The people behind Text link ads have created a new free service called AuctionAds that allows you to place live ebay auction ads on your site. The ad formats are very similar to Adsense except there is a small thumbnail alongside.
The similarity with Google Adsense is only visual, unlike Adsense where you get paid for every click on the ad. AuctionAds uses a CPA (cost per action) system where you get paid if the user completes an action. The actions in this case are the user either buying an item or signing up as an Ebay member.
Where do Auctionads work best?
AuctionAds have the whole of the current live eBay auctions to draw upon so there are a wide variety of subjects you could target. You can target your ads by specifying a keyword when you set up the code for your site.
Having as yet to try the ads in any depth I am relying on what others have said so far. The consensus seems to be that targeting the second hand markets gives the best results. I have seen AuctionAds being used on sites that are clearly not going to convert. For example visitors to a cooking site are unlikely to be interested in motorbikes. A site about motorbikes with motorbike ads is more likely to convert.
The cost of using AuctionAds
The service that is provided is free. You can earn by either converting clickers into buyers or getting other webmasters to sign up and use the service as well. The commissions are based on eBay’s affiliate program so you would get a percentage of whatever eBay earns on a sale. This means the higher the selling price the more commission you make.
I would only recommend AuctionAds be used on sites where visitors would be interested in products. If you were going to use this type of ad on an unrelated site such as an entertainment related site I wouldn’t bother as the visitors would not be in a buying frame of mind.
