Got Golf? New Arrangement in Golfing Categories and Atoms

Publishers,

We have recently released a new and updated arrangement of categories in Golf Gifts and Equipment! If you are currently using our FTP Data Feeds, please download the new category IDs (atom IDs) below and check out the changes. If you are currently using our dynamic assets or Catalog API, you should also check the updates. Any Golf ads where you have specified a category ID, you might be interested in updating your assets with some of the new category IDs available for use!

Download Golf Categories

Download Golf Atom ID

If you have a golf specific site that might benefit from the new categories please feel to contact us and let us know!

What's that I see? A bizrate redesign?

We're excited to announce to our publishers that bizrate^TM has rolled out a redesign, and we think you'll agree that it's oh-so-sweet. The new bizrate^TM brand launched today with a sleek new home page, piping hot search results pages, fresh product pages, and the tagline: search. compare. conquer.

This redesign represents our company's commitment to providing the best and easiest-to-use online shopping experience anywhere.  But what does this mean for publishers? It means you can be confident that when you send your users to bizrate^TM, they'll be able to quickly discover cool products at prices that can't be beaten.

To be clear, the only thing that has changed as it relates to the Shopzilla Publisher Program is the look and feel of bizrate^TM. We'll eventually be updating the branding name and logo on all of our ad units to reflect the new branding, but your earnings are not impacted by this release. Though, we think the site is so awesome, shoppers may just stick around and buy a few more things!

Check it out for yourself, and let us know what you think of the new bizrate^TM!

Publisher Spotlight: pic2shop

With only 2 and a half years on the international market, Apple's iPhone has become one of the largest global smartphone companies, accounting for one fifth of total sales. One of the biggest factors behind this has been a nearly 50% year-over-year growth seen in the third quarter of 2009. With this growth comes huge opportunity in the apps or application sector. Apple’s App Store currently has over 100,000 applications available, showing the popularity and growth in the industry. Latching on to a winning concept can result in windfall earnings for any investor, take for example the iFog app. One application that caught our eye recently, was the pic2shop app. Since we are a comparison shopping engine, we are always interested in seeing how the marketplace is evolving. And, as an added bonus, pic2shop has integrated Shopzilla content to supply shopping options to its user base. We caught up with the creator of pic2shop, Benoit Maison, to find out a little more about the application, and his thoughts on the future of smartphone technology.

Bryan: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Benoit. Tell us a little about pic2shop and exactly what it is.

Benoit: pic2shop is a free iPhone application. It reads barcodes using the iPhone camera, and then looks up and compares prices at online retailers.

Bryan: How did the idea come about?

Benoit: It all started as a technical challenge: reading barcodes with the iPhone was supposed to be impossible because the fixed focus camera made them all blurry (that was before the iphone 3GS). The first working version of pic2shop was released in April'09, and there was a lot of worldwide interest immediately. Since then, we have perfected the barcode scanner, made it work in real-time on the iPhone, and added many retailers and millions of products to our database.

Bryan: The pic2shop team has been working with Shopzilla for several months now. How has the experience been?

Benoit: It has been very rewarding. We chose Shopzilla early on because it was the most expedient. But Shopzilla turned out to have to best product coverage for our purposes (UPC lookup), and to give great affiliate revenue. We are very excited that the program is now available in the UK, France and Germany!

Bryan: You currently use our Catalog API; how has the integration process been?

Benoit: Having an API was more convenient than, say, an FTP feed. As volume increases, we just need to cache results. Integration was very straightforward, and we never had to make any change since then. As a developer, that's the highest praise I can give.

Bryan: Mobile applications are becoming ever more present on the market, where does your application figure in terms of category relevance?

Benoit: Besides games, comparison shopping may be the category with the broadest appeal. Who does not like to get a better deal? We are looking for ways to increase the appeal of pic2shop, so that it is the first place iPhone users and retailers turn when they think of comparison shopping. Many people are not even aware that this stuff is possible, but when they learn about it, the reaction is invariably an enthusiastic "Wow! How do I get it?"

Bryan: What makes pic2shop so unique/important to the market?

Benoit: Well, definitely the real-time barcode scanner. Just point the camera at a barcode, wait a second, click! You get the online prices and links to explore further. There are only three apps (out of 100,000!) on the App Store right now that can do that, and pic2shop is the most flexible of the three. In many ways, it is like a mobile browser with barcode input. It can show prices of course, but also product specifications, user reviews, demonstration videos, coupons, anything you can dream of. Some manufacturers want to build their own iPhone app, and we license the barcode reader to them, but some are just happy to give us material to include in the results.

