Here is an interesting announcement from Microsoft, announcing the new launch of Microsoft pubCenter – which is actually not new, it is from 2006 and had a slow painful death. But Microsoft is bringing it back, saying, “we developed Microsoft pubCenter. It’s a simple way for creators and small to medium-sized publishers to earn money from their site with a code-on-page ad solution.”
Website publishers in the United States can now earn money a new way with Microsoft pubCenter solution.
There’s now a new way for websites to monetize with Microsoft.
Just this morning, the company announced the launch of Microsoft pubCenter.
The new web monetization solution is geared towards small and medium-sized businesses to gain incremental revenue.
What is Microsoft pubCenter?
Microsoft pubCenter is a solution that enables publishers to earn more revenue from their websites.
Similar to Google AdSense, website publishers earn money by enabling ads to appear on their sites.
The goal of Microsoft pubCenter is to reduce pain points for SMBs who are
Microsoft Realunches pubCenter
“The all new pubCenter pilot program, which is actually a 15-year-old Microsoft product, is now open but only to U.S. businesses.”
Microsoft wants small and mid-sized publishers to use pubCenter to monetize their websites, using display and native ads from the Microsoft Advertising Network.
Not new, or is it? Microsoft pubCenter is not new – it dates back to 2008 and has its own Wikipedia page – so I guess this is technically a relaunch? Or maybe a reboot? Perhaps a reimagining?
Basically, Microsoft today is positioning its 15-year-old Google AdSense alternative as a U.S.-only “pilot program.”
This is also not to be confused with Microsoft Start, its Google News alternative, which also has numerous partnerships with publishers who can earn revenue when their content is read on the Start app.
According to Wikipedia Microsoft pubCenter is a publisher’s ad serving application developed by Microsoft in addition to Microsoft’s Bing Ads, which allows advertisers to place ads on search engines as well as select MSN web sites or applications. Microsoft pubCenter is available for Windows Application, Windows Phone Apps and web publishers. Originally, PubCenter was closed to new publishers but has since been opened up to other categories.Publishers or owners can register in this program using Microsoft account to earn revenue while enabling their application’s audience with valuable ads experience on their websites and Windows Phone applications. These advertisements are administered by Microsoft and produce revenue on a per-click basis.
You can read full article here: Wikipedia
How does Microsoft pubCenter work?
Microsoft proactively took a simple approach for publishers to get started.
To get started, publishers need to add a simple line of code to the website.
The code enables ads to be shown on a site.
Advertisers within the Microsoft Advertising Network then compete for coveted ad space on publisher sites.
Publishers then start making money when ads are served across their websites.
There are safeguards in place that keep websites in control.
For example, publishers have flexibility on items like:
- Where ads show on the webpage.
- The ability to block content that isn’t relevant to your target audience.
Microsoft pubCenter First Spotted
First spotted in May? In Microsoft pubCenter, Google AdSense Alternative, Looking To Expand? on May 18 Barry Schwartz reported on a Microsoft Advertising console pop-up that seemed to indicate something was happening with pubCenter. He also provided a walk-through for configuring the next/latest version of pubCenter.
Can publishers use both Microsoft pubCenter and Google AdSense?
Websites that currently use Google AdSense can also use the Microsoft pubCenter solution.
Publishers can use Microsoft’s ads in the same units along with Google AdSense.
Microsoft will serve ads only when they can predict a higher bid for those ad spots.
The fact that businesses can use both solutions instead of competing against each other puts the business at an advantage.
Especially for SMBs, gaining any amount of incremental revenue can help keep the lights on.
Who’s eligible to use Microsoft pubCenter?
While the solution is geared towards small and medium-sized businesses, pubCenter is available for all businesses in the United States.
Microsoft expects to expand its pubCenter offering globally in the next few months, but a firm date has not been published.
To get started, there’s no cost to sign up, no revenue minimums, and no volume requirements to be eligible.
What Microsoft is saying. The typical – higher engagement and more revenue. It seems to be promising more revenue than Google AdSense.
- “We offer flexible mediation—simply use our ads in the same units with Google AdSense, and we’ll only serve our ads when we can predict a higher bid for you. You can also place the Microsoft ad code on the same page alongside your other ads.”
U.S. only. It’s now open to all SMBs/publishers in the U.S. Those outside of the U.S. will have to join a waitlist, if/when Microsoft adds international support. You can sign up here.