10 tips to monetise your website

Think your website is too small or niche to generate advertising revenue? Think again. Here are 10 tips to monetise your online platform. By DENISE SHRIVELL

By Denise Shrivell

Think your website is too small or niche to generate advertising revenue? Think again. Here are 10 tips to monetise your online platform.

Advertisers with limited budgets are increasingly looking at so-called ‘long tail’ websites that are dedicated to smaller, specialist audiences as a cheaper way to get their message across. 

Wikipedia defines the “long tail” as a “colloquial name for a long-known feature of statistical distributions”. This term was first applied to the online arena in a 2004 Wired article by editor-in-chief Chris Anderson. These sites sit outside the major portals and are traditionally privately owned and operated, attracting a smaller but highly targeted and engaged audience.

Media buyers and analysts have long recognised the value of this market segment, with 2006 revenue estimates showing that it took in about $128 million, or a 13% share, of total online revenue. The “long tail” was second only to Google in market share increases, and its growth forecasts are strong.

Sites on the “long tail” are able to provide solutions for marketers who simply cannot afford the spend threshold required by sites at the “head”. There are many successful businesses happily “wagging” by delivering opportunities that meet the needs of lower-spending advertisers. However, developing strategies to ensure they are optimising their opportunity to capture these advertising dollars is a challenge for some long tail sites.

Many start-up and existing long tail web publishers openly recognise that they do not have expertise in structuring their sites and businesses to maximise and manage advertising. Long tails should not just rely on their developers, as they often do not have the specialised skill base to offer commercial advice, even on seemingly basic issues such as advertisement sizes. This can be hugely detrimental, in both the short and long term, to sites wanting to attract revenue from online advertising – particularly display.

Whether a site generates advertising revenue through automated systems, “in-house” sales representation, or outsources to the growing number of sales networks, laying strong foundations for an advertising business as early as possible in the lifecycle of a site is key. The options available and the way these are then presented to advertisers (or to an outsourced sales representation network), are also vital to achieving revenue objectives.

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Here are some initial tips for web site owners to consider in order to monetise their online platform:

1. Revenue streams. There are various ways to monetise web sites – make early decisions on what suits your site and audience and spread your risk by implementing more than one of these streams
2. Ad sizes and placement of ads on the page. Have your ads been seen, and therefore interacted with, by your audience and do your ad sizes fit market standards? While some tailored sizes and placements can be incorporated, advertisers prefer market standard formats and sizes.
3. Campaign measurement and reporting. Advertising is an “investment”, so businesses spending money to reach your audience will expect a measurable “return” on this investment. How are you helping to optimise this return and what processes have you implemented to ensure your advertisers can readily access their campaign results?
4. Site audience measurement. By what method are you gathering your site’s statistical information and are you communicating this to advertisers using the correct terminology and key benchmarks. Many sites are using incorrect terminology and are not presenting the strengths of their sites in the best way.
5. Rate structure. Structure your rate card so you can maximise sales from each client and present advertising options that are achievable for each “budget segment” of your potential client base.
6. Site usability. Are you ensuring the areas, sections or pages that are attracting the most potential revenue are easily navigated, subscribed or registered to?
7. Understand your market. What information are you gathering from your user base on an ongoing basis and how are you utilising this information?
8. Sales collateral. Communicate your sales proposition to your potential market in a professional and effective manner, remembering advertisers are time poor and respond to clear, concise and relevant information that is tailored to their needs.
9. Site processes and procedures. Managing online advertising can be highly manual and labour intensive – having strong processes in place can save you both time and money and ensure that a consistent, professional service is being delivered to your potential client base.
10. Continually innovate and plan. Keep an eye on future opportunities and trends and have the structure and support to adapt and meet the needs of an ever changing market.

Planning a site’s revenue strategy is reliant on several factors, including establishing and building traffic and ongoing support from a web developer. Structuring a well thought-out site, which meets the needs of an audience, and then presenting this to marketers in a highly professional and knowledgeable manner can give them the confidence to invest their advertising spend with you.

Media buyers are looking for measurable opportunities – the challenge for the “long tail” is to present a compelling solution and to make it easy for these advertisers to invest with you.