A new article reports, “VigLink, which turns outbound links on published stories into monetization opportunities, has expanded on its service by automating the insertion of links on keywords that could become a revenue generator for publishers… VigLink will hyperlink keywords in the content and will direct the reader to a place where they can buy a product. So, if you’re writing about the Apple iPhone or a book on Amazon, the word ‘iPhone,’ or the book title, would be automatically hyperlinked to Apple or Amazon, whereby a reader can buy a product. VigLink takes roughly 25% of the affiliate fee paid out by partners, Apple or Amazon, and the publisher gets the remainder. Typically, Amazon pays Viglink about 8.5% of products sold vs. 4.5% paid out to sites with low traffic.”
The article adds, “This type of advertising sounds well and good, and incredibly tempting for publishers, who’d love to find non-intrusive ways to monetize their content. The question, however, is: How relevant are those links to the reader? For instance, if you’re reading about a mortgage crisis in the financial markets, the last website you want to be directed to is a place where you can get a zero-down-payment loan. This is a problem that some publishers have complained about with the Kontera service. Kontera a Sequoia Capital-backed firm with $30-plus million in venture financing, also provides in-text advertisements. One of the slight differences between VigLink, which has raised $6.5 million in financing, mainly from Google Ventures, is that Kontera’s links typically create a pop-up ad while VigLink’s links connect a reader to another website.”
Image: Courtesy VigLink