In the age of affiliate networking and social bookmarking through programs like EntreCard and AdSense, the so-called “Project Wonderful” has been making a splash as one of the best in its class. Made primarily for use by low-budget bloggers looking for some added traffic, the Project Wonderful system really does work well… despite its tedious flaws.

After using Project Wonderful to advertise my link to this blog, I feel that it is a great idea to let all of you know about the great ad prices you can get by using this network. A lot of the participating websites are somewhat small in the amount of traffic received daily, but I think that there is just enough around to get that added level of exposure we are all looking for :D .

What is Project Wonderful?
First things first, just what is this system? Primarily, it is an all-in-one ad management program. By installing a code on your website, you make it possible for Project Wonderful users to bid on that area constantly… the highest bid wins, and this winner can shift by the minute. What do I mean? Well if a 125×125 space on my website has been calculated to be $0.20 per day and I bid over this, my ad is immediately forced into that position until I am outbid. If AdSense and eBay got into a bad car wreck, the result would be Project Wonderful ;) .

What is the advantage of using Project Wonderful?
Plain and simple, advertising space that is cheap. While many of the websites employing the service have little to no traffic, I have found some great buys and have been placing my ad (and getting hits) for no more than ten cents a day. The advantage comes in the fact that it is essentially an auction for ad space that is ongoing, and always gives you the best price possible. Using the system can be a great way to get some extra readers to your website.

Who should use Project Wonderful?
Small bloggers only. This is a new system, and as such, few people have actually signed up as producers. When you go to the “place a new bid” option and search out sites relevant to your own, you will typically come across only a small number of sites that are actually in your focus area. Because of this, I think that this ad network can really help out small bloggers by both giving some extra income on the publishing side, and gaining some cheap traffic on the advertising end of things. Bigger competitors might find the exposure very limited, and not worth the trouble.

Issues/Concerns with the PW System
My problems with this system lie in the auction-type configuration. While it may be an advantage in getting dirt-cheap ad space, you frequently get “outbid” by other members and all of your ads get bumped out of the system. This means that you really need to be checking all of the time to see if all of your slots are still active. On this note, if you are publishing other people’s ads, you are probably going to be giving away your valued ad space at a considerable discount to what you should be fetching.

My Experience
So far, Project Wonderful has worked out very nicely for me. Not only is it easy to advertise on the cheap, but they track all of your views and clicks automatically. Lets use my advertisement on Blogging Mix as an example. My current bid is just $0.13 for this great ad spot right on the top of the page. I just signed up for this last night, but have already seen 12 unique clicks at a “Cost Per Mille” of $0.22. So essentially, I am already raking in more traffic than my advertising is worth! :) The ability to track how your ads are doing makes Project Wonderful, well, wonderful!

“If AdSense and eBay got into a bad car wreck, the result would be Project Wonderful.” – The Net Fool

Bottom Line: Project Wonderful is a great (and thrifty) option for upstart bloggers like myself. Bigger contenders will typically be losing out on discounted advertising rates, so I would encourage only those looking to expand on some affordable traffic to use this system. The tracking allows you to check up on how you are outperforming/underperforming versus how much you are paying. Project Wonderful is a great new spin on advertising, and the ease-of-use makes them worth checking out ;)

-The Net Fool

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