THE EASY WAY TO MAKE MONEY WITH AFFILIATE ADVERTISING ON YOUR WEBSITE

You could be forgiven for thinking that it's only the big established companies who can benefit from selling advertising on their websites. It is true of course that the majors will command the highest fees, but there is money to be made from advertising on even the smallest sites. The trick is in knowing where to find advertisers, which ads to use, and how to present them.

At present, there are many affiliate programmes you can join, which is great because we don't want to put all of our eggs in one basket and it makes sense to offer our visitors some variety. So it's not only practical, but also wise to have a number of different advertisers on your site. The downside of this is that you usually have to earn a minimum amount of commission from each advertiser before you get paid and it can take quite a while before a hobby or special interest site generates that minimum.

However, not all affiliate programmes are equal and there are some that don't require this minimum commission amount before paying out, so it is always a good idea to check out the terms and conditions before signing up. Later I will list some of the better affiliate programmes, but first...

You can put different sized banners or even text links on your site, and most affiliate programmes will usually offer a huge range of different designs. Many advertisers even offer content units of different shapes and sizes that you can use to fill up an otherwise sparse page (see the eBay partner network for some excellent examples!).

But it is no good adding a selection of random affiliate links to your pages and hoping visitors will click on them, because the chances are that they won't! This is one of the mistakes that many webmasters make when trying to raise some income from their sites. The other one is to cram as many banners and adverts as possible into every available space on the page.

Gone are the days when everybody on the Internet was randomly surfing the Web from one site to the next in awe and wonder at this fantastic new technology (yes, it did happen!). These days the Web has become a part of everyday life, people visit websites for a specific purpose; and that purpose is more often than not to find information.

So to make the most from affiliate adverts on a site we must think of them as information providers and display them as such...

Regardless of your website content, whether it be about current affairs, customised Vauxhall Corsas, or TV soap opera gossip, the affiliate links you choose should be relevant to your site. If you choose a combination of adverts that are in keeping with the content of your site, you can bet that some of your visitors will be interested in the product or service offered by the advertisers.

Put yourself into the mind of your visitor. They have already found your site because they have an interest in the subject matter, so what else would they find useful? If the site is about football it might be appropriate to include links to football equipment suppliers, online betting, books about football, or even football dvds.

Similarly, if the site was about pop music it would be a good idea to have affiliate links to online CD retailers, downloadable music, and books about music. Or if the site is about cars, visitors might be interested in low cost insurance, car accessories, breakdown recovery services, etc. The point is to provide something of value to the visitor.

We can go a stage further by actually driving our visitors to the ads (more on this later), but for now let's have a look at some of the different types of affiliate adverts we can consider for inclusion on our site...

Many consider the best ads to put on a site are Pay Per Click, or PPC - these pay you every time someone clicks them regardless of whether they buy anything from the advertiser or not. The most popular PPC ad program is undoubtedly Google Adsense and there have been many Websites which have been created for the sole purpose of generating income from the Adsense programme. These sites are usually referred to as MFA or Made for Adsense.

The majority of affiliate ads work on a commission only basis - that means that the visitor has to pay for a product or sign up for a service when they get to your advertiser's site for you to get paid, so as already seen it is not only wise but essential to think about what your visitors will be interested in before putting these ads on your site. The big advantage of commission ads is that you will usually make considerably more than a few pennies from them.

Affiliate ads come in different shapes and sizes and many of these have become standardised. One of the most common is the 468x60 banner which can often be seen in the top right hand corner of a Website. There are some tried and tested theories about where on the page is best but a little additional experimentation is always worthwhile to see exactly what is suitable for a particular page layout.

Another consideration is whether the ad becomes part of the page content, or whether it stands out like a sore thumb! I usually try to integrate ads into my pages and make them look like a natural part of the page and not some foreign body, but there are supporters in both camps so it pays to experiment. Keep an eye on your account statistics and you will be able to tell which ads are working and which ones aren't, and then adjust your pages accordingly.

The affiliate links that work are undoubtedly the ones that offer something of benefit to your visitors. Whether it is a search box or an ad for a product or service, it must provide something of value to the person who clicks on it. Remember too that many people are suspicious of Internet advertising, so a straightforward text link can often be more effective than any number of fancy banners. Which is precisely why Google's Adsense program took off and became so successful. However, despite this banners seem to be making quite a significant comeback - even in the Adsense arena! So as ever it pays to experiment.

Pop ups, you've won a prize, anything imitating Windows elements, wildly flashing garish coloured banners, and all combinations.

Yes, they might fool a few Internet newbies but that is tantamount to conning people, and do you really want to con your site visitors? Anybody with only a little experience of the Web will spot these con tricks a mile off and avoid them like the plague. Even worse, they might even avoid your site like the plague!

By creating a page on your website specifically for the promotion of particular affiliates, you can actively drive people to click on your ads.

For example; if you had a car themed website you could write a report on the benefits of becoming a member of a car breakdown recovery service, and include a few carefully chosen affiliate text links in the body of your report. At the bottom of the report include an affiliate banner so the visitor will be tempted to click for more information.

This is basically the same as when a film or sports personality sponsors a brand of cereal or sports equipment (although unfortunately not as lucrative!). You are choosing to sponsor a particular product or service by recommending it to your website visitors, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination and the content of your website.

The success of any website is dependent on traffic, and the more the better! Any serious discussion of traffic boosting is beyond the scope of this guide, but some topics to consider are:

Search Engine Optimisation
Links from other sites
Online Marketing / Advertising
Email referrals (not spam!)
Offline Promotion

Of course, all of these methods will not attract repeat visitors unless you have a website that interests them when they arrive at your site. So it is vital to include plenty of interesting content and to update regularly!

It is possible and indeed desirable to have your website earning money for you. There are different banners, text links, and even content units to choose from and the advertisers will offer varying degrees of commission for products or services sold. The exception is 'pay per click' advertisers who will pay you simply because a visitor to your site clicked on their link or performed a search.

To have any success with affiliate programmes, you should provide your site visitors with value for their clicks. It is wise to think of affiliate links as information providers and tailor the advertising on your site to match and enhance the content.

By writing a subject specific review or report for inclusion on a website, you can actively drive people to an affiliate link, and greatly increase the CTR (click through rate).

Thanks for reading "The Easy Way To Make Money With Affiliate Advertising On Your Website!" I hope you have found the information both relevant and useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to use the comment form below.

Once again, many thanks and may you achieve every success!

Tony Williams is a professional Website designer and developer specialising in affordable solutions for small business in and around the Wirral area.