Quite frankly there are almost endless ways for websites to make money, and for the most part a lot of people have no idea how straightforward some of these methods are, or how easy it could be for any member of the public to create a money earning website in their spare time.
From sticking up paid adverts through networks like Google Adsense, to earning commissions from retailers for referring them customers, even the simplest website can find ways to make money. There's no one or two standard ways that any given website will make money, so the question “how do websites make money” can often be answered with dozens of different responses.
To keep things simple, let's just take a look at some of the more common ways a website could earn an income, and then look at some examples from Human Proof Designs websites.
How Do Websites Make Money? Here Are Five Common Methods
1.) Google Adsense and other Advertising Networks
Anybody who has their own domain name (like www.mywebsite.com) can register for Adsense and once approved, start placing adverts on their site. You've probably seen countless examples of these before. Usually a website will have 250×250 pixel blocks in their sidebar or between paragraphs in their text. The actual advert itself is chosen by Google based upon the site's content or the viewers interests, but whenever an ad is clicked, the website owners receives a commission.
It's one of the most popular ways of monetizing a site, as it is passive, and doesn't require a lot of effort. Because of that, the income isn't as high as it could be.
2.) Amazon Products
Amazon has an “associates program” where registered users can refer customers to buy products from Amazon. You might have seen them before on sites like “Top 10 movies of all time” where they provide a link for you to buy said movies on DVD from Amazon. If somebody was to click one of those links, then buy anything from Amazon (even if not that product), the website owner would make a commission.
Typically Amazon commissions are quite low, only around 5%, but with some many products available, it can soon add up.
Everybody knows a product on Amazon that they could recommend to friends, I bet you could think of five right now….
Go on, think of five.
It's so easy to recommend products that you know and love, that building a website around those products and reviewing them is a pretty straight forward task. Find your niche, build a site around it (or buy one of ours), and start recommending things. The pay comes soon after that.
3.) Other Affiliate Programs
As well as Amazon, there are literally thousands of other companies that want you to recommend their products. Let's say you were building a site around a particular type of fashion, and your favorite online vendor had an affiliate program – it would be pretty easy for you to recommend their products, and earn a hefty commission too. Some products I have promoted have given me a 50% commission, earning me $150 for every single sale!
So while Amazon is a popular choice, my personal favorite is to seek out a great product with a great affiliate commission in my chosen category, and write about it as much as I can.
If you want to learn how to do this – read this post.
4.) Offering Services Or Products You Own
For those of you who have your own product or service to promote, you can cut out affiliation and just take 100% profit. Hey, you could even find your own affiliates to promote your product for you and give them a commission. It can be a lot more beneficial to be on the other side of the affiliate coin.
This method works well for local businesses or those with digital products. Got an eBook written? Build a website about it and start offering downloads. It's a simple process, and you can earn a lot of income, even passive income.
5.) Building A List
While a list won't earn you money unless you have something to sell to it, building one is a great method for monetizing your site. A lot of people won't act on your recommendations instantly, so growing a list of subscribers and learning how to promote to them gives you an excellent chance of capturing the sale with return visitors later on.
This is slightly more advanced, but you can learn all about it here.
How Do Human Proof Designs Sites Make Money?
However you wish! We get the site rolling, choosing the category (or niche) and doing some research for you, then building the site. After that, it's up to you to grow the site, and decide on which methods to use to monetize it. Of course, HPD sites come with full-on training on every aspect of affiliate marketing, and you can sign up for our 7 day email course to learn more.
Any Human Proof Designs site will make money in any means, as long as you are prepared to do some of the work.
Learn more about creating an online business here.