What are widgets?

Widgets are different forms of tools made available on a website or on a user's desktop. They either provide some functionality, like a calculator or they provide real-time information, for example on news or weather.

They are often placed in the left or right sidebar, or in the body of an article. They are relatively easy for site owners to implement, usually a couple of lines of Javascript, but this does depend on the content management system. The ad for Amazon on the right is a static affiliate marketing widget referencing a particular book, but Amazon have other options which update in real-time to show bestsellers or the latest deals.

Different types of widgets?

OK, let's take a look at some examples:

1. Web widgets.

Web widgets have been around for years for affiliate marketing and certainly are nothing new. The Amazon style buttons in the example top right are examples. They are getting more sophisiticated enabling searches on a site, real-time updates or even streaming video.

Even if you're not selling online, web widgets that partners place on your site can help you through engaging visitors with your brand when they're on other sites. Here's some great examples of widgets used in the not-for-profit sector.

You can see a directory of widgets in different business categories here from UK widget company Snipperoo! who have a intereesting Widget blog.

2.Google gadgets.

Out within the last year, Google has provided an API to make it easy to create and share gadgets. It's worth considering this format so that you can syndicate it via Google. See examples of Google gadgets.

3. Desktop and operating system gadgets.

These have been around for ages also - See Skinkers gadget examples. You may have seen the BBC had a desktop Dr Who or Desktop Motty. They can work well if the brand is big enough to support it, but for me they are invasive.

Vista, the new Microsoft OS also makes it easier to create and enable subscription to these gadgets and place them into Sidebars. See examples of Vista Sidebar gadgets.

• Google also has desktop gadgets

You see these everywhere - see the bottom of this page - they are encouraged to get users to subscribe to RSS or bookmark the page on their favourite social media site like Delicious, Digg and Technorati. They provide shortcuts for visitors and are useful for site owners to see which articles are most popular - these are the Delicious tags for my Internet marketing site. The big plus about this approach is that they encourage inbound links at a page level, which are great for search engine option. So I would say this is an essential strategy for publishers or sites with news content . But could be used on some retail site also.

A separate mention for Facebook applications.. Facebook have opened up their API to enable developers to create small interactive apps that users that can add to their space to personalise it (for example i have Sports fan app that i can show my loyalty to Arsenal FC with). If you look at the top apps, many of them are not branded applications, but tools such as Super Wall, or a facility to show top friends and favourite Music.

One branded Facebook app that is in the top 10 that really shows the viral power of these apps is from Travelpod.com which allows users to compete about where they have travelled. Just Giving has a branded app with several hundred users and their more general charitable giving widget which they say is one of the main referrers to their sites. Please added any examples of branded applications into comments below.

6. Mobile widgets

Many of the widget strategies I have discussed above are also being introduced for mobiles also, but this is a real niche area - if you are marketing to teenagers (a big niche) or Blackberry owners (another big niche).

7. Google Gadget Ads

The launched in September (2007). Not to be confused with Google Gadgets which are incorporated into personalised iGoogle homepages. They enable advertisers to incorporate a super-compact microsite within 3rd party sites via the Google AdSense network or other sites.

They use the same ad formats as other image ads, e.g. Medium Rectangle: 300 x 250. Here is an ad example from Honda.

How can widgets support marketing?

Widgets combine a range of digital marketing techniques:

• Online PR and strategic viral marketing
  
• Brand advertising and Brand engagement
  
• Direct response sales and lead generation through affiliate marketing
  

In a word, they're about Reach. You can encourage partners to place them on their sites and this will help educate people about your brand, and engage with your brand when they're not on your site (which is the majority of the time).

They offer your partner sites the opportunity to add value to their visitors through the gadget functionality or content, or to add to their brand through association with you (co-branding).

They also provide a direct response mechanism, so visitors can click through to your site to buy, or sign-up to what you are offering.

So, to summarise, benefits of widgets for web marketing include:

• Increase reach
  
• Relatively low cost
• Engage visitors with brand - particularly useful for products which are launched which require an increase in awareness.
• Can assist with Search Engine Optimisation.

The main disadvantage is that they are only one tactic in your overall digital mix, so will likely not make a dramatic impact in comparison with paid search marketing for example.