Bryan: In your own personal opinion, how much success can be achieved with this type of application, and how far can this technology go?

Benoit: I believe that mobile advertising will soon be larger than online advertising. It can reach people wherever they go, not just when they sit at their PC. If it's not intrusive, it can provide tremendous value by being highly relevant and timely. It is not clear how the technology will evolve. For example, will people want dedicated apps, or just mobile web sites better integrated with their phone's camera, GPS, and other capabilities? We will probably see a few iterations before the dust settles. In the meantime, we'll take pic2shop as far as we can.

Thank you for your input Benoit, and we hope to see pic2shop evolve into a leader on the marketplace! For anyone interested in finding out more information or wanting to download the app (it is free to download!), head over to the pic2shop website.

Publisher Total Beauty visits Shopzilla HQ

The Shopzilla Publisher Program recently had the pleasure of welcoming Judy Hsieh of Total Beauty to Shopzilla Inc. headquarters in Los Angeles, California.  

Judy, Vice President of Online Business Development, stopped by to participate in our quarterly company meeting. She was one of two guest speakers at the event and spoke about her experiences as a Shopzilla Publisher.  She gave great feedback about the program and explained how Total Beauty implements the Shopzilla Publisher Program on their site.  We should give more credit to Judy as she just didn't speak in front hundreds of Zillans, but hundreds of costumed Zillans, including the Publisher Team. As if we were not intimidating enough, Judy spoke in front of Jason, an Oompa Loompa, Billy Idol, and other various characters.  After all, it was the Friday before Halloween.

TotalBeauty.com is a leading beauty website, and has been a Shopzilla affiliate for close to a year and a half.  No matter how many beauty products you use, if you are looking for unbiased product reviews...and great integration of Shopzilla Publisher content...then we recommend checking out Total Beauty!

It was great having you, Judy.  Thank you again for taking the time out of your schedule to visit Shopzilla!

DataFeedScripts.com Pre Built 'Site-in-a-Box' Solution

We get a lot of requests for a pre-made website solution for our Catalog API.  Well, we recently heard of a company that sells a complete and fully functional price comparison website based on our recently released Catalog API. Our Catalog API is generally used by more advanced publishers, but DataFeedScripts.net have created a product using our Catalog API to provide an easier integration for website publishers.  DataFeedScripts.net is offering the script for $250 per website (requires a Windows environment). They also offer to fully install the script for an additional fee. Click here for more information.

While we have never used the product and cannot endorse its functionality, this might be a good opportunity for Publishers who want a fully customized website without a lot of hassle.  As a word of caution, we advise that you apply to become a Shopzilla Publisher BEFORE buying the script. If you apply, please be sure to give us a detailed description of what you plan to do, so that we are aware and can evaluate your application appropriately.
 
Note: We cannot guarantee the availability of DataFeedScript.net’s script product, or be held liable for any area of support for their script product.

If you do purchase a DataFeedScript website, please let us know.  We would be interested to hear user experiences related to it (good or bad).

Shopzilla UK Publisher Program Growing Fast

Our sister affiliate program in the United Kingdom, the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program, has been making some huge gains since launching earlier this year.  They've rolled out dynamic assets, FTP Data Feeds, and have built the 2nd best Shopzilla blog (after this one, of course).

Just as exciting, we recently welcomed two more siblings into the Shopzilla affiliate family: The Shopzilla Publisher Partnerprogramm in Germany and Shopzilla programme d'affiliation publisher in France.  We invite all current or prospective publishers with a presence in either of these markets to apply directly to each program.

Now before you get back to work, be sure to check out this interview conducted by affiliate blogger Murray Newlands with our UK colleague Jason Hall (Senior Director, Search Intelligence for Shopzilla Europe):

Stay Connected With The Shopzilla Publisher Program

Hey Publishers,

Are you tired of you hearing Shopzilla Publisher Program news through the grapevine?  Do you want to be the first to know about new categories and content that becomes available without constantly hitting the F5 key to refresh our blog?  If so, take this as a friendly reminder that you can stay up to date on all of our updates by following us on Twitter and Facebook!

Twitter:  You can follow us at @szpublisher.  We'll keep you up to date on everything from industry news to the most recent posts on our blog.  We also occasionally give 'Follow Friday' shout outs to our Publishers.  For those of you on Twitter, send us a message, introduce yourself and we'll keep you informed!  If you're not a part of Twitter, sign up here!

