These Advertising Hacks Are Just the Ticket for Clicks and Traffic

Having a website or blog provides endless possibilities. One of those possibilities is making money through online advertising. One of the main ways to earn money through advertising is through Google Adsense, and there’s also Pay-Per-Click ads. While making money by having people click on various ads on a website is grand, sometimes it’s hard to know how to create a site and ads that entice people to click. We offer some basic advice on ads, how they work, and mention some hacks on how to achieve clicks and traffic on a website. Learn more by attending our free webinar training.

There are many ways to increase your revenue using Google Ads, which The Balance Small Business discusses below. First, read why many people like using Google Adsense on their blog and then find out ways you can increase your revenue on your site:

You may not even notice banner ads anymore. As an Internet-savvy society, we have learned to filter them out. There is also banner filtering software available because banner ads can be very annoying, and that could harm your website readership. But Google Adsense is different:

Google Ads are less intrusive, so they don't annoy people
The content is RELEVANT, and therefore has more impact
People trust Google Ads because people trust Google
The payment model is generous and reliable
It's possible to make a healthy living from Google Ads
That last point is paramount. How do you make a living from Google Ads? Well, with the right combination of traffic, content, and users, you can make thousands of dollars every single month.

Whether you want to make money off the blog or website you already have, or you want to create a blog with the sole purpose of making Adsense money, there are several ways you can increase your revenue:

Use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) writing to maximize the keywords in your content.
Write more. The more you write about your subject, the more keywords you have for Google to search and feed ads to.
Write often. More content is everything, and the fresher the better.
Post useful, accurate content. When you post garbage filled with keywords it is difficult to read and doesn't bring people back. You want your site to be sticky, so it generates traffic.
Find a niche. Talking about football is all well and good, but thousands of people are doing it. But movie soundtrack collections, that's another story.
Don't create too much bad traffic. It's easier than you'd think to create a lot of traffic, but if it's not qualified, and people aren't there to read your content, then it will be a flash in the pan. It also affects your CTR.
Make use of Google Analytics. Google gives you the tools, for free, to make a profit.
Think differently. Don't just write the same old boring content that everyone else is. Have a new take on Mad Men? Got a better angle on knitting? PlentyofFish.com earns over $300,000 every month! But it's not just given away. You have to earn it.

Create Ads That are Visual

This tip may seem like a no brainer, but Wordstream brings up a great point which is don’t forget to create ads that are simple and visual. In other words, plain text ads likely won’t do the trick. It’s better to use advertisements that are visual and are easy to read.

This tip seems obvious and yawn-worthy. That’s what I thought as well until I found out that 67.5% of ads on the display network are plain text ads! This is shocking, due to the fact that text ads have much lower click-through rates than image ads. Just check out this table from WordStream founder Larry Kim’s recent study.

This brings me to my next point: as important as it to include text ads in your display campaigns, image ads are a necessity! Sergey says “Ads need to be simple, visual, and easy to read.” Sergey goes on to explain how image ads perform best for visual industries that are naturally appealing, such as travel, where the destination can essentially sell itself. But even B2B companies see success with image ads. For one of Sergey’s clients, he tested out a banner ad with a “Download Now” image that linked right to a product page. This visual format far outperformed the text ads running and helped the company generate more leads.

Don’t have the bandwidth to create visual ads? Is outsourcing too expensive? Use Google’s display ad builder. According to Larry, this tool is shockingly under-utilized, especially since you do not need “superstar Photoshop skills” to create a wide variety of display ad formats through the tool.

Approach Companies Directly

If your site ends up getting a lot of traffic right off the bat, consider reaching out to companies directly. Entrepreneur argues that reaching out to companies can give you a leg up on your competitors, primarily if you provide them with all of the information they need (or may ask for).

If your site is already getting lots of traffic, try looking for sites that offer complementary products and target the same niche market as you do. For instance, if you own a bridal shop, you could approach a local florist to see if they'd like to advertise their wedding bouquets on your site. An ad on your site would also be seen as an implicit recommendation of their product, and it could send a ton of brides to their site. And the more successful your ads are, the more you can charge for them.

Be sure to contact potential internet advertising partners in a professional manner. Call them on the phone instead of just e-mailing them so your communication is more personal and professional. Be ready to supply them with information about your business and your site traffic. The more information you can give them, the more likely they'll be to consider your offer. And above all, make sure they have a solid reputation. If you partner with a questionable company, their activities could reflect poorly on your business.

Other Ways to Make Money

When you’re not using Google Adsense, there are other ways to still make money on your blog such as with pay per click advertising. You may decide to go this route if for some reason your Adsense wasn’t approved, you’re not thrilled with the money you’re making, or your account gets disabled. Jeff Bullas explains this more in detail:

Pay-Per-Click ads, also known as Cost Per Click or CPC, is one of the most common models of internet advertising. It simply means an advertiser will pay you once someone clicks on their ad.

Infolinks is one of the best ways to implement in-text advertising on your blog. It offers publishers a 70% revenue share and follows a PPC (pay-per-click) model. In-text ads are double-underlined words on a page that show up as ads when clicked.

Infolinks also offers other options such as insearch ads, intag ads and inframe ads. They pay you via Paypal, Wire Transfer, ACH, Payoneer, eCheck or Western Union once you reach the initial limit of $50 for Paypal or eCheck or $100 for Wire Transfer and WU, so it depends on the mode of payment you’ve chosen.

Media.net is another big alternative to Adsense and is powered by the Yahoo Bing Network. The ads featured are contextual focusing on relevant keywords and that takes some time before they are optimized for your site. As you keep using this network, soon the algorithm will determine the best keywords for your audience based on the clicks.

As opposed to Adsense, Media.net assigns a dedicated Account rep who can also suggest you ways to making more revenues from your ads. The money transfer options are wire transfer or Paypal. Minimum threshold for payouts is $100.

Join an Affiliate Program

Entrepreneur recommends joining various companies’ affiliate programs so that you can earn a commission every time someone you’ve referred makes a purchase. If you’re trying to make extra money on your blog, for example, this is an excellent way to do it.

Joining another company's affiliate program is one of the simplest ways to get started with internet advertising. While affiliate links aren't technically ads, they allow you to make money by promoting someone else's product. As an affiliate, you earn a commission each time someone you've referred makes a purchase. To encourage sales, you might post a banner on your site that links to the affiliate site or publish a newsletter article about their product.

Different affiliate programs offer different payout options. Some might offer 10 percent commission for each sale, while others pay up to 50 percent of each sale. You'll want to shop around for the best deal for you and the best fit for your site. To find good affiliate programs, check out the following directories:

Associate Programs
Affiliates Directory
Refer-It
Some internet advertising pros are actually making all their income from signing on with multiple affiliate programs. They don't even have a product of their own! This isn't a strategy for beginners, however, so take some time to check out different programs before committing to this option.

Advertising is something you’ll want to take advantage of when you’re starting an online business, and we provide more tips on how to build a profitable business online during our free webinar training.

Sources: Jeff Bullas, The Balance Small Business, Wordstream, Entrepreneur