Personally, I love widgets. When you stop to think about it, since they are both free and easy to use, what's not to love? Still, a proper introduction may be needed for those who have yet to fall for them, so I'm happy to oblige by providing an overview of the widget world.
The term widget, like many tech terms that became popular with the Web 2.0 movement, still has varying meanings, but when we talk about 'Web widgets' it refers to a piece of self-contained code - a small application actually — that opens up a doorway to a much larger application, such as eBay or a shopping comparison search engine, for example.
Many widgets are freely distributed by developers and are easy to use, even for those who are not so technically-inclined. Widgets can be run on your desktop (desktop widgets), be embedded in blogs and pages (Web widgets) or accessed on your mobile phone (mobile widgets).
For online merchants, Web widgets offer a new way to promote your presence in personal Web spaces. For eBay sellers, specifically, they work well for off-eBay advertising. However, you can also find widgets that will keep you updated on eBay particulars without actually logging into the auction site, such as desktop widgets that can alert you to new bidding activity or feedback changes. There are also mobile widgets that let you check on your auction listings from your Internet-enabled mobile phone; from your couch, the train station, or wherever you happen to be when you want to check on your eBay activity.
Using Web Widgets for Personal Publishing and Profits
Pam Webber is vice president of marketing for Widgetbox, a service that provides developers with a platform on which to develop widgets and also provides consumers with a way to get the widgets for their own use. She said that the reason why widgets have become so popular is because they are extremely easy to use. "Technology advancements have made widgets easy for consumers to use, especially when compared to technologies like RSS (define) for example, which is often difficult for non-developers to use and implement."
Webber, who spent seven years at eBay prior to joining Widgetbox, said that many sellers have recognized the importance of creating an off-eBay presence. "For sellers new to or just starting their eBay promotion planning strategy, personal publishing is an attractive and free way to start," she said, "and widgets can be used as a great marketing tool to enhance that off-eBay presence."
Free blogging services such as Blogger or WordPress let sellers create a more personalized presence, akin to creating a personalized 'About Me' page in off-eBay spaces. These spaces let you embed Web widgets on your pages and many widgets can be customized for and put specifically on any number of free publishing services.
One widget that Widgetbox worked with eBay to develop is eBay Listings. This widget can help sellers who want to display their items in off-eBay spaces. It can be customized with your eBay user name and display images of your own merchandise. Also, if you are an eBay affiliate you can choose to include an affiliate program ID to be credited for any eBay sale that you refer. You can edit IDs and other design options for the eBay listings widget right on the Widgetbox site, then simply copy and paste the code on your blog to help drive off-eBay traffic to listings.
Webber also said that another big widget benefit is that they contain dynamic content that can help eBay sellers in a variety of ways. For example, widgets can often be attached to different affiliate programs that drive traffic and make money, but sellers can also use widgets just for the purpose of driving traffic to their own eBay listings.
Mobile Widgets for Auctioneering on the Go
Another growing trend in widgets is mobile widgets, which are application interfaces for mobile phones that users that can access with a mobile browser. Chuck Hudson, is co-founder of SilkSystem solutions, the company behind the innovative iRibbit widget (formerly called iPhoneMyeBay. He said that because eBay made its APIs available to developers, and also works with the different developers, eBay-oriented widget growth is exploding.
In the case of iPhone users, the SilkSystem application is used to search eBay on their phone, log in to see watch lists and buyers can place bids on items directly through the widget. Hudson said that future releases of the software will include specifics for sellers such as detailed sellers' lists, the ability to track bids on listings and other features.
With the release of iRibbit, the development team broke some new ground; it was the first eBay widget released for the popular Apple iPhone, it took first place in eBay's Inaugural Innovate Widget Contest and was also approved as an eBay Compatible Application (define), meaning it offers more security for users than non-eBay approved applications.
According to Hudson, the pay-off for developers in creating widgets can be found, but not easily. Some developers will release their widget as donateware, or they create a widget that drives traffic through an affiliate program. When people use that widget, they are adding to the reach of the developer's affiliate referrals. But unlike text hyperlinks on pages, which often blatantly show affiliate IDs and make them less attractive, the nature of widgets is that this is taking place behind the scenes and is completely transparent to those using the widget.
Tech-savvy eBay sellers can use a platform such as Widgetbox to create their own widgets, but for those just not up to that task yet, be sure to check out our follow-up story, "Widgitizing Your eBay Business," to run tomorrow. We'll outline the details of free eBay widgets, plus tell you how widgets not designed specifically for eBay can work well on a seller's personal space.
Vangie Beal is a seasoned eBay seller, frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com and managing editor of Webopedia.com.
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