Facebook:  Become a fan of Shopzilla Publisher Program on Facebook.  Keep up with Shopzilla Publisher Program and industry news and meet other Shopzilla Publishers and fans of our program.  Next time you log on to Facebook, become a fan and give us a shout on our wall, we'd love to hear from you!  And for those of you not on Facebook, join here!

We're really looking forward to keeping in touch with our Publishers through social network channels!  If you have any questions or want to see us on an additional social network site, contact us!

Tips on Keeping your Shopzilla Publisher Account and Personal Data Secure

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, so we'd like to take the opportunity to give you a few pointers that will help you keep your data and websites' safe.  We'd also like to remind you that Shopzilla takes utmost care with safeguarding Publisher data through the use of encryption.  You can help ensure that your data remains safe by adhering to these simple tips:

[1] Use strong passwords and don't give them out to anyone.  The National Cyber Security Alliance recommends using a password at least eight characters long, including letters, numbers, and symbols. Shopzilla personnel will never ask for your password.

[2] Make every effort to change your password at least every 90 days.

[3] Do not re-use the same password on several sites.  Though the Shopzilla Publisher Program encrypts your passwords and no employee here can see what you have chosen, this is not the case at every company.

[4] Verify that your browser connection is secure whenever you are submitting sensitive data, like Social Security Numbers, to Shopzilla or other companies.  To verify a secure connection with Internet Explorer, look for a lock icon to the right of the address bar.  To verify on FireFox, look for a lock icon on the lower right corner of the status bar at the bottom of the browser.

[5] Never transmit sensitive data (like financial information or Social Security Numbers) over email.

[6] Keep your software up-to-date and watch for new security patches.  This includes your browser (check the Firefox or Internet Explorer websites), but it's also important for bloggers who administer content management software like Wordpress.  Check your vendor's website often to ensure you are using the most secure release of the software.  Here are the links to a few popular blogging tools:

• Wordpress
• MovableType
• b2evolution
• Textpattern
• Drupal
• Joomla

Also be careful with third party plugins - don't use them if you don't trust the source.

An old teacher of mine used to joke that the only way to stay 100% secure online is to unplug your computer and never use it.  But you'll be well on your way to minimizing risk by following these tips and other 'best practices' that can be found at the National Cyber Security Alliance's website.

Double your Websites, Double your Funds: Adding Additional Sites to your Shopzilla Publisher Account

Hey Publishers,

Does the Shopzilla Publisher Team know about every site you're using our content on?  Are your Placement IDs organized and reflect each site and its corresponding Shopzilla Publisher Program content?  Not only is notifying us of your additional sites part of our terms and conditions, but perhaps your additional sites could get you on our next Publisher Spotlight, so keep us in the loop!

The Shopzilla Publisher Program allows you to publish Shopzilla Publisher Program content on any site you operate, as long as we get a chance to review and approve the site.  You do not have to go through registering a new site, you only need to send us the URL and a brief description.  Once we have reviewed and approved your additional sites, you are ready to add new Shopzilla Publisher Program content.  When you do this, we strongly suggest you make the most out of Placement IDs so that you are able to track the traffic from each website separately on your earnings report.

As always, please contact us if you have any questions about the Shopzilla Publisher Program!

15 Recommended Websites For Any Successful Affiliate

One thing that we feel is key to finding success in the affiliate realm is staying up to date with all the latest industry news. In recent times, we have featured some great interviews and updates on breaking topics. Take for example our recent interview of Tim Flight in regards to the new FTC regulations, or our opinion piece on the Affiliate Tax and its impact on CPC programs.

One great way to stay updated is to find a good set of blogs to follow. We do just that, and as a result, we thought it would be a good idea to share some sites with you to check out and maybe save to your favorites. Please note, the sites we have listed below are just a select few of hundreds of great blogs that exist. These are just sites that we are familiar with. If there are other blogs out there that you feel have similar appeal, please let us know below in the comment section, so that we can check them out and share them with other Publishers in the future!

The following sites are listed alphabetically:

Affiliate (Tip)
http://blog.affiliatetip.com/
A daily blog on affiliate marketing news and opinion, written by Affiliate Summit co-founder Shawn Collins.

Bigoak blog
http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/
Focuses on information about Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing.

BloggingTips
http://www.bloggingtips.com/
Brings a blend of article, news and tips on topics that range from promoting your blog to design and coding.

