One of the most popular ways for publishers to monetize their content — aside from basic banner and AdSense ads — is through affiliate programs.  These are often transparent to users: you’ll click a link to an online store, and if you buy something, the publisher gets a percentage of the purchase price (each program varies a bit, but that’s the standard way they operate).

Of course, signing up for each of these programs takes work. SkimLinks is a UK-based company that helps publishers monetize their content by inserting these affiliate links automatically, and it’s harnessing a recent acquisition that will make one of its products significantly more efficient (and useful for a broader set of links).

Skimlinks has released the latest version of its in-text monetization solution:

“SkimWords 2.0 is the first real-time, fully automated content monetization solution to feature in-text product and price comparison across multiple verticals – including consumer electronics, fashion, beauty, mothering, automotive, and lifestyle categories.  With SkimWords 2.0, publishers earn incremental revenues, consumers are directed to the optimal retail site to make their purchases, and advertisers receive highly qualified traffic.”

Coupling innovative technology from the company’s recent acquisition of AtmaLinks with its advanced computational linguistics and semantic algorithms, this new version of SkimWords quickly analyzes page content and now delivers in-text price comparison in real-time. With unparalleled accuracy and speed, SkimWords 2.0 automatically detects product references in content and turns into monetizable affiliate links.

“We have completely re-engineered SkimWords so it can now automatically and in real-time detect very specific product phrases, and deliver in-text product and price comparisons from the most relevant retailers,” said Alicia Navarro, CEO and Co-founder of Skimlinks.

“The net result for publishers is a more lucrative monetization solution that is also an informative user tool, helping consumers find the prices and retailers for the products they are reading about. Our new version of SkimWords achieves the right balance between high yield for publishers and high utility for consumers.”

Meanwhile, Livefyre’s social commenting service has been in existence for two years, and has picked up 14,000 sites that make use of its web engagement features.  But in a fast-moving market, its high time for a new approach.  Enter version 2.0, which widens the conversation to include comments from leading social sites.

Their newest SocialSync feature enables publishers to pull in comments from Facebook and Twitter, and ensures that they are relevant, helping to boost engagement levels and improving a page’s search engine ranking — a feature that Livefyre claims as an exclusive.

To go with the new edition, the company has picked up US$ 4.5 million in further investment from venture capitalists. The new funding will allow Livefyre to scale up its engineering and sales efforts, as well as accelerate development.

Moreover, BackBone, Inc., publisher of Pulse Connect, announces weeks ago its partnership with Wayin, developers of real-time, picture-based polling technology.  Pulse Connect is an integrated benefits communications program that wraps popular culture around health and wellness; the program combines a magazine-style e-mail (delivered to desktops, mobile devices and tablets), with real-time polling and a focused Twitter feed, enabling clients to reach, engage, and motivate users in a few new ways.  The addition of Wayin polls sets out to increase interactivity, and enables users to share and compare responses with the broader Pulse Connect community.  Data being at the core of Wayin’s reporting engine, it gives brokers, providers, and HR administrators’ insight into user behaviors, trends, as well as the efficacy of their communications and benefits programs.

“This is an exciting partnership for Wayin, which is designed to spark conversations and give people a voice in the issues that directly affect their lives and well-being,” said Scott McNealy, Chairman and lead investor in Wayin. “Pulse Connect continues to provide an engaging forum for people to share opinions and information about their health, and Wayin will help elevate the user experience with compelling visual content and entertaining polling and gaming capabilities.”