Building a website that is specifically based on driving advertising takes strategic planning. Explore websites that display a healthy amount of advertising and conduct a competitive analysis. Carefully assess these sites to determine what seems to work and why. To attract advertisers, you must have provable website traffic numbers, as advertisers examine traffic statistics and competitive cost-per-thousand advertising fees. Creating high-quality website content that attracts consistent visitors and meeting advertiser requirements is the key to monetizing a website with advertising.

Things You Will Need

  • Website

  • Quality content

  • Quality design

  • Advertising rates

  • Advertising contact information

Select the site's advertising thrust. Sites developed for consumers are business-to-consumer sites. Those targeting businesses are business-to-business sites. Focus on serving one or the other or having two separate sites so that the content and advertising is appropriate for specific audiences.

Pick a marketing niche for the website. When you target your website to appeal to a specific market, this also plays into the demographics that prospective advertisers want to see. For example, a site about inexpensive ways to decorate a first apartment or home could target furniture manufacturers, home decor and home improvement retail stores for advertising. Make a list of every type of company and advertising prospect to target.

Design the website based on the marketing niche, advertising and audience category. A site for consumers should include relevant content and information that connects with the products being advertised. A B2B site should include timely news and updates to help industry professionals stay current on trends and topics. Consider adding an Real Simple Syndication news feed to stay abreast of articles in trade publications and to receive press releases from trade associations and major companies. Hire freelance writers who understand search engine optimization tactics to create keyword-rich and relevant content to up your chances of top positions in search engine results.

Sign up for advertisements from search engines and shared advertising revenue companies. You can create an account at these companies and copy and paste their advertising code directly into your website. These features generally target advertisements tailored to the content of your site, or allow you to select specific advertisers. Advertisements that visitors click on generate the revenue based on predetermined fees. The search engine or advertising company shares a portion of those fees with you. They usually pay on a monthly basis as long as you reach its stated minimum amount. Your account will accumulate revenue until it reaches the payment minimum.

Set your website's advertising rates. Determine how much you will charge for various online ad formats such as banner ads, long tall skyscraper ads or media videos. Develop a media kit or rate card that prospective advertisers can download in a portable document format from your site under a special tab for advertisers. Explore sites in your niche to determine the current rates. Until your site generates sufficient traffic, you will have to offer low rates.

Promote the site to build website traffic. You can do this a variety of ways, pay for traffic, submit content to article websites to drive traffic or provide interesting articles that get picked up by social media sites or use email marketing to drive visitors to the website, as long as you use reputable email sites to avoid your efforts being labeled as spam. Promote your site through social media sites using an avatar or a social media Web page.

Tip

Be patient and persistent. Develop a media kit that describes the audience, why the site is unique and provides a rate card for prospective advertisers.

Warning

Do not spam people to generate traffic, as this is a federal offense subject to fines and other forms of criminal punishment.