BloggingPro
http://www.bloggingpro.com/
Features news, themes and plugins for blogging applications.

Blogstorm
http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/
The UK’s largest blog discussing internet marketing and search engine optimization news & strategies.

Blogussion
http://www.blogussion.com/
Provides outstanding tips for excelling your blog in a variety of topics.

Copyblogger
http://www.copyblogger.com/
Copy-writing tips for online marketing success.

DailyBlogTips
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/
Daily tips and shared knowledge to help bloggers learn more about blogging.

David Naylor
http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/
Information to help you to increase your online presence in the search engines, and the traffic generated to your website.

John Chow dot Com
http://www.johnchow.com/
The Miscellaneous Ramblings of the self-proclaimed Dot Com Mogul, John Chow.

Performancing
http://performancing.com/
A place where those that want to make money from their blogs can learn, and perfect the art of making a living from weblogging.

ProBlogger
http://www.problogger.net/
Dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium.

Reve News
http://www.revenews.com/
Discussion of Online Advertising, CPA, SEO, Affiliate and Next Generation Marketing. 

Search Engine Roundtable
http://www.seroundtable.com/
Provides a single source for the reader to visit to locate the most interesting threads covered at the SEM forums.

The Blog Herald
http://www.blogherald.com/
Premier source of news, information, tips, and commentary on blogs, the blogging industry and bloggers worldwide.

New Atoms Available in Sports & Outdoor

Publishers, we have released some great new atoms in the Sports & Outdoor category! 

If you are interested in pulling only specific files for this category, please download the new atom IDs from the file below.

Download New-atom_10-11-09

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our new atoms or about how their availability may impact you or your website.

Publisher Affiliate Spotlight: Designer Apparel

DesignerApparel.com is one of the web's top designer clothing destinations.  They've been working with the Shopzilla Publisher Program for nearly a year now, and we were fortunate to interview them this past week as part of our regular Publisher Affiliate Spotlight series.  Here's what they had to say:

Shopzilla:  Can you tell us a little about DesignerApparel.com, its history, and its mission?

DesignerApparel.com: DesignerApparel.com is a collection of niche-specific shopping engines that gives users the power to shop all of the stores in a given category all from one place.  DesignerApparel.com is our flagship vertical focused on the high-end designer clothing and accessories space, bringing together stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and more, and brands ranging from the classic Gucci or Prada to the more contemporary like Juicy Couture or Michael Kors, all into one, searchable, interface.  We want to give users the widest possible selection as aggregated from our hundreds of partners, coupled with the convenience of a one-stop-shop.  StylishKids.com is our shopping engine focused on baby and kids clothing.  StreetApparel.com is for the streetwear category.  JewelryFlash.com is probably the largest jewelry site on the web.  DesignerMaternity.com is focused on expecting mothers who (still) want to look stylish throughout their pregnancies.  Lastly, shoppers can also sign-up for members only sale alerts at MyPerfectSale.com, where users can choose the brands that they love and receive alerts whenever they go on sale, thus have the “perfect” sale of just the stuff they love.  Our motto is “All the Sales, All the Stores, All in One Place.” 

Shopzilla:  Why did you decide to partner with the Shopzilla Publisher Program and how do you utilize Shopzilla’s content on DesignerApparel.com?

DesignerApparel.com:  Shopzilla has been a tremendous partner for us.  Through Shopzilla, we have been able to integrate nearly a hundred new partners all in one fell swoop.  Also, usually, adding so many new partners would be overwhelming for us both from a management and technology standpoint.  But since Shopzilla has standardized all of its partners and acts as a management interface between us and partners, we have been able to add these partners without adding new resources.  Instead of dealing with hundreds of new partners, we just deal with one.  Lastly, Shopzilla’s catalog atoms are quite helpful to us when we want to expand into a new vertical.  We can quickly get to a critical mass of partners on any given category whereas it took us much longer before.

Shopzilla:  Do you have any tips that you believe might help other publishers achieve success?

DesignerApparel.com:   In this economy, we think that tools and content that can help shoppers find the best deal in a focused and helpful way will win.  That’s what we are focusing on and will continue to deliver.

Shopzilla:  What’s next for DesignerApparel.com?

DesignerApparel.com:  Our focus will be expanding our targeted niches while building on our strengths.  We will look to build out more categories where we have an edge in partners, technology or customer base.

Shopzilla: We wish you all the best on your expansion plans, and we thank you for participating in this edition of Publisher Spotlight! 

