Archive for June, 2009

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Your online website or business may be the most innovative in the world, but who’s going to visit it if it looks ugly? Studies have shown that customers would rather do business with a clean, well-maintained, and professional-looking website than with one that appears that it was made by a 10-year-old. Building the aesthetics of a website may be a low priority to many, but it is actually one of the most important aspects of an online business.

One common way to “wow” your visitors would be to use different types of media on your website. For example, you may have a video intro for your site instead of a simple splash page. A very effective trick is to use a navigation menu made of flash. This brings the entire website together effectively and makes the entire visit to your webpage feel smooth and seamless. The visitors may find your website pleasant and stay around to browse through your pages, increasing their chances to click on an ad or find a product that they are interested in. On the other hand, a grotesque website may simply bring the consumer to close the web browser quickly.

Another way to make a website more visually appealing would be to use the correct choice of font and color. In general, it is best to have 2 or 3 main colors on your website. A monochrome look may appeal in certain situations, but it often strikes the user as bland. On the other hand, too many colors may hurt the visitor’s eyes. The choice of font also plays a role, as it is usually best to choose a modest font such as Arial. Some may opt for a scripty font, but keep in mind that it has to be easily read by the visitors.

Using these pointers, it is quite simple to create an aesthetically pleasing website that will overall improve your customer’s experience on your webpages.

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

It’s the most basic formula for business on the internet: more clicks on ads = more money. While the most obvious ways to increase the amount of clicks would be to increase the amount of visitors each month, many do not know that there are other secret ways to increase your profit through advertisements.

The most common mistake of new webpage owners would be to simply place their precious advertisements on the bottom of the page. The problem with this is that while their website can have millions of hits a month, few people are going to click on the advertisements because they are hidden at the bottom. Advertisement placing is a very important factor and can make or break a website. If you look at many professional websites today, they place their ads in a banner at the top of the page. This way, it appears immediately, and the user does not even have to scroll down before they see the advertisement. This is also effective because the visitors to the site may watch or read the advertisements while the rest of the page loads, increasing the chances of somebody becoming interested and clicking on the ad. A banner at the top of the page often gains much more clicks from visitors than the same exact ad placed at the bottom of the page.

Another common spot for an ad would be along the side of the page. That way, the user will see the ad while reading an article, and the ad may still be in the user’s window when he or she scrolls down the page. These ads also have a high chance of being clicked on and can become your biggest moneymakers. So if your website is gaining many users but simply not getting enough clicks on ads, consider moving the ads around so they are more likely to be clicked on by your visitors. This simple task could greatly increase your income and squeeze more out of your visitors.

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Ok, so you decided to build a website and make money through adspace, but how do you get advertisers to place their ads on your website? One of the best places to start out is through Google’s AdSense, which is well-known throughout the advertising community. All you need to do is set up a free Google account, sign up for AdSense, provide some information so the companies can pay you, and place the ads on your website! Google has even made it easy for beginners by providing a snippet of HTML code, so all you have to do is copy and paste into your webpage. And voila! Your webpage now has ads for users to click on.
The biggest factor in determining your reward is the amount of unique users who click on your advertisements. Note that it is the amount of unique users; this means that clicking on your own ads over and over will not increase the amount you get paid. The best way to make money through AdSense and any other advertisement is to attract various types of users to your website, which will increase the chance of somebody clicking on your advertisement. Furthermore, Google helps you by choosing ads that are relevant to the context of your webpage! For example, if your webpage was about tips to buy a new computer, Google might display a few sponsored links to sellers of discount computers. You, as the website owner, don’t have to do anything since Google’s ads automatically skim your webpage and find relevant ads.
This is one of the best ways to make money off a website, as it’s simple and reliable. Once your website gets going and you obtain a steady base of visitors, you can simply sit back and watch the balance of your account rise each month!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

One of the most popular ways to make money on the Internet is through online surveys, where companies pay everyday people to hear their opinions on various things. Those who enjoy benefiting off these surveys may enjoy another easy and simple method of making money: through special search engines.

Many prominent search engines pay everyday citizens to use their website and make money off advertised links. Many of the search engines actually pull results from Google and Ask, giving the user the best of both worlds every time he or she searches.
So how is money earned? Usually, money is earned based on chance through searches. Many sites offer direct monetary rewards. For example, if you are lucky, you might earn 10 cents for your search. Doing the same searches over and over will not work, however, because most search engines have a system designed only to reward average citizens that use the search engine for its original purpose. Over time, the balance in the player’s account adds up, and the money earned can be redeemed, usually via PayPal. Sometimes, a search engine uses a point system instead of direct money. In this case, points are collected and then can be traded in later for prizes, such as gift cards and music downloads.

Many of these search engine websites have programs to increase the number of people who subscribe to their site. One way they accomplish this is by rewarding customers who refer friends to their website. If you refer a friend to their website, you can earn a certain amount of money or a percentage of your friend’s money. The actual amount is usually based on how active your friend is. Some search engine sites even pay you to help them brainstorm new ideas and suggestions. Through the many different ways to earn money, anybody can cash in on the booming internet phenomenon without ever leaving their computer.