Small businesses spend time and money building websites and blogs to advertise. Why not also monetise that website or blog?
There are no quick-fix ‘make money fast’ ideas uncovered. Monetising a website does take dedication, but it is achievable.
Often, people make money from hobbies by providing information online. They start for fun and expand into money-making websites. Depending on how you go about it, income could be earned whilst you sleep.
This post includes ideas on where to start and how to earn money from a website, whether it is a small-business product or service, or if you would like to earn through advertising.
Website Foundations
To start with, you need a good website. It is not so hard to build your own website. The important thing to remember is that Google will not reward a SPAMMY-looking website that has no content or structure.
Google penalises websites that are full of links, as this is the behaviour of SPAM websites. If you go for affiliate marketing, make sure you build a good website first that is full of good content.
Optimise the Website
Before trying any of the following ways to monetise a website, put in the hard work to make the website interesting for users and great for search engines.
If the site is not attracting traffic, there is little point in trying to monetise it. Local advertisers will want proof of visits. Display advertising will not convert if no one is visiting the site.
A website should be well-structured and well-written, have plenty of valuable content, be easy to navigate, and be fast to load. Each page should be optimised for search engines.
When page rank is climbing and the site has a good following, it can be monetised.
Good page rank does not mean the site ranks number one for every keyword on your list. Small business sites perform much better when targeting long-tail keywords, which have high search volume but low competition.
I recommend finding a niche and serving it.
Do be aware that building a good website takes time and effort unless, of course, there are unlimited resources. Be prepared to work. It will be worth it.
Improve Search Engine Visibility with a Blog
Most small businesses ‘get online’ to sell a product or service. Getting online is easy; doing well is much harder. Once a website is live, it must be supported and analysed.
A blog is a fantastic tool, providing the support that a website needs. When the right key terms are targeted, the right audience is captured. Blogs provide useful tips and information around those key terms, and become an authoritative voice.
Being an expert within an industry will help to sell the product and get the site ranked well.
If you intend to monetise your website, consistently blog. Create great content for visitors. Analyse that content, and continuously make it better and better. Repeat!
How to Rank Higher on Google (and AI) >
Use Social Media to Spread the Word
Use social media to spread the word and engage an audience. Google looks for signals from social media accounts to ensure a business is genuine. Natural retweets and shares that are earned go towards building a positive online presence.
It’s easy for small businesses to lose momentum because the immediate benefits of social media are not always apparent.
Know that social signals are important and will help you succeed in monetising a website.
Users are quick to leave a website, but social media activity keeps followers engaged with the business. If you strike often, you can strike at the right time.
E-newsletters to Keep in Touch
Cover every angle, as people use the net in different ways. As the website builds an audience, include an opt-in form for an e-newsletter.
To encourage sign-ups, offer something for nothing. This could be access to a white paper, ebook, webinar or something else that your audience is looking for.
Regular newsletters to your list help to engage a community that has already shown interest in a product.
How to Monetise a Website
E-commerce Website
Selling a product through an eCommerce website is a common way to earn money online.
If the business is not fully established, start with a small number of items. Test what works and what doesn’t.
WordPress and WooCommerce make a great combination for setting up an eCommerce website.
Stripe and PayPal are payment gateways that are useful for startups.
PayPal does take a hefty commission, but the system is free to use, unlike paying for a gateway upfront. A payment gateway securely processes card transactions.
When the site is established, set up a payment gateway with a payment service provider and pay a smaller commission.
Using both systems, the company can accept payments both online and offline.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing offers payment for promoting or endorsing a product. A special link to a product is added to a website or blog. Some pay per click, others offer a percentage of the sale.
The downside of the percentage-of-sale system is that low-value products would need to handle a lot of traffic to generate revenue. This is why it is important to encourage traffic suited to the site. Keep using that blog and social media to generate leads.
Using affiliate marketing, important points to remember are:
- Be sure the endorsed products are relevant to the website.
Content produced for a site, such as blog text, should relate to the products it endorses. That way, you will target the right audience, who are more likely to click that affiliate link. - Be careful not to create a site that looks SPAMMY.
SPAM websites use black hat tactics to encourage better search results, such as using too many links on one page. Google soon realises that the site is invaluable, and will penalise the search position. So do not include too many endorsements on one page, and make sure your content is valuable. Google ignores too many links on a web page.
With such high numbers, shopping online affiliate marketing is a good way to earn money whilst you are doing something else.
Amazon has an affiliate programme. The ‘Product Link’ area lets you choose products, pages, or searches to link to or embed.
CJ Affiliate is an international hook-up company.
I really like Affilorama for help with affiliate marketing.