Interview with Tim Flight of GPSReview.net about the FTC Guidelines

Hey Publishers,

The Federal Trade Commission's new set of guidelines to protect online consumers is a very hot and controversial topic affecting bloggers of all stripes. The Shopzilla Publisher team was curious about the thoughts of one of our coworkers and top publishers, Tim Flight, and had the pleasure to ask him several questions on the topic. Tim runs GPSReview.net, and has been a Shopzilla Publisher for roughly two and a half years. Tim gave us great insight on his experiences with GPSReview.net and what the new FTC regulations mean for him and other bloggers.

Jade: Would you mind giving a brief description of GPSReview.net for our publishers and blog readers who are unfamiliar with your site?

Tim: I started with GPSReview.net in 2005 and I've been involved with affiliate marketing since that time. I review GPS devices, provide ways for consumers to ask questions and leave their own reviews, as well as operate a large GPS forum. Often manufacturers will send me devices to review (which I send back when I'm done with the product), and I also often purchase GPS devices directly from store shelves for reviews.

Jade: The FTC's goal is to maximize consumer protection. Do you feel there are really that many biased product review blogs that negatively affect consumer decisions?

Tim: I don't believe there are a lot of blogs with a significant bias towards a particular company, although they do exist. However a bigger issue I see is the manufacturers/companies themselves are often out there trying to influence product ratings. For example, I've caught employees of just about every GPS company trying to influence the conversation of various pages of GPSReview.net. They will pose as a consumer and "review" their own product or say something negative about their competitor.

Another tactic I've seen recently is a company offering a discount on their product or future purchases if the consumer writes a positive review of their product on a blog or forum. (Often before a consumer has even used their product).

Jade: What is your biggest concern with the FTC's new set of guidelines?

Tim: I don't have any big concerns with the new guidelines. I hope more bloggers will be open about the relationships they have with companies they talk about. But I think bloggers writing positive reviews of a product as a result of getting free product is just the tip of the iceberg.

As I mentioned above, employees writing about their own products in blog comments, forums, or social media sites is a problem for consumers. The guidelines also hardly scratch the surface surrounding things like "wining and dining" or being offered free show tickets while at a Vegas trade show. There are many other ways a blogger could be influenced by a company beyond just free product.

Jade: Richard Cleland of the FTC stated in an interview with Fast Company that the FTC is more concerned with the advertisers and wants to educate the bloggers. How far do you think the advertisers will pull back?

Tim: Product manufacturers and advertisers understand that bloggers can reach their target audiences, so I don't think they will pull back. Perhaps companies will start being a bit more strict when it comes to setting expectations on having product samples shipped back, etc. As far as "educating bloggers" goes, those that are receiving kick-backs for positive reviews probably won't change much.

Jade: How do you plan on adhering to the new FTC guidelines?

Tim: For a long time I've maintained an Ethics Page where I spell out my relationship with companies I review products from. I also frequently cite within a product review if I purchased the product myself or if the product was on a short-term loan. I plan to continue those practices.

Jade: How do you think your site, GPSReview.net will be affected?

Tim: I don't think I will be affected much at all. From what I've interpreted in the guidelines I've been already meeting or exceeding the FTC guidelines.

Thank you to Tim for taking the time to talk to us about the new FTC regulations and his site GPSReview.net. We'd love to hear our publishers' reactions to the proposed FTC guidelines. How do you expect to be affected in December when these new rules take effect?

FTC Regulates Social Media and Blogs

Hey Publishers,

There was some big news earlier this week!  On Monday, October 5th, the Federal Trade Commission revised its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.  This was the first time since 1980 the FTC revised its guidelines on these type of advertisements and the first time its rules covered bloggers and social media. Beginning on December 1st, you can be fined up to $11,000 per post that is not properly disclosed!

A main concern of the blogging community is what the FTC considers to be an endorsement.  According to the new guide, any kind of payment given to a blogger to review a product can be labeled as an endorsement.  Also, if the reviewed product was sent to the blogger for free, the blogger must include a disclaimer in the review and/or send the product back because it can also be considered an endorsement.  The FTC feels manufactures have expectations for positive reviews creating conflicts of interest and negatively influencing consumers' purchases.  In an effort to eliminate biased and bogus claims and testimonials (something the FTC has been trying to do since 2007) the FTC aims to make consumers more aware of the relationship between sponsored sellers and bloggers with mandatory disclosures.

