Everywhere you look it seems that people are talking about Google Adsense and how to make the most money from a website. Adsense has grown in popularity because it is easy to set up and it effectively presents ads that match the visitors interest. However, truly effective website monetization can involve much more than simply adding Google Adsense or Amazon affiliate links to a web page and then forgetting about it. For many webmasters these means of website monetization are standard operating procedures and its something we do for every website we build and for every new page of content on our existing websites. Most of us probably realize that better means of monetization probably exists but in general if your like me you haven’t taken the time to explore these options or fully examine their potential.
A lack of time is probably the most common excuse that webmasters volunteer when asked if they have fully investigated the monetary options for their website. We spend countless hours developing the graphics and thinking about the layout of the website. So it seems surprising that most webmasters basically skip this step when with just a few hours the return on investment could perhaps be multiplied many times over. Some suggestions to get started are:
1. Sign up for different affiliate programs and explore all the options. Get started by looking at the various offers from programs at Commission Junction, Clickbank, Sharesale and Azoogle.
2. Make a list of all the affiliate offers that best match the content on your website. Consider what would be of most interest to your visitors and what they would be most likely to click on.
3. With this list in hand examine the affiliate offers in detail. Go to the website of each offer and examine the website and in particular the landing page where your visitors will be asked to buy something. Does it look good, is it professional, does it inspire confidence, is it easy to make a purchase, are the buttons appealing? Remove those websites from your initial list that seem below average and only stick with the best.
3. Next look at your list and narrow it down by focusing on the high dollar offers. In general, its harder to convert using affiliate programs as they require more action from the visitor than simply clicking on an ad. In other words, don’t pick affiliate programs that have payouts similar to what you might get from just a click using adsense. It is much better to make $25 dollars a couple of times a month then $3 twice as often.
4. See where people eyes and clicks are focused when they land on a web page using a tool such as clickdensity. com. Use this information to plan your advertising placement. Your ads should blend in with the content and look natural so that user feels he is having a good experience and is receptive to your advertising offers.
5. Design active banners and or invitations to promote potential affiliates and place them in areas where people click. Active banners catch peoples attention when they roll over them. This might be as simple as implementing a rollover.
6. Once you have narrowed your list of offers begin testing out different affiliate programs on just a few high traffic pages to start with and only keep the ones that work.
7. Once you find something that works fine tune the placement and ad more links to your website.
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