Google Testing Pay for Performance Ads

What would happen if the largest online advertising network in the world decided to skip past issues like click fraud by integrating an affiliate style advertising program straight into their already popular network? Apparently, Google is ready to ask that question and everyone else is awaiting the answer.

Phillip Lenssen reports that some AdSense partners are receiving email invitations from Google to participate in a test of a new pay for performance (also known as CPA - cost per action) style advertising system. According to the invitation, the ads will not be sent as part of the existing contextual ad network, they're an entirely new system that site owners can opt into and can separately integrate into their site. In fact, it sounds like site owners can even hand-pick the ads that they'd like to run on their sites.

David Jackson at Seeking Alpha has a copy of the email from Google with more details on the program. The email notes that the program is currently open to only those that receive the invite from Google. It goes on to offer some tips on "optimizing" the CPA ads, like selecting ads that are topical to a publisher's site, or that blend well into the existing design. The email notes that the ads are currently running in a separate system than the existing Google AdSense ads and thus, will not compete with CPM and CPC ads for placement.