So what can stop the FTC from slapping you with a $11,000 fine?  You can read through the 81 page guide or you can go straight to playing it safe and adding disclaimers to your site.  If you are blogging your opinions in exchange for any kind of payment, you must disclose it.  It seems the FTC is heavily regulating blogs and social networks, however, their main focus is on advertisers and maintaining the truth in advertising.  You can expect a much more established set of guidelines in the near future before the rules take effect.

To read more, there was an interesting article within the Huffington Post that clearly breaks out the implications of these regulations in all aspects of social media- from blogs to chat room activity.  You may also want to check out an article from the The Blog of LegalTimes on how the FTC is not out to get you.

Make Your Dynamic Assets Dynamite With Our Color Picker Tool

Why use our content as an everyday web ad when you can truly make it an asset?!  Our color picker tool allows you to customize your assets to complement your website's design, helping you to better attract your audience and improve traffic quality.

When you log on to your Shopzilla Publisher Program account go to: Get Content > Dynamic Assets > find the asset you're looking for > Get HTML.  Select the part of the asset you would like to change, then choose the color and other options depending on the part of the asset. 

Border: The border (outline) of the full asset.

Image Border: The border (outline) around each individual image/product inside the asset.

Background: The background color of the full asset.

Link: The links of the images/products shown inside the asset.

A-Link: The color the link turns when it is clicked.

V:Link: The color the link turns once it has been clicked.

H-Link:  The color the link turns when it is scrolled over by a mouse cursor.

Text: The text (non-links) inside the asset.

New Window (_blank): This link target will open the new page in a separate browser window.

Same Frame (_self): This link target will open the new page in the same page it was clicked on.

Parent Frame (_parent)*: This link target will load the new page in the immediate parent of the frame. 

Main Window (_top)*: This link target is similar to the Parent Frame, but will load the new page in the full body of the window.

Randomize: Definitely take advantage of this feature!  The products shown will randomly change every time the dynamic asset is loaded, giving your audience a different experience each time they visit your website.  If you are displaying a dynamic asset containing products from category 'MP3 & Media Players', rather than showing the same three iPods, your asset will cycle between various BizRate product offerings in that specific category.

*advanced

Another feature worth noting is that color preferences will be saved in your user cookie.  If you're building multiple dynamic assets, your color preferences will be automatically applied, you'll never have to worry about our dynamic assets clashing with your website design again!

Once you finish touching up your asset, click Get HTML and then scroll to the bottom of the page to get the new code.  Don't forget to update your dynamic assets periodically to take advantage of our new categories and product offerings, keep your shopping content relevant to your audience. 

Good luck and as always, contact us if you have any questions or comments about the Shopzilla Publisher Program!

Shopzilla Publisher Program Announces German Affiliate Program

Willkommen German affiliates!

Several months ago we announced the release of our UK affiliate program, the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program, offering UK website publishers access to BizRate.co.uk sponsored shopping content. We are excited to announce that we have now additionally launched the beta version of our German affiliate program, the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm!

The Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm will offer German website publishers access to a growing universe of Shopzilla.de sponsored shopping content. This program enters the affiliate market with our text link, stock asset, dynamic asset and FTP Data Feed products. In coming months, the German Publisher Portal will undergo further internationalization, and an expanded product offering.

To find out more about the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm, please visit their blog. For those of you who are ready to apply, we invite you to go directly to the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm registration page. Please note that even if you are already participating in another Shopzilla Publisher Program, you will need to apply specifically to the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm for access to Shopzille.de sponsored shopping content.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Catalog API: Join us on ProgrammableWeb

Hey Publishers,

For those of you who have integrated with our Catalog API, or are contemplating it, we invite you to join us on ProgrammableWeb.  ProgrammableWeb hosts a directory of APIs, regularly updated with useful information encompassing open and vendor APIs, mashups created using these APIs, and general news related to service-oriented web development.  It's a great resource for both website owners and developers.

You are able to register for a user account which will allow you to follow API profiles, alerting you to any changes within those that you choose to follow.  In addition to our blog updates, we will be maintaining our ProgrammableWeb API profile to keep Catalog API users in the loop on new development.  Many of our publishers have already listed their mashups on ProgrammableWeb- get in there!

For those of you who are not familiar with our Catalog API, this product provides advanced publishers with intuitive access to BizRate's inventory of cataloged products and merchant offers through a query-based web service accepting various parameters, allowing publishers to filter based on their website's shopping content needs.  Based on these publisher-supplied parameters, customized BizRate shopping content is returned within an XML response.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Show Us Your Payment Info and We'll Show You The Money!

