Early May we asked our readers to share with us the multiple ways they monetize their websites. We got some very insightful responses. Based on the same and also our in house work we look at some of the most profitable ways to make money from your website. Some of these methods are the ’standard’ ones like Adsense and YPN but there are some hidden secrets in there. Take a look - it will be worth the time.

1. Contextual Advertising
This takes the honours in sheerly the number of webmasters who use it. Among all the contextual advertising programs, Adsense rules the roost followed by YPN. In this type of program, ads are displayed on your site that are relevant to your content. Whenever some reader clicks on the ad, you get paid.

2. Selling Text Links
Nearly all webmasters use this option too. The only difference is whether they sell links on their own or via a third party like TLA or Adbrite. Text links are usually sold on a monthly or yearly basis. Links can be on a particular page or sitewide. Webmasters also prefer to sell links on their own by posting on various webmaster forums. This way both the buyer and seller stand to gain as the middleman’s share is cut off.

3. Paid Posts/Presell Pages
Bloggers are known to make hundreds of dollars each month blogging about topics they love. For this they include links in the blog to advertisers who pay for it. Like text links, bloggers can choose to sell posts on their own and/or through brokers. An exhaustive list of such paid blogging sites can be found here.

Sites which are not blogs can sell pre-sell pages. These are complete webpages that promote the product/services of a particular website. Usually these pages are charges per month. A premium broker for this type of service is PresellPageman.

The primary requirement for paid blogging or selling presell pages is your site must get some traffic as well have some sites linking back to it. This is because most webmasters, when they buy links are looking for one of two things - traffic or PR.

When we asked the blogger over at Investment and Loans on why he preferred paid blogging, this is what he had to say:

 ”They give me a bit of cash to speak my mind about their niche, website, product, or whatever. A pen for hire. And the thing i like so much about this style of freelance writing is that I am in complete control. I decide which assignments I take and I decide which ones I reject.”

4. Selling Ad Space
Usually selling banner space works for high traffic websites where the remuneration is CPM - cost per thousand impressions. Large news sites, popular forums etc would like to monetize this way. TribalFusion, RightMedia etc are some of the leading brokers to help you get some clients.

You can also sell some banner space on a weekly, monthly or yearly cost. A good program to join would be Better Than Banners which we have reviewed here.

5. Affiliate Programs
Integration affiliate links in your website/blog can be very profitable for the right kind of sites. This is because you will be able to offer relevant products to your readers. Ideally suited to this type of monetization are affiliate networks like Amazon, Clickbank, Linkshare etc.

For an example look at menj.org who have integrated mobile games into their site.

6. In Content Links
These links appear within the body of the webpage. Some selected text in the webpage/blog post is hyperlinked and when the user clicks on it is taken to a new web page - and you get paid. Kontera and IntelliTxt are two of the most popular programs in this niche.

7. Feed Advertising
If you have a large readership base, then this type of monetisation could work for you. Ads are placed on your blog feeds and you get pad for them. Text Link Ads and Feedburner are two of the most dominant players in this field.

8. AuctionAds
In addition to the above, some webmasters have reported good success with AuctionAds. In this program which resembles Adsense in look and feel, the webmaster is paid when the user makes a purchase from eBay.

Overall, our research found that the most successful webmasters have not put all the eggs in one basket. They have diversified their monetization portfolio. They use a combination of all the above methods to ensure that their income is consistent month on month.

Important Information:
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