Microsoft’s PubCenter Publisher is a no-go

Google AdSense‘s revenue for publishers is lower than ever but at least, it’s humanly feasible to submit an application and get accepted.

With Yahoo!’s Publisher Network (YPN), it’s extremely hard to get in but there’s a minuscule sliver through which you may get invited so that also something you can plan on (however long that plan may take to materialize).

But the absolute worse of all the pay-per-click networks is…

Microsoft!

Yep, the Redmond giant which messes up so many things it touches has managed to burn billions of dollars in absolutely nothing of any worth to bring about the lamest excuse for an ad network, ever. Microsoft has called this horrible creature “PubCenter Publisher” giving out the false impression that publishers actually have a remote chance to be accepted within their realm of mediocrity.

For now and most likely for a very long time, the PubCenter is in beta (yes, the beta “thing”, again) so whenever something messes up, they blame it on the ongoing development which nobody can prove or disprove.

And if you’re completely out of your mind and still want to be a M$ publisher, here’s what you need…

• you must have a US address; plus
• a US Social Security number or a US IRS tax ID number; and
• you must also fill out an online W9 form.

So if you live outside of the US, you’re toast!

And if you’re a US-based web publisher marketing international web properties, expect only your US-based “clicks” to count, which is very frustrating since the real growth is happening outside the United States, right now.

Furthermore, since the PubCenter is an invitation only club, you can submit your site all you want, only the insanely huge, top-tier web destinations ever catch M$’ attention.

But it gets even worse…

Assuming you become a PubCenter publisher, your first site needs to be approved and then, all your other sites need to go through the entire process of being approved… again. And there’s a maximum of 10 sites! Talk about backwards.

In their Terms of Service (ToS), M$ writes “Publishers subject to backup withholding are not eligible to participate in the adCenter Publisher program and will receive no payments.” — so even after proving you’re fine and dandy, everything can skid in weird directions! Wouhou…

And last but not least…

You’re only allowed to use a Microsoft Windows-equipped PC (and they really check for that). A Mac or Linux computer will be permanently excluded from their program. It’s braindead-dumb to start with but knowing that M$ owns about 15% of Apple, it’s downright idiotic to bar users of an OS off which they derive healthy profits.

So this is how Microsoft treats its publishers!

Makes you want to run the other way… far, far away from that much ignorance of how the Net really works.

If you want to exit the pay-per-click race to nowhereland, join the select club of domain name, web hosting and SSL certs selling by purchasing your own web services store where customers —form all over the world— can buy an unlimited number of services from you, at prices you determine.