Just an update:
I have applied for Clicksor, as they are Toronto-based, and having them close enough I could actually go there seemed like it might have certain advantages.
Almost a month into it, I must say I am not very impressed with the performance of any of my "test" sites ...
Upon phoning Clicksor, I was told that they had not yet "approved" my chosen keywords, as this needs to be done manually by an account specialist. She did this while I was on the phone with her. ((I don't know why this was not mentioned anywhere in the signup process, but I digress ...))
The account specialist I spoke to told me I should start seeing more 'relevant' ads within the next 24 hours ...
A long weekend and 96 hours later, I still had not seen any better relevance in the ads being served on my site(s), so I phoned Clicksor again.
The account manager I spoke with told me I need to increase the traffic to my sites in order to make more money ...... IS THAT HOW IT WORKS?!? I HAD NO IDEA!!
I called back the following day hoping to reach somebody that actually had some sign of intelligence, and this person told me that I should add several hundred keywords to my site(s), as the ads that get served to me are dependent on the keywords I have selected.
I told them this is bullshit, as I did not select any keywords for "Don't buy MLM Leads" ... and the reply that I got was "no, maybe you did not select these keywords, but maybe the advertiser selected keywords that are in your list, and the system saw that as a match". I'm sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK kind of contextual algorithm do you guys use?!??!?
I am in the middle of compiling a list of THOUSANDS of keywords, and going to see if that will help at all, but thus far, nothing about this program is really impressing me ...
I have heard first hand several people who have had decent results with this program, or I would have bailed 3+ weeks ago... I am giving them another month, if they do not work with me to improve my results, I will be gone!!
As I write this, I am still looking for alternative ways to monetize my mainstream blogs (ALL HAND-WRITTEN - mostly consumer electronics, with a handful of health-related sites too)
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I have no problem signing up under you to a program, if you can show me something that will get me even a little bit excited that it would be worthwhile.
Cheers!
FF