Popular ways to monetize your website
It is entirely possible, not to mention affordable, to easily create a website and have it up and running in a matter of hours. It is the creation of a site that is the easy part, especially with so many site builders out there that are incredibly user-friendly. Building an audience is perhaps the tougher part of the process. However, if you know how to increase your website’s traffic, then you are in a desirable position where your website could potentially become a fabulous way to make a steady income. There are a host of different ways to monetize a website, but we are going to take a look at 5 of the most popular methods:
Membership
If you are in the business of creating a ton of premium content for your site, then having a paid subscription service is one way you could go. We are not suggesting that every person who visits your site needs to pay, as that might not work. What we are suggesting is that you have a premium area where there is unique and high quality content or service that only made available to subscribers. Exclusive membership is an effective method to create a private section where people are granted access to all kinds of cool and desirable privileges that are not available to the general public.
Advertising
This is arguably the most common way in which website owners make money on their pages. You can get ads from ad exchanges, ad networks or from your own advertisers, which is the best option. Revenue from advertising can be pay-per-click (CPC), pay-per-view (CPM) or pay-per-action (CPA). Placing ads on your website is about as easy as it gets with a good
ad server, especially if you have a large audience. You can have regular banner display ads, text ads or video ads. Advertisers pay to be seen on your pages, although you should always ensure that the ads you run are relevant to your website. For example, you would never run ads for an online casino if you have a site devoted to kid’s toys. Ads should be relevant and feel like an organic part of the site.
Data
You can use the data gathered from visitors to your website to make money with targeted advertising, selling to data brokers or using it to improve conversion rates. However, this is an area where you need to be very careful because it is a sensitive topic with serious legal consequences. While it is certainly possible to target ads and run other marketing purposes using this collected data, you must ensure that you only ever do so after receiving clear permission from your visitors, whilst also respecting their privacy at the highest level.
Affiliate programs
There are many businesses out there that are willing to give you commissions for sales that came from your website. Cost-per-action (CPA) ads pay you a fixed amount or a percentage of the order when someone clicks on an ad from your site and makes a purchase on the advertiser’s site. Again, you will want to choose products and services that are relevant to the content on your site and which you have faith in. Do not pimp products that you know they don’t work or that you feel they are misleading simply because you see it as an opportunity to make a quick buck. You will lose a lot of followers that way.
Sponsored posts
These are gaining in popularity, simply because they are usually delivered in the form of informative content that is relevant to your website. Sponsored articles are the equivalent of the infomercials that you see on TV, but they are also usually more subtle. Many times, people might not even be aware that they are reading sponsored content, as it will feel like an organic part of your website. However, appropriate disclosure should be displayed so that viewers know they are not mislead into buying something they don’t want to.
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