Now You Can Put Banner Ads on Wikipedia!

Online, April 9, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Wikipedia is the ultimate symbol of what a non-commercial internet could look like. It survives thanks to the co-operation of thousands of individuals from around the world - together with financial donations from people who believe in its open-source, people-powered, not-for-profit ethos.

So what's this about banner ads appearing on its pages? Has Wikipedia sold out? Have they decided that they can't survive without joining the commercial free-for-all that the 21st century internet has become?

Not quite.

Wikipedia hasn't started putting ads on its pages - not yet, anyway. However, a brand new software application allows webmasters and bloggers the ability to make it look like their banner ads are appearing there. In fact, using this software, you can put your banner ads on almost EVERY website on the internet: Twitter, Facebook, even Google!

The software is called Magic Banner Bot (http://www.Magic-Banner-Bot.com) and it works like this.

Let's say you're a blogger and you've written a terrific blog post on the merits of the latest acne treatment, ACME Acne. You're doing this because you earn a commission for each person who orders the product through your affiliate link.

Inside your blog post, you've also included a link to Wikipedia or Squidoo or Scribd - or any other third-party website - so that your readers can get some additional information. The problem now, however, is that they've left your website and gone somewhere else. That means you've lost a potential commission.

Imagine, however, if you could include a banner ad for ACME Acne on that destination page. Suddenly, you've greatly increased your chances of making the sale - even if the reader never returns to your website!

This is exactly what Magic Banner Bot does, and it looks destined to become a massive hit with direct marketers across the internet.

But isn't it illegal to alter other websites without permission?

Yes it is.

But Magic Banner Bot doesn't actually change web pages when it adds a Magic Banner to them. It uses technology called an "overlay frame" which is placed over the top of the web page by the visitor's browser (this feature is supported by all the major browsers). That means that there are no copyright issues involved in using Magic Banners. Owners of websites can block "overlay frame" technology if they wish, but very few actually do.

So there you have it. A brand new tool to help online marketers to reach their target market.

Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing?

I guess it depends on whether you're a marketer or a 'marketee'.

And, if you ARE a marketer, remember one thing: like all great tools, Magic Banner Bot works best when used sparingly and wisely.