Lately we've been running into a few issues with some of our hard working publishers - we want to pay you, but we don't have sufficient payment info!  If this sounds familiar, or you just want to double check that your payment info is correct, please see below:

Shopzilla US Publisher Program Accounts (US Resident):
Payment is made via check for all publishers participating within the Shopzilla US Publisher Program and who reside within the US.

1. When you log on to your account click on the My Account tab.
2. Click on the green Add Payment Info button. 
3. Select 'U.S. Resident', and submit.
4. Complete the payment form, then read and type your full legal name to acknowledge that you have read the Certification Statement...then submit!

Shopzilla US Publisher Program Accounts (non-US Resident, non-US tax payer):
Payment is made via PayPal for all publishers participating within the Shopzilla US Publisher Program who reside outside of the US. 

1. When you log on to your account click on the My Account tab.
2. Click on the green Add Payment Info button.
3. Select 'Non U.S. Resident', and submit.
4. Select your proper tax designation to define whether or not you are a U.S. tax payer.
5a. If you ARE a U.S. tax payer, please contact us so that we are able to help you set-up your payment information correctly.
5b. If you ARE NOT a U.S. tax payer, you will be taken to a page where you will enter your PayPal account name* and type your full legal name to verify that all your information is correct...then submit! 

* If you do not have a PayPal account, click here to set one up.

A Reminder To All Publishers
Our Shopzilla US Publisher Program minimum payout is $50.00 (USD); your monthly earnings will accumulate until you hit this level.  All earnings are subject to adjustment per our terms and conditions.

As always, please contact us with any questions or comments.

How To: Use Dynamic Assets

Hey Publishers,

Recently, we've received quite a few questions about adding dynamic assets to websites.  For those of you new to the program or who just haven't pursued our dynamic assets yet - it's quite simple and can be very effective. Dynamic assets allow you to use a plug-in ad unit with specific shopping content relevant to your audience.  Here's the step-by-step process to get started:

1. When you log in to your account click on the Get Content tab.

2. Click on the Dynamic Assets link.

3. Enter a keyword, or, select the category related to the shopping content you wish to display on your website, and hit Go!

4. When you find the dynamic asset style you like the best, click 'Get HTML'.

5. You'll now be able to customize the color and font of your dynamic asset using our Color Picker tool.

6. Once you're happy with you customized dynamic asset, click 'Get HTML' again, and scroll to the bottom of your dynamic asset.  Now you simply paste the HTML code for your dynamic asset into your website!

For more information on dynamic assets, check out this previous blog post: New Ways To Create Dynamic Assets

If you have any questions about dynamic assets or the Shopzilla Publisher Program in general, contact us.

Good luck!
The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Shopzilla Publisher Program Reviews

Since joining the affiliate world in early 2007, there have been many reviews written about the Shopzilla Publisher Program. Each author has had their own unique opinion of how the program works, and their own experiences. We took a look into the vault and found this selection of reviews for you to look over!

2007
03/31/2007    blog.affiliatetip.com

05/01/2007    redorbit.com

10/18/2007    ninetynineways.net

11/29/2007    blogohblog.com

2008
02/12/2008    problogger.net

04/11/2008    problogger.net

04/12/2008    the3dtechnologies.com

04/13/2008    joelcomm.com

05/30/2008    problogger.net

07/05/2008    publisherspot.com

08/15/2008    johntp.com    

2009
03/18/2009    va4business.com

04/26/2009    ezinearticles.com

05/30/2009    topbusinessreviews.com

If we missed a review that you have read, or maybe one that you have authored, please feel free to contact us via email or through a comment below. We are always interested in publisher opinions, so if you write a review in the future, let us know where it is so that we can check it out!

New Categories Available

Publishers,

We have recently released an assortment of new categories! 

If you are currently using our FTP Data Feeds, please download the new category IDs (atom IDs) below.  If you are pulling only specific files for desired categories, you may need to include some of these new atom IDs!

Download New atoms 09-11

If you are currently using our dynamic assets or Catalog API, please check out our new category IDs below.  If you are currently using ads where you have specified a category ID, you might need to update your assets since now we have new category IDs available for use!

Download Categories 09-11

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our new categories or about how their availability may impact you or your website.

Publishers,

We have recently released an assortment of new categories! 

