How to Monetize Your Content Rich Website

Do you have a content rich, themed website that attracts a decent amount of traffic on a monthly basis? If so, congratulations because you have already overcome the greatest obstacle in generating a steady flow of income – getting traffic to your website. The next step should be achieved more easily and involves incorporating Google AdSense into your website.

Google AdSense was launched in 2003 as an advertising program to liaise between potential online advertisers and vast number of website owners. AdSense offers online advertisers the opportunity to create text or image ads that are displayed on their search engine results pages and on websites enlisted into the AdSense program. Advertisers pay Google an agreed amount of money each time their ad is clicked. Google pays a percentage of this to the website owner where ads have appeared and keeps the remaining portion of the income. Commissions are only paid when an ad is clicked so the number of times the ad is viewed is irrelevant.

Google Advertiser Options

Google AdSense offers a variety of advertising options to cater for a wide variety of websites:

1. Google AdSense for Content - a variety of text and / or image ads of a variety of sizes and shaped.
2. Google AdSense for Search – implements a Google search bar on your website that produces a results page containing pay-per-click ads.
3. Google AdSense for Feeds – ads that appear in your feeds.
4. Google AdSense for Domains – ads for a parked domain.
5. Google AdSense AdSense for Mobile Content – ads for mobile websites.

Google issues payments once an account has exceeded $100 in value. However, to successfully receive payment you must ensure to comply with all Google Webmaster and Google AdSense Terms and Conditions. Be advised that you will not get the better of Google by clicking your own ads or promoting others to do so – while you may get away with this for some time, a more thorough check will be implemented once you have exceeded the $100 withdrawal limit and you will be found out. Read Google Advertiser Guidelines for a complete understanding of the terms and conditions.

Formatting your Google AdSense Ads

Your choice of format and colour for your AdSense advertisement will have a significant impact on the potential earnings. Choose a ad size that will pace the ads prominently on your website without dominating the other content. Similarly blending your ads into the theme and layout of your website is an extremely worthwhile exercise. This is achieved by setting the ad title, text and URL attributes to the same values as other content on your website so as to ensure the site is visually appealing and the content is not dominated by the Google ads.

However you should not try to blend your ads with the intention of misleading the user or try to hide the fact that the ads are in fact ads and a part of the Google AdSense network.

Getting Started

In general it takes as little as 15 minutes before an or search box is implemented from scratch through Google AdSense. To get started all you need is:

• A Google AdSense account.
• A website with a constant volume of traffic.

Google AdSense is an extremely user friendly and flexible tool so I would recommend experimenting with different ads. Once you stay with the Google guidelines you will come up with a strategy that best suits your websites needs.

5 Other Website  Options

1. Affiliate Marketing – sell someone else’s product for a sales based commission.
2. eBay Partners Network – provide links on your website to eBay products that you receive a commission on when bought.
3. Direct Advertising – Define areas on your website where you display ads from non Google sources.
4. Donations - If your website is purely informational your users may be prepared to donate for helpful information.
5. Amazon Partner -  provide links on your website to Amazon products that you receive a commission on when bought.