Wouldn’t it be incredible if your website or blog generated revenues? You see ads everywhere on the Internet. It’s no coincidence! There are lots of opportunities for publishers to place ads and generate revenues. But how can you do it? That’s what we are going to explain in this article.
Is displaying ads on your website worth it?
The answer is yes.
You can find ads in various forms, you’ll necessarily find what you want. The big advantage of online advertising is its targeting capability which makes its return on investment particularly interesting.
According to a recent study, 85% of respondents like contextual ads. If you are looking to make money on your blog or have any interest in marketing your content, this is one of the easiest ways to do so.
While some ads may not be relevant, contextual ads also benefit your users by providing a different, personalized experience.
Here are a few more reasons to monetize your ad space:
- You can use the revenues to enhance your website.
- If you are well advised, this will not impact the user experience.
- It’s a good motivation to continue developing your website in order to earn more traffic, and therefore more revenues.
What is an ad space?
The ad space is a space on a website reserved for ads. These can be text ads or banner ads. The websites which depend on ad revenues need lots of space, but it also gives them the opportunity to offer other types of content such as video or recommended content.
The ads’ prices on different websites can vary. There are other factors which contribute to the price of an ad. They include the format (size, form), the placement (where it is displayed), the location or even the website’s traffic.
In today’s digital market, your website or blog must be able to offer pertinent keywords elements which will help to attract potential readers, and to fidelize them. Even in advertising, SEO remains essential.
Required conditions to sell ad spaces
- Traffic: Publishers operate in a competitive industry and to stand out, they need to have a lot of page views and unique visitors. It’s important they attract more traffic, which means that advertisers will be more likely to want to run their ads on their site. The best way to start is to find a platform which has a low minimum requirement. There’s always a minimum requirement. Without it, monetization isn’t possible.
- Quality content: First of all, publishers must produce a relevant and unique content. If you focus on a specific subject, like a sport or maternity for instance, you will be more likely to appeal to advertisers. To be taken seriously, a website must have a reasonable quantity of content, with at least 25 to 30 article pages, critics or blog posts. The companies interested in promoting their services and products on your website want to enjoy your daily traffic and your quality content.
- Conception and functionality: Your website’s layout often is the first thing visitors notice. They must be able to find quickly what they are looking for, and your website must guide them thanks to its browsing features. It also helps to expose your visitors to different types of ads on your website. Before choosing a new ad network, consider how loading time and latency will be affected. Moreover, the website must be compatible and optimized for mobiles and tablets, which now represent more than half of the visits.
- Visitors: A dedicated audience is more precious than an influx of visitors. They interact regularly with your content, and when they do so, they see its real value and are more likely to share it. A punctual influx of visitors is ephemeral, compared to a regular interaction with your content. Advertisers appreciate the level of engagement displayed by your audience. They are willing to invest more than once for an engaged and faithful website visitor or follower.
To measure the efficiency of your campaigns, the value of an available ad space can be indicated by the number of impressions or clicks, answers to emails or other interactive signals.
How to sell online ad spaces on your website
1) Direct ads
The direct ad sale can be an option if you want to monetize your website. In this case, publishers contact media buyers directly, which can enable them to gain a lot of money.
The disadvantage is that this process can be extremely long, especially if you are just starting. You have to search for advertisers manually and negotiate the conditions with each one. For small companies, it can be very expensive and it might be necessary to hire a person dedicated to it.
How to find and attract direct advertisers?
You must find companies or brands willing to buy ad spaces. You can check blogs similar to yours to see who is advertising.
Looking for direct advertisers requires a few steps: gathering information on the potential partner, creating an offer and presenting it.
A must to prove the attractiveness of your inventory is to provide a media kit to advertisers. It must include website analytics, as well as distincts users’ segments so that advertisers can determine if the ad spaces suit them or not.
2) Advertising networks
To make the most of the programmatic technology and of a great number of advertisers, the simplest way is to work with an advertising network. You’ll just need to add tags on your website and you’ll start generating ad revenues without doing anything.
How to choose an ad network that suits you?
- You must always take into account the number of partners proposed by the ad network. Indeed, depending on your location, some will be more or less relevant. The more partners, the more interesting the bids, and the more revenues you’ll generate.
- The ad quality is important: customers trust companies that advertise on your website. You must make sure you’re at ease with what’s displayed and that you put in place a quality control process to make sure it doesn’t harm your website.
- Different ad formats are available on your platform. With a large choice, you’ll be more likely to find ad units that suit your website.
- Read the terms and conditions, especially the payment methods and other information such as the commission, the payment conditions, the time limit,…
- User experience: The ads on your websites must not harm the user experience. Choose The Moneytizer, we offer ads that match your audience and do not disturb the user interface.
3) Affiliate Marketing
Affiliated marketing is another way for publishers to generate revenues with their website. It is an agreement by which a website or blog publisher agrees to promote a product in exchange for payment. We can think about Amazon which pays bloggers each time someone buys something via their website.
Websites generally use affiliate links and banners. The ad is always accompanied by a link and a promotional code, inviting the readers to visit the brand’s website. The publisher receives a percentage of all the sales after people have clicked and visited his or her website.
Affiliates get paid when a visitor converts to a customer and performs the desired action: form submission, pre-order, click or purchase.
Criteria for affiliate marketing:
- In affiliate marketing, traffic is crucial because of its role in the conversion rate. Even though low traffic websites do not seem relevant, an engaged niche traffic can generate excellent results.
- It is better to have contact information on your website in case you go for affiliate marketing. By informing potential partners of how they can contact you, it will be easier to act and develop activities together.
- Website design is important when it comes to ads. Your design must be able to support different formats.
All the monetization methods listed above are ideal for an immediate use, we hope this guide will help you to choose the one that suits you best.
Find the design and the layout that are appropriate for your website. The user experience should not be affected by the ads, you have to choose one that has an adapted design which doesn’t disturb them. The tone, the background and the design of your website are elements you should keep in mind when choosing ad spaces.
Need help setting it up? Contact our Customer Success to get support and advices adapted to your website.