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