iZachy

A couple of weeks ago, Searchfeed.com invited me to try out their affiliate program. They wanted me to use their program on my main site. In the past, I would have tried it on my main site. But I have yet to find an affiliate program that performs better than Adsense. Since I have a very limited amount of ad space on my site, I don't want to waste it for testing purposes. That's what this site is for.

Here's an example of a Searchfeed dynamic feed ad unit:

Searchfeed has six programs for generating revenue:

• Search - works just like Google search, except all the results are ppc ads
• Dynamic feed - ppc ads based on keywords you select (see graphics above)
• Category chaser - works just like an Adsense link unit, but you get to specify the keywords
• 404 error page - Adsense doesn't allow you to put ads on 404 error pages, but Searchfeed encourages it
• Advertiser referral - you earn 5% to 7% depending on traffic
• Web publisher referral - you earn 2% to 5% depending on traffic

What I like about Searchfeed:

• You can make money on 404 error pages
• You can make the ads look just like your content
• It's non-contextual so you can still run Adsense ads
• Few restrictions on ad placement
• Only need to earn $25 before they can issue you a check

What I don't like about Searchfeed:

• 35-50% revenue split (depends on traffic) — most programs offer 50-70% split
• No tracking channels
• They don't give impressions numbers in their stats

Conclusions
The ad blending with the content is nice, but you have to be careful with this. If one of your goal is credibility, then blending the ads with your content will most likely hurt your credibility. On the other hand, if you make the ads look like ads, it will lower your click-throughs.

I only tested the dynamic feed ads and the results were not impressive for me. In addition, Searchfeed only had one advertiser for three keywords I would use for my main site. Keep in mind that my main site is essentially a niche within a niche. It's very specialized and advertisers probably would not use Searchfeed to reach my audience. If your site is more main stream, your results will most likely be different.

I can see Searchfeed being very useful if you don't have a lot of content. For instance, if your domain is a misspelling of another domain, you could capitalize on it by using Searchfeed as your content. You could also use Searchfeed on a new site or a low performing one. Remember, with Adsense, a poor performing site will affect your well performing sites. I can also see their 404 program being handy if you purchased a domain that no longer has content.

Here's their URL if you want to check out Searchfeed for yourself.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 23rd, 2006 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.