Display Advertising
Display advertising appears in different forms, such as banners on a website or adverts in a sidebar. Display advertising could consist of video, animations, text or static images. Usually, display adverts are obviously advertisements.
Google AdSense
AdSense is Google’s advertising placement service. Advert topics can be selected using keywords so that they are relevant to the site.
Google allows you to choose the type of advert displayed on the site: plain text, links, text & links, images, or video.
Use the embed code to add them to your website or blog. The adverts can be customised to match your website colours and the space they will occupy.
Google delivers ads to your site based on the highest bidder on its network for those keywords. If you do not like an advert, you can block it. Your percentage is earned when someone clicks the link on your website.
Monetise YouTube Videos
Google AdSense can also be used on YouTube, which has been a Google subsidiary since 2006. YouTube is one of the biggest and most-used search engines. Billions of videos are watched each day.
Create a YouTube channel for your business and apply for AdSense once you have accumulated views. You can earn from adverts shown on your channel or on your own website.
Ads are placed on or around videos, and YouTube pays based on how many times the ad is viewed. The rate is something like £1 every 1000 views (don’t quote me on that), so keep up the hard work!
Even if you are not earning money from YouTube AdSense, YouTube videos embedded in blog posts tend to encourage higher page rank.
Amazon Affiliates
Amazon display ads are also accessed via Amazon Affiliates. These are PayPerClick adverts, in which you choose the type of advert to display on your website.
You can be really specific and choose what to display. You can display single products, whole product pages, product categories or a relevant product search.
Or leave it to Amazon, with their contextual links.
Native Advertising
Native advertising is a lot more subtle than display advertising. Native advertising can take the form of advertorials or sponsored content. Native advertising is usually disguised within the website but is paid for by an advertiser or sponsor.
Native adverts are subtle, with a call to action, but are not heavily branded and are not obvious as adverts.
When your website has a high visitor rate and a low bounce rate, advertisers may be interested in placing native ads.
Local Advertising
This is standard ad space that you sell to local businesses. When your website ranks highly in regional search results, local businesses may be interested in paying for advertising.
Make sure you have set up Google Analytics so you can supply solid reports on your visitor numbers. The amount you charge depends on all important traffic.
Always take a personalised approach when selling local advertising. Find out who to approach and address them by name. A personalised message works much better than a mailshot.
Directories and Business Pages
Directories are websites that feature business listings and can be built around a single industry or region.
Creating a directory is just like creating a website. Charges can be applied to listings or page submissions.
Ask for Donations
If your site is really useful and provides amazing content, ask for donations. Make it clear that you rely on users’ generosity to support your project.
If you’ve helped someone, they may be in the right frame of mind to make a donation.
PayPal provides a donation button that can be included on a web page.
Create a Podcast
Podcasts are kind of on-demand radio programmes. They can be searched for by keyword and accessed on a device or a computer.
Podcasts help to reach a larger audience. There is evidence to show that Podcasts are more popular each year, as there is a greater need to learn on the go – driving, walking, running, cycling. All chances to learn something whilst travelling.
You will need a microphone, some free audio recording and editing software like Audacity and a confident speaking voice.
Host the PodCast on a feed on your website and submit it to a PodCast directory like BluBrry, so it can be accessed by everyone. It can then be streamed on iTunes, Internet Radio, Apple TV, TuneIn, Sonos, SHOUTcast, Aha Radio, Android and Kindle Fire devices, Xbox One, iHeart Radio, Bose, and more!
Locked Website Content
Locked content is content on a website that is password-protected. Once your website ranks highly and helps your audience, you are in the position to ask for a membership fee.
Members can access important content. Content could consist of:
Ebooks for Business
Creating an ebook has few overheads. Ebooks can be limited to Amazon Kindle or the Apple eBook store.
I recommend making your ebook available to everyone, using a free service like Yudu.
Create an informative but simple document that can be distributed across your networks. When an ebook contains valuable content, charge for it. Or use it as a marketing tool.
Coaching Classes
Embed YouTube videos within your members’ area and some outside it, so people get a taster of what you do.
Use Google private hangouts to host a live coaching class.
Webinars
Webinars are a fantastic way of connecting with an audience. Build a webinar around a researched topic that will engross your audience. Webinars can really show off your expertise. People can ask questions as they listen in the comfort of their own homes.
Start Monetising your Website
As we’ve discovered, there are so many ways to monetise a website! Remember, gaining the traffic and retaining a following is first and foremost. In a nutshell:
- Analyse the Website
- Optimise the Website and Online Presence for Search
- Start an Educational Blog
- Show Up on Social Media
- Repeat
