• April 15, 2008

WidgetBucks, the ad network that helps bloggers and publishers monetize their sites with widgets, has broken into the comScore Media Metrix for ad networks.

Seattle-based WidgetBucks, which was ranked 33 out of roughly 40 networks, is the first and only widget-based ad network to be featured in comScore's March 2008 U.S. Ad Network report. According to Jeff Hackett, vice president of sales at comScore, the inclusion of WidgetBucks in the report underscores the "growth of niche ad networks and the role widgets are beginning to play in online advertising."

The announcement comes in the midst of WidgetBucks' continued expansion of its network, which has grown to serve nearly three billion widget impressions since its launch roughly six months ago. Available ad units include the pure CPM- or CPC-based widgets that companies like HP, Dell and Verizon have put to use and YieldSense widgets, which offer a combination of CPM and CPC-based buys within the same unit. There are also vertical-specific units like travel, pay-per-call and local ad widgets currently in beta, with real estate and auto widgets set to launch later this year.

--Tameka Kee