If you are currently using our FTP Data Feeds, please download the new category IDs (atom IDs) below.  If you are pulling only specific files for desired categories, you may need to include some of these new atom IDs!

Download New atoms 09-11

If you are currently using our dynamic assets or Catalog API, please check out our new category IDs below.  If you are currently using ads where you have specified a category ID, you might need to update your assets since now we have new category IDs available for use!

Download Categories 09-11

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our new categories or about how their availability may impact you or your website.

ProBargainHunter Release Updated Shopzilla WordPress Plugin (version 1.3)

ProBargainHunter has updated their popular Shopzilla WordPress plugin to version 1.3, which is compatible with our new Catalog API! For any publishers who are interested in including comparison shopping within their blog, but don’t have the resources to create a full script, this WordPress plugin is an ideal solution. The plugin takes a BizRate Product ID as input, and spits out a well-designed set of comparison shopping results for that given product. The best thing about this plugin is that it is free to download! Last year we interviewed Yan Bezugliy of ProBargainHunter- the interview is well worth checking out.

If you do decide to try the ProBargainHunter WordPress plugin, please give us feedback on your experience. If you are applying for Catalog API access, be sure to let us know that you plan to test the updated plugin on your website.

*Please note that not all Catalog API applications are accepted, we take many factors into consideration when reviewing applications.

Catalog API: How to Track Impressions

Hey Publishers,

If you are one of our Catalog API users interested in tracking impressions and improving your traffic, we're here to help! Creating a small, transparent pixel will let you know every time someone views your page with BizRate sponsored shopping content. With that information available, you can determine how effective your assets are by calculating the click-thru rate. Each time your page is loaded a small, traceable, 1x1 pixel will also load.  Comparing the amount of views to the amount of clicks will demonstrate how receptive your audience is to your assets.  You can change your assets accordingly allowing you to better support your viewers and not to mention better your compensation!

Creating the tracking pixel is fairly simple.  Our advice to you is to place the tracking pixel URL towards the bottom of the page before the close of the <body> tag. For example:

<img src="http://adserve.shopzilla.com/img/publisherID-[YOUR PUBLISHER ID]/assetID-6/placementID-1/" />

</body>

Just simply update this with your unique Publisher ID, and change the Placement ID if desired!  Remember, you must always include your Publisher ID and a Placement ID for proper tracking. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about tracking impressions.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Reporting: Back on Track September 16th

Hey Publishers,

We are pleased to announce that our Publisher Portal reporting is in the process of being rehabilitated.  Over the course of September, we will be releasing improvements throughout our Publisher Portal in order to provide you with estimated earnings, payments and balance reporting data.

The first release of this rehabilitation will encompass estimated earnings data.  You will once again be able to view your daily estimated earnings, both within the Publisher Portal 'Home' page reporting snapshot pod, and the more comprehensive 'View Reports' tool. 

Released: Wednesday, September 16th

Notable Improvements:

- 'View Reports' will allow you to view historic earnings data within a 24-month date range

- Publishers previously unable to view estimated earnings data due to usage of Placement IDs above 99 will be able to view an aggregate total of their estimated earnings, currently labeled as '<not-yet-defined> (#)'

 

- 'View Reports' will allow you to download your estimated earnings data in csv, xls, and xml format (coming soon)

We know that many of you have taken advantage of our offer to manually provide you with comprehensive earnings reports, and hope that you continue to request the reporting that you need throughout this process.  Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for snappy release notifications! 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

 

Catalog API: Migration Period Ending September 15th

Hey Publishers,

July 1, 2009 we retired our old Catalog API, ending support of this platform.  The old Catalog API platform will NO LONGER be accessible beyond 11:59pm PST September 14, 2009. 

To incorporate sponsored shopping content through the Shopzilla Publisher Program Catalog API beyond September 15th, you must utilize our new Catalog API platform.

The majority of our Catalog API users have completed migration to the new Catalog API platform.  We've made efforts to reach out to each of your individually, and have received much feedback through the course of the migration, implementing several of the features requested.  For tips to help complete your migration, and news on future developments, please tune into the Catalog API section of our blog.

For those of you who are not familiar with our Catalog API, this product provides advanced publishers with intuitive access to BizRate's inventory of cataloged products and merchant offers through a query-based web service accepting various parameters, allowing publishers to filter based on their website's shopping content needs.  Based on these publisher-supplied parameters, customized BizRate shopping content is returned within an XML response.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions, particularly as it relates to your migration to the new Catalog API. 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team