And The Winner is...

Here are our lists of preferred applications, from number one, down to number five (or three), and why. Clearly, this list can appear differently, depending on your needs, interests, expectations, and possibly abilities.

Which is why there are two lists.

We have divided the contestants into two categories: free, and paid. Of course, not all of the possible paid feeds have been reviewed. The full version of ClickBankBuddy, for example, will be reviewed some time in the future. So for now we will rate only its free version.

The Free Feeds

1. CBEngine - Just when you think you've figured out how to categorize some things, something comes along that doesn't fit either category. CBEngine is counted among the "free" feeds because, well, as long as you're a paid member, it's free. Or is it simply the cheapest of the paid feeds? We've decided to put it with the free feeds because if you want to promote ClickBank products, you should be a member of CBEngine.com anyway.

CBEngine tops the list of freebie feeds is because otherwise it's a tie between CBEngine and CBGlobe. They both have a very good appearance, and both come with many other tools and resources. But the CBEngine.com site makes it an easy choice for first place.

2. CBGlobe - Second place goes to another good looking feed. CBGlobe is not entirely ClickBank-centric like the rest of the feeds, but it does provide many other ways to make money, including tool for rotating banner ads, and other affiliate programs.

While we consider the "ClickBank Mall" feature of all of these feeds to be less than useful, CBGlobe has the best looking mall display, especially with its integrated search box.

3. AffiliateSensor - Well, CBEngine and CBGlobe fought it out for first place, now it's a fight for third between AffiliateSensor and ClickBankBuddy. AffiliateSensor wins third because it's less complicated than ClickBankBuddy to set up. And even though it's less complicated, it does have some features not found in ClickBankBuddy, including multiple ad block styles and the ability to load and save configurations.

4. ClickBankBuddy is probably the most complicated of the reviewed feeds. You need to be able to edit a file, upload several files to your website host, and set file permissions. If for some reason the scripts don't work, you need to contact your host, and ensure they can handle perl and cgi scripting.

5. CBRssFeeds is last on our list of free feeds, simply because of its appearance. Their best display comes from a server-resident php script, which carries the same bullet graphic that can't be changed or removed. CBRssFeeds only offers vertical columns. As reported, you could create a horizontal display by using multiple 1-ad columns, though this hasn't been tested. CBRssFeeds is definitely one of the easiest to set up, but that doesn't get it out of last place. Sorry...

The Paid Feeds

1. AffiliateAdServer is the least expensive of the reviewed paid feeds, but that's not why it tops the paid feed list. AffiliateAdServer is much more than a simple feed: it can be used to rotate entries in an article list as easily as displaying ClickBank product ads. And because you select the specific ads to display, you can use AffiliateAdServer to focus on those products that actually make you money. And you're not limited to ClickBank ads. And you actually write the ads. And... that's enough.

2. CBPlugin gets second place. It may appear that we're ranking these according to price, and that's true at least for these two, because CBPlugin and CBProsense both have very useful features that make it difficult to rank one over the other. CBPlugin's ability to modify ad formatting, category and search term selection pretty much make it an equal to CBProsense with its spidering and selectable commission rates.

3. CBProsense - Yes, it's the most expensive of the reviewed feeds. It's also the only one in the group that will spider your site and provide the most relevant ads. But, yes, it's at the bottom because AffiliateAdServer is the best of the three, and CBPlugin is just a little less expensive.

And the Award Goes to...

Okay, after justifying categories, we do need a Number One, and that's AffiliateAdServer!

While all the other feeds do have their own unique features and qualities that may make them shine better in specific circumstances, AffiliateAdServer can be used actively, not just passively.

Its award-winning attributes include the ability to format a text file into clickable links and rotate them, whether they're product ads or other link text; your own selection of products to promote; your own creation of ad text.

You can use this application to test product ads, and focus in on specifically those products that have actually made you money. (Alright, where's that plaque...)