Article Directories Adopt Revenue Sharing
Dividing Advertising Profits With Content Providers Became Common
Mar 12, 2009
Article directories are one of the important SEO channels and many Web marketers use article directories as a place to get backlinks from and to promote their sites. But backlinks and promotion only are not enough anymore.
Article Directories Must Start Giving, If They Want Submissions
Basically the logic behind an article directory is that users submit content and in exchange get a byline, where they can put a link to their site and write a few sentences about them. This used to work (and is still working) because it helped Web masters get backlinks, which in turn improved their SEO rankings.
But times are changing and getting a backlink (even if it has the follow attribute) is not enough any more, especially when unique content is required. Preparing unique content takes time and many Web masters simply can't afford to devote so much time just to (hopefully) get a backlink.
On the other hand, the number of article directories grew exponentially in the last years because running an article directory is not that difficult and a properly run article directory can make a lot of money for its owner. The increased number of article directories decreased dramatically the quantity and quality of submissions. That is why the article directories, who want to survive, will need to adapt. One of the approaches to attract more article submissions is via revenue sharing.
Revenue Sharing Models Used by Article Directories
Revenue sharing is a still a new trend for article directories but it is gaining speed fast. Different revenue sharing models are used and the most common ones are: a revenue sharing model handled by the site and a revenue sharing model using a third-party ad network.
Revenue Sharing Models Handled by the Site
Under this revenue sharing model content providers submit content and get paid a particular amount, most frequently a percentage of the ad revenue their content generates. The article directory is responsible to get ads to display on the pages of the content provider. At the end of the month, or when a specified amount has been reached, the article directory sends the money to the account of the content provider.
Revenue Sharing Models Using a Third-Party Ad Network
The second popular revenue sharing model used by article directories is revenue sharing using a third-party ad network. Most often the ad network used is Google Adsense. Content providers submit their Adsense code and get a block or two of ads. The revenue from these ad blocks goes directly to one's Adsense account, without any involvement from the article directory web masters. This is the preferred way to share revenue and most of the article directories use it.
