Advertising Policy

This blog is a labor of love. But I spend a lot of time and effort on this blog, and so I try to recoup some of my costs through advertising. I try not to let the advertising interfere with the content in any way, but in the interest of transparency, I want to share my advertising policy here.

This site includes ads from a variety of sources, and I'm constantly testing out new services. I try to keep the advertising and content separate, and all ads should either obviously be ads or should be clearly labeled under headers like "Sponsors" and "Shopping." While there may be ads in between posts, you will never find a paid link in the body of a post: with one exception. If the article is quite clearly about the availability of a new product at Amazon or another web store that I have an affiliate partnership with, I may include my affiliate code in the link. This means that if you decided to purchase the item after clicking my link, I will make a small percentage.

I will never include affiliate links unless they are directly related to the post.

Here's a list of ad networks/affiliate programs I am currently using:

• Google AdSense - Contextual text and image based ads from Google. If you're interested in trying contextual advertising on your web page, you can signup through the link in the sidebar. (If you sign up through this link I will get a referral fee)
  
• AdsDaq - This service shows CPM display ads on your site. You set your price for each 1000 page views, and AdsDaq will try to match that price. If the service can't, you can designate backup ads from other networks. I highly recommend this service to beginning bloggers who aren't making much from Google Adsense.
  
• Chitika - Chitika has a number of product-based ad units. Most ads are pay per click, although the company has also started rolling out some CPM or display ads. You'll find Chitika ads between the posts on my site. If you sign up for Chitika through this link, I'll get a referral fee.
  
• Amazon - Earn 4% to 10% commission on items sold through your site.
  
• ShoppingAds - This service shows product listings from eBay and other online stores. I earn a commission every time someone purchases an item through one of these links. If you sign up for the service through this link, I'll get a referral fee.
  
• eBay Partner Network - I'm just starting to experiment with direct eBay ads as an alternative to ShoppingAds.
  
• Text Link Ads - Text Link Ads is a marketplace to buy and sell paid text ads. I only place these ads in the sidebar under the Sponsors heading, and I decline to accept any ads that would not be relevant to my readers. You can sign up for Text Link Ads as an advertiser or a publisher.
  
• LinkWorth - This is another marketplace for buying and selling text ads. If you'd like to purchase a text ad that will show up in my sidebar, LinkWorth is the easiest way to go. If you'd like to signup for a LinkWorth publisher or advertise account, follow this link and I'll get a referral fee.