Chitika is a new monetization strategy I have begun employing on some of my websites. I’ve only done a bit of experimenting but so far I’ve been very happy with it. I read about Chitika on ProBlogger.net where Darren Rowse recommends it as one of his top monetization strategies.
Chitika is a great way to add monetization to an existing blog, even if it is already monetized with another program such as Adsense, Amazon, etc. You can add Chitika without worrying too much about crowding too many adds around your content or distracting your visitors from what they are looking for (keep reading to see why I say this). It is a pay-per-click advertising method, which means you earn money when people click on your ads, regardless of whether they buy anything.
Another thing Chitika is great for is for blogs or websites which have their own regular following, in case you don’t want to show your regular visitors too many ads, but still want to add some monetization to your blog. Why?
Chitika ads only show to the visitors who arrive on your site through online searches. And the ads are directly related to what the visitor recently searched for.
So if a visitor comes to your blog through an RSS Feed, a referring link from another website, or a direct visit, they will not see your Chitika ads. But, if a visitor arrives through a search engine, they will – and the ads will be directly tailored to what that visitor is searching for.
I have been trying this out, for example, on Poems and Stories – a little blog I have which I have not really monetized much yet 
This is a blog where writers can come and share their work, publish their poems, etc. I don’t want to surprise my readers with a bunch of ads on the site, as they are not used to it. But I installed Chitika, which only shows to those visitors who come in through search engine traffic. I will see how this goes as I am still playing with this new toy – monetization strategy.
These are a few more things I like about Chitika:
- Chitika also has been reported as having great eCPM rates (eCPM is basically a measurement of your estimated earnings per 1000 ad impressions). I have noticed that even when I added Chitika to blogs that already were earning revenue through Adsense, Amazon, etc., I was still getting $1.00-$5.00 eCPM from the Chitika ads in addition.
- Chitika has its own Wordpress plugin which makes it super-easy to integrate with a Wordpress Blog. You simply install the plugin, enter your username, choose your colors and sizes, assign a channel, and away you go.
- Chitika has a great stat tracking system which is easy to use, and tells you your stats for the different websites and blogs you have installed it in (even if you installed it directly from your blog), and even will tell you the different stats of ads on the tops of your post vrs the bottoms of your posts.
- Chitika has a very low payment thresh-hold of $10.00 – that’s great for new marketers. I remember the frustration of waiting till my Adsense account reached the first $100 mark so that I could get a payment. That first $100 seemed to take forever to come in. And, come to think of it, I think it did take forever …
- Chitika has a variety of layout, sizing, and coloring options, making it easy to integrate.
- Chitika has a referral program, which means you can earn money by referring other webmasters to use it. So, for example, if you sign up for Chitika through my link, and then you go make lots of money with it, I will make some money too! Everybody wins.
- Last but not least – and one thing I love about Chitika – if there is no ad to show, or if a visitor has not come in through Search Engine traffic, you have two options. You can either have an alternate ad show, or you can have your Chitika ads set to collapse into nothing. That means that these ads don’t have to take up any extra space on the page if they are not in use!
If you aren’t using Chitika ads yet, I highly recommend you do so. Especially if you are a blogger. It is fast and easy to sign up, and you can ad the ads to your blog in a few minutes. Here is the link to sign up (I hope you like it!):
Sign up for a Chitika Account Here and Monetize Your Blog
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I use Chitika, but somehow didn’t realise that they had a plugin to make it easier, so thanks for pointing that out! Now I know about the plugin, I’ll definitely start using it on more of my blogs.
.-= Web Career Girl´s last blog ..The Week’s Progress – Fri 14 August =-.
I thought there had been some problems with Chitika payouts? have you had a payout yet? this might just be internet rumour (and there’s lots of it around!). I’m interested in anything that has plugins to optimize the page automatically at the optimization of advertising and heat-maps etc. is something I need to learn more about
.-= Tom@Herbal Fiberblend´s last blog ..Herbal Fiberblend – Frequently Asked Questions =-.
I’ll give it whirl, thanks!
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Super Easy 3 Step Guide to Using WordPress to Make Millions of $$$ =-.
Tom, I haven’t heard about this payout issue you mention and have not been a member long enough to know – but I will see how it goes.
I actually tried registering for Chitika today but didn’t validate my account since I’m going to have to use my phone. Will see if I’m going to do it next week instead. If I remember correctly the are paying about 5% of every referral you get. That can be tremendous amount of money if you get a lot of visitors to sign up for it.
.-= Stefan´s last blog ..How to Install Wordpress on Hostgator =-.
Thanks Anna,
It’s always good to learn about other ways to monetize my blog. I had not heard of it but will check it out
.-= Luca Di Nicola´s last blog ..Ninja Affiliate Plugin for WordPress – $30.00 Off Until Friday August 21st =-.
@Tom
“I thought there had been some problems with Chitika payouts? have you had a payout yet? this might just be internet rumour (and there’s lots of it around!).”
I just received my first payment today – the payment for July’s revenue. It came in through Paypal with no problem. So it sounds like it was an internet rumor as you suspected
I just started to test out Chitika on some sites and have had mixed results.
It looks to work ok with a wedding niche site I have but not so much on an auto forum.
.-= Cary Bergeron´s last blog ..Can You Really Make Money With Adsense? =-.
Thanks for your feedback. I have found it to be working pretty well on my sites and it has definitely added a bit of revenue without crowding the sites due to the additional monetization.
Hi Anna,
I just want to comment point number 4. I think It looks good if we can get the payment after our account reach $10 instead of $100. But there is a problem for international affiliate that got bank charge. I still remember I work freelance on one website. I got $26 and bank charge me $25. in the end I only get $1. If I send my money when I reach $100 I will get about $75
.-= Ruri @ Free online article directory´s last blog ..Who Knew? Medical Transcription Canada Is A Thriving Business =-.
@Ruri – That sounds like a pretty extreme fee. Have you considered using a different bank? I have never used a bank which charged $25 for a transaction and if I did, I would probably switch right away. Neither Paypal nor Moneybookers charge such exorbitant fees for international transactions.
My last adsense charge me about $15 from the bank. But I am lucky one, that’s my first day open on that bank so they didn’t charge me. but in next adsense they will. So I prepare for not taking my adsense after $100. Maybe I will take my adsense payment after I got $160.
.-= Ruri @ Free online article directory´s last blog ..Toll Free Numbers Provide Your Business With More Credibility =-.
Never heard of this but it looks like I should try it, maybe better than adsense?
.-= Newest Music´s last blog ..Elvis Costello Enjoys Making A ‘Spectacle’ On T.V. =-.
@Newest – It is complementary to Adsense. I use both.
This is great thanks..
I heard of chitika, but I never knew that is functioned like that. I think I will installing this plugin to my blog.
Thanks again!
.-= Reggie Barnett´s last blog ..You Need More Than A Landing Page For Your Internet Home Business Website =-.
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