'm still using Kontera is that when Adsense gets the targetting all wrong, Kontera at least fills in the missing space with one or two relevant ads. It's been 3 months and they've been paying me about 6 cents per click. I'm going to keep them on for another 3 months and if things don't improve, then I think I'd rather have Adsense only.

[nippi]

I use kontera and adsense on the same pages. Have experimented with it on and off, and for me it does increase revenue.

In the industries I target, Kontera advertising prices are quite high, and my add placement seems to results in more total clicks if both are on the page.

[nomis5]

I've tried Adbrite for about a year. It earned a miniscule amount compared to Adsense. I persevered but eventually took it off. I asked Adbrite why the earnings were so low and their response was basically they offer an altenative to Adsense but no explanation of why the earnings are so low. Maybe if you're banned from Adsense they offer an alternative but that's the only use I could see.

[ann]

Yes, and showing the same ads one company pays 4.4 cents a click and another company pays 3 times as much then guess which came off in a hurry. :)

Ann

[andrewshim]

I've found that a much better alternative to adbrite is text-link-ads - simply because they're more organized. With Adbrite, I made $0 in 4 months. With TLA, I made approx $500 in the same period...

your mileage may vary...

[Edge]

Business 101...

If it doesn't make you money, don't do it.

[asas111]

another problem with Kontera: they don't pay you unless you have a minimum of $100 in earnings, which is quiet high.

Now at the pace I am going, it will take me at least a year to get there. I don't know if I can wait that long for $100, but then again, I already have some money accumulated, and don't want to cancel my account and waste it for nothing.

I wish it was like Bidvertiser: minimum of $10 (paid through Paypal)

[Swanny007]

I've been using Kontera for a few months. I've used Vibrant Media & Kontera and they both perform very well in my widget niches.

[MThiessen]

Kontera works. But... (there is always abut eh?) The pages *need* to be big, AND you need to specify what triggers it and what does not. (kontera has code for this).

If you do it thoughtfully, it is actually not all that intrusive and make a very nice additional income.

I say this because I am going on my third month with them and so far, after tweaking, it is a pretty good source of income.

Like so many things, it sucks right out of the box, you really do need to fine tune it to make it a valuable asset.

[Swanny007]

I should add. During the first 2 weeks I was working with an ad rep there. I didn't just put up the code and wait. They apparently "optimized" the keywords or something. All I had to do was put up the code and make sure I used the span/div tags.

[andrewshim]

... what I DO like about Kontera is when they (or probably their clients) screw up, I get a one-day ten-fold earnings increase.

Like Today. Just checked my earnings. This is the second time it's happened... first time two weeks ago was a ten-fold increase. Today was a eight-fold increase. Then again, this could be Kontera's version of a click dump.