How to Launch a Web Site
Step 7: Generate Some Income
Google Adsense
By far the easiest way to start generating some advertising income, Google Adsense is making a big splash on the web. Here's what you do:
- Apply to the Adsense Program.
- Once accepted, you can choose the shape and size of the ads you wish to appear on your site (banner, etc.). You can also selecta color scheme that fits well with your site (see how the ads on this page match the colors?).
- Copy and paste the provided HTML into your own site, and you're finished!
Google will spider your site within an hour of the first time your page is loaded by a web browser. Google then uses the content of your web page to determine relevant ads to display.
Google pays you anywhere from 2 cents to several dollars for each time someone clicks on your ad (it all depends on what the person who created the original ad was willing to pay for good placement). Once your total reaches $100, they send you a check. Now what's easier than that?
Be sure to see the example page for some Goodle Ads served by Adsense.
Amazon Associates Program
Amazon has a powerful associates program that lets you link to products on Amazon's site, and you get a commission somewhere between 2 and 7.5 percent (depending on the product and how the buyer got there).
Once you sign up and are approved, Amazon provides several ways for you to link to their site. You can:
- Place simple banner ads on your site which link to a category on Amazon,
- place search boxes that let your visitors enter a search string which is submitted to Amazon,
- display a large banner containing book recommendations matching a category you specify,
- create a link to a specific product (this returns the highest commissions), or
- use their Web Services to create dynamic content on your site using data from Amazon's database.
Their Web Services is very powerful, but requires some knowledge of server-side programming (such as PHP, Java, or CGI/Perl). If you are interested, be sure to follow the links on Amazon's associates site and read more.
Amazon only pays associates quarterly.
Be sure to see the example page to see an amazon keyword link box.
Other Affiliate Programs
There are a few affiliate advertising companies out there which allow you to easily form relationships with merchants on the web. They provide you with HTML links to categories or specific products on the merchant's sites, and you drive buyers to them from yours. The affiliate company keeps track of people clicking on the ads and purchases made at the merchant sites, and pays you whenever your amount exceeds $25.
There are two companies which I've worked with: Commission Junction and Link Share. I went with more than one company because the merchants which I wanted to link to were not all associated with a single affiliate program.
The interesting thing about these affiliate programs is that the merchants don't mind if you use your own ads to click through to their site and purchase goods, essentially getting a discount when you earn a commission on your own purchase (unlike Amazon, who does not allow you credit for your own purchases).
I hope this provides you with some good starting points! Good luck.
