After all, who wouldn't like to make a few extra bucks? And it's so simple -- you just put up a couple of ads on your site and wait for the cash to roll in, right?
Um... wrong. At least, that's not the way it usually works.
When you're just starting out, your primary focus needs to be on promoting your OWN business -- not someone else's.
It's far better to build a relationship with your target market and generate interest in your own products than it is to try generating profits by advertising another company's items.
Not only that, but you could be opening yourself up to a whole new set of problems...
- What if your visitors click on the ads and never
return to your site? - What if you just end up sending business to your
competitors? - What if your visitors are turned off by your ads
because they see them as nothing more than a
"cash grab"?
To make your site attractive to companies looking for potential advertisers, you'll need to have a great niche market, tons of traffic, and the promise of good ad placement on your site.
Most companies won't even consider placing an ad on your site until you can guarantee that you're receiving a large number of highly targeted visitors on a daily or monthly basis.
However, there are ways for you to make money through advertising on your web site, even if you don't have huge amounts of traffic. In fact, one of these strategies might even help drive traffic your way!
One thing, though:
While promoting other companies' products on your site might be a good way to create new streams of income for your business, it's important to remember that not all ads work for all businesses.
If you decide to start experimenting with placing ads on your site, there are three things you absolutely HAVE to do:
1. Test
2. Test
3. Test AGAIN!
You want to make sure you're testing the impact of every element of your new ad campaigns to make sure they're having a positive effect on your business.
As you start out, be sure to carefully test the following:
- different products for different companies
- different styles of ads
- different types of ad copy
- different positioning of ads on your web site
You need to monitor your conversion rates to make sure that they stay as high as possible as you try out your various ad campaigns. That way, you'll discover which Internet advertising techniques REALLY work for you and your business -- and keep working!
The most important thing when choosing which ads to place on your site is to ensure they are for products your target market is actually INTERESTED in.
You'll want to advertise products that complement your own product or service and offer real benefits to your market. Only then can you guarantee that your visitors will be happy to see your ads, instead of being turned off by them.
