Creating a website that generates traffic is a lot of work. And monetizing your website is no easy feat in itself.
Website traffic is great for your business but it’s not enough to make money on that same site. In order to monetize your website, you need to dedicate some time and energy to turn those clicks into cold hard cash.
There are many ways to monetize your website. This list touches on the most popular options.
Keep reading to learn more about how you can turn your website into a cash generating machine.
Monetize Your Website With Pay Per Click
Why bring your customers to your site if you’re not going to provide them with options that cater to their needs?
Google Adsense will create ads that adhere to the content on your site. These links drive traffic to your site by allowing the customer to access ads that fit criteria for things they are probably already looking for.
An example of this would be for a website about pets. Google Adsense will promote offers that correlate with the site in the form of ads that represent things like pet supplies.
Pay ranges anywhere from $.050 to $5.00 per click!
Selling Ad Space
You can also sell ad space directly, on your own. To do this, simply reach out to companies that may be interested in supporting your website with banner ads or sidebar links.
Ad space creates revenue based on the number of visitors to your site each month. Generally, the revenue created from these clicks is based on a dollar amount for each one thousand impressions. This is also known as CPM.
An example would be in creating an ad space for $5 CPM. You would make $500 on 100,000 visits in a month!
Affiliate Marketing
Perhaps the easiest and quickest route to monetize your website is with affiliate marketing.
This simple and relative format for advertising can pay great commissions on products and services sold through your website.
All you have to do is find products and services that you like and suggest them to your readership and other visitors with an underwritten evaluation. If your subscribers click and purchase the product, you get commissions. It’s so simple!
You can discover products and services to conduct affiliate marketing with these providers:
- Sharesale – clothes, accessories and offline goods
- LinkShare – affiliate, search, attribution and display
- CJ – promotes top brand advertisers
- Stacked Brands – sport supplement affiliate
Create & Sell Your Own Digital Product
Instead of creating a sale for someone else, create something you can sell for yourself.
In order to monetize your website with products you already have, just create a way for your visitors to purchase these products.
A good example of a digital product that consumers are interested in is digital books. You can offer digital books based on your products and services or specifically design them to market other items that are available on your website.
Accept Donations
Maybe your site doesn’t get many visitors each month.
Another way to monetize your website is by accepting donations from your faithful followers.
It’s not a way to make money quickly, but it can help to cover costs associated with managing your website. It only takes a few minutes to create a PayPal link to your page where visitors can donate to your cause.
Don’t forget to ask your readers to donate!
Write Product Reviews
An easy way to monetize your website is in the format of writing reviews for products and services that pertain to the industry you are promoting with your website.
For example, a mechanic shop’s website might write product reviews for certain car parts or other specialty services, for a fee. The mechanic then places this product review on their website for visitors to review.
The transaction details should be handled up front and you should always allow your review to be edited by the product or service affiliates.
Provide Consultation Services
Depending on the nature of those things your website represents, providing consultation services is a great way to monetize your website.
Offer professional consulting services that revolve around your ‘brand’ or whatever you are promoting or selling.
An example would be the pet website again. You can offer consultation services that cater to consumer demand, like dog training or pet sitting services.
Allow Sponsored Posts
Some companies will write their own content to be advertised, or displayed on other websites where the information is relevant. Take these ‘sponsored’ posts and apply them to your website for a fee.
Your followers are not prompted to purchase anything with this method of advertising. The information provided in sponsored posts should reflect that of products and services that you are already promoting.
Generating Leads
Similar in concept to affiliate ad links, generating leads drives your viewers to a link where they can get more information on a topic or service that caters to their needs. You get paid whether they purchase the products or services, or not.
Businesses that provide leads include Maxbounty, Neverblue and Peerfly. Check them out to get started on your monetizing strategy.
Create Email Lists
Generating trust and loyalty among your viewer base is another way to monetize your website. Granted, this method of monetization takes some time, but it’s a sure way to gain profits.
You’ll want to convert as many readers from first time viewers, to subsribers, as you can.
Offer informative and helpful topics in your monthly mailers to ensure that your readers are up to date on your most current projects and content.
Selling Your Website
If you’ve put all the work into your website to make it run smoothly and it’s producing income, you can also sell your website for a lump sum.
You can learn more about selling, or ‘flipping’ your website with Flippa, one of the most popular marketplace websites, We Buy Websites, and FEinterantional, which focuses more on high-end websites with more traffic.
Getting Help
Don’t try to attack all of these monetizing options on your own. And surely don’t try to tackle them all at once.
Monetizing a website takes time and patience. And with the right tools, you’ll be earning money in no time.
When you’ve done everything in your power to create a monetizing website and you still need assistance, there is help! Contact us to discuss opportunities and get started, today!