Guide to Monetizing your Web site

So you have a content-rich Web site, a steady stream of visitors, and a desire to use these to generate some revenue. It's time to consider online advertising.

If you have the resources (namely costly ad serving software and an experienced sales staff), you can certainly bear the responsibility of selling advertising and managing ad campaigns yourself. If you're like most online businesses, though, you're more likely already spread too thin to invest in either.

One solution is to outsource your advertising sales to a third party, such as an ad network. These online advertising resellers handle all aspects of ad sales for a site and share the profits with them.

It's a win-win situation for everyone involved; the site owner can dedicate his time and efforts exclusively to the management of the site itself, while the ad network's staff helps him generate an income by selling banner or text ads to Internet marketers on his behalf, monitoring and optimizing the campaigns, and reporting on the results. The site owner often has considerable control over what type of ads appear on his site, and depending on the network, can even pitch in selling the ads himself should he receive interest from a potential advertiser directly.

Most ad networks split ad sales profits with the site publisher 50/50, while others that have self-serve ad management models are more generous. All provide online tools and access to a staff that make monetizing a Web site easier than you might think.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find the right partner

There are countless ad networks to choose from, some more professional and reliable than others. When choosing a partner, you first need to determine whether you're interested in featuring display ads (banners) or paid search ads (text) on your site. Display advertisers decide which sites they want their ads to run on largely based on subject matter and demographic information, while most paid search ads (i.e. search engine ads) are placed contextually, meaning based on the context of your content. So regardless of which you choose, the odds are good that the ads will be relevant to your business. Most networks don't require sites to work exclusively with them, so it's possible to feature both banners and text ads by working with a couple different companies. Just be mindful of site clutter (an overabundance of ads), which can annoy customers and deter them from coming back, as well as decrease the performance of the ads.

I recommend: For display advertising, Burst Media and Tribal Fusion are both great options. These ad networks allow you to apply to join them online and have extensive resources designed to help site publishers make money.

If you'd prefer paid search ads -- ads supplied by a search engine  that are contextually relevant to your site content -- try Google AdSense.

Increase your site traffic

Online ads are generally sold based on the number of people who see them or click on them. Therefore, in order to generate revenue your site has to receive a significant amount of traffic (keep in mind that most ad networks require a minimum amount of traffic to begin with, usually around 5,000 pageviews per month). Boost your traffic volume through online PR by writing a press release about your site and hiring a PR firm specializing in the Web to distribute it for you. This will both increase your site's exposure and generate some immediate traffic. Because online PR firms distribute press releases directly to search engines, it will also improve your site's search engine ranking. This will further raise awareness of your business and make it easier for Internet users to find and visit your site.

I recommend: Employ a company like PRWeb, which offers several options for press release distribution ranging from $169 USD to $619. The entry-level package is very effective for the money, and includes the review and enhancement of your release by an editor over the phone.

Maintain your content

Without good content, a site can't be successful at attracting or retaining advertisers. To keep advertisers interested (and keep them investing in your property), focus on creating quality content and updating it often. This effort will also benefit those consumers who visit your site, and thus help to increase your traffic.

I recommend:

Improve your site's content with help from online copywriting experts like Nick Usborne. This former ClickZ columnist offers great free advice on writing for the Web and optimizing your existing site content.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• With the right combination of actions, virtually any site can be monetized. To ensure ads don't detract from the business your site represents or paint it in a negative light, monitor the ads running on your site and reject any that might not be appropriate (this can usually be done via your network's online publisher interface). Using your site to make money isn't a positive thing if the quality of your site has to suffer.