I have had numerous people ask about monetizing websites and whether they should put advertising on their website for others. This is really a two-part answer because there are pros and cons to doing so and also questions about how to do it to best position yourself. So, let’s get started.

There are numerous ways to monetize your site, but what most agents do not realize is that certain ways will actually increase your search engine rankings and may even make you appear to be more of a source in your area. To clarify my points, we will go through three different ways of monetization to show you the pros and cons of each so you can make a decision that will best suit your needs.

Google Adsense 

The first  method we will discuss is one of my favorites - Google Adsense®.
Google’s Adsense program  actually looks at keywords in your website or blog and puts (mostly) relevant ads in place. When these ads are clicked, you make a percentage of the advertiser cost for the click. I have been very successful over the years with this type of advertising because it is a “set it and forget it” program and for the most part has good results.

Pros:
While there is no supporting documentation on this, I have noticed that sites with Google Adsense ads, generally appear higher in search results (through Google) than those that do not contain them. Again, there is no supporting documentation, but this makes sense if you think about it. If your page, which contains Adsense ads appears higher than one that does not, then your visitors are more likely to click those ads, thus increasing the chance that Google will make money off of them.

Another “pro” for Adsense is that Google HAS TO spider your content of your website in order to be able to deliver the ads. This means that your site will show up in search results much quicker when you add new pages (or posts as with blogs). This helps you spread into the search results pages much quicker and gets you more exposure in a shorter amount of time.

Cons:
The BIGGEST negative to using Adsense is that you MAY have competitors ads on your website/blog. This can be filtered out in your Adsense settings, however, it requires you to stay on top of your competitors ads.

The other drawback that prevents most real estate professionals from putting Adsense on their websites is that they either fear they will lose their visitors, or they fear that their site looks unprofessional with the ads. Just as a quick reference to help you make a more informed decision, I will give you some pointers for both of these.

• You may lose visitors to ads, however, most people will still hit back on their browser bar that will allow them to return to your website. Studies have proven that the majority of people, when clicking an ad to go somewhere else, will return to your site fairly quickly. Those that do not generally found what they were looking for which, if they clicked the ad, was not on your site 90% of the time. This being said, you most likely would not have got their business anyways, and at least this way you may be able to make a little bit of money in the meantime.
• Design elements are very easy. If you are unfamiliar with setting up your website, you can get someone who can do this very easily. Google gives a LOT of variations in the way ads are displayed and can generally be implemented into your existing design with very little impact to the overall appearance of your site. Some are blended so well, that the average visitor does not even realize they are ads.

Monthly Paid Advertising

Monthly paid advertising is one of the easiest to get paid on and can generate income, however, they offer little in the way of anything else.  Basically, this is when you contact local business associates for advertising on your website. If you are a real estate agent, you may be able to get mortgage originators, insurance agents, and title companies to advertise. Maybe even home inspectors or others.

Pros:
The pros are that you can generate decent monthly income by charging service providers to be in front of your readers. It is not hard to get some decent money from this, at least enough to make it worth your time, and you can have relevant people in front of your readers.

Cons:
You have to have really good traffic to your site to make it worth it to service providers to pay you to be there. Unless you are running an exclusive agreement with your service providers, they are more likely to be picking up clients from your traffic, and they may be sending them to your competitors, therefore making it more likely of losing your potential clients than that of Adsense ads. Of course, this option really offers no search engine value to you, but may add search engine value to your service providers.

Affiliate Advertisements

Affiliate advertisements give you more control over your ads and you can get paid on a per click or a percentage of referrals for your advertisement spots. I will focus on two of my favorite for my sites. One is Commission River, which  allows you to get a recurring percentage of money spent in various aspects like telephone service, Internet service, VoIP, and numerous other services. This program is great, especially for your existing clients that are getting ready to move and need to set up phones etc. they offer great discounted rates and you earn a percentage of your customer’s bills every month. The other program that I really enjoy is YTB, an online travel affiliate. You can open a RTA (referring travel agent) storefront and get paid up to 60% commissions on all travel booked through your site. This is BY FAR my favorite because the earnings are so much higher. the downside is that it does cost almost $500 for your licensing and website. then if you want the other perks like the extreme discounts, free upgrades, etc on travel and cruises, then there is an additional fee for certification and CLIA membership. Overall a great program though.

Pros:
The prose to these types of programs is that they can really give you some GREAT secondary (or primary in some cases) income. They are also great ways of building additional businesses and long term streams of income.

Other pros include customization of your ads, your own website with the company so you can link it directly to another window so your people never leave your site. your site appears more professional because you have professional services, and more.

Cons:
These programs offer almost no search engine value and while Commission River is free to join, YTB is a little more than what people may want to spend. While it made sense to me initially just for the discounts I get on my own travel and vacations, this is not the case for everyone.

Now that you have some facts on some various ways to monetize your website, I leave it in your hands to decide which way, if any, that you would like to try. As always, I leave comments open to anyone for discussion.

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