The main point of a website is to communicate with visitors. However, most website and business owners are also interested in making a profit. Websites act as a marketing tool, providing information to customers and potential customers. Aside from selling your company’s products and services, the real estate on a website can also be sold in order to further monetize the site. So when is this a good idea? And when is the perfect time to proceed with monetizing a site? Websites usually fall into one of several categories: informational, product or service. Therefore, the first thing business owners should do is to craft a plan that includes the target audience and complementary products/services. Monetization can be performed in several different ways – sponsors can pay a flat fee to have an a banner ad or text appear on your site, or, it can be performance-based, and a sponsor can pay for the amount of clicks is often based on ad placement, where the most clicks or sales result in a pay out to the owner of the hosting site. The more closely related the products/services to the target audience’s interests, the more of a win it is for all involved. When weighing whether or not it’s a good idea to monetize, make sure that you ask yourself two key questions:
- Is the partnership going to fulfill a real need for my customer? Customers have an established trust with you and your site – don’t violate it by junking up your site with ads that don’t relate to your content.
- Is it going to be worth it for me? Website real estate is extremely valuable – especially in prime placement like the header or above the fold; make sure that whatever move you make is well thought out and makes sense in the overall big scheme.
Once you’ve decided if monetization is for you, make sure you track the performance to see what’s working and what’s not. Testing is a must in order to optimize performance. And programs like Google AdSense make it easier than ever before.
To find out more about adding Google AdSense to your site, or for questions on website monetization, contact us today. Website Jungle is a provider of affordable e-commerce and business websites for clients in NY, NJ and the surrounding areas, providing website design, website development, SEO, digital strategy, social strategy, blogging, PPC and more. 