When your goal is to make money online it can be very frustrating to figure out what programs available on the Internet are legit and which are scams. It’s tough to decide with so many programs following similar scripts. These scripts consist of landing pages with luxury cars and massive homes or someone lounging on the beach with their laptop and a cocktail. One would think if these programs are so successful why are they willing to share that program when they can just keep it for themselves.
The truth is a high percentage of the people behind these landing pages are not making money at all. They are simply attempting to present the facade of wealth to entice the website visitor in hopes of gaining an easy conversion. Of course there are some solid programs available that do work and it’s just a matter of performing proper research to find those programs.
One of the easiest methods of making money online where you are in total control is to create a website. A website provides a platform where you can share your views and ideas with the world and make money from it. Your website ideas can result in a product or services that are beneficial to someone. You can also provide information which is sought after by people every day in all walks of life. The key is to provide information that people seek.
Below I’m going to outline the necessary steps to create a website from scratch. I will also provide information on how and when to monetize the website so you can actually start to benefit from the work that you have put in.
1. Find hosting for your website. There are several low costs hosts available, but I personally believe that HostGator (Use coupon code: Jasonsdiscount to receive a 25% discount) is the best host for the price. They have plans as low as $4.95 a month and you can get your first month of hosting for one cent. They also provide access to great web platforms like WordPress or template based software like SiteBuilder. HostGator also provides unlimited domains so if you have multiple ideas you can setup more than one website.
2. Write down ideas for the website. For many people this is the most difficult step. There’s really no reason for this to be difficult because it’s as simple as writing down what you like to do. The Internet is an information machine and you’d be hard pressed not to find anyone that has interest in whatever skill set you have. It’s important that the ideas you choose are relevant and it needs to be something that can be delivered using information, products or services.
Below is a short example of this process:
Bob decides he would like to start a website. He obtains hosting and now needs to decide what the website will be about. Bob is an excellent cook and decides he would like to create a website about cooking and his goal is to provide recipes and cooking tips.
The example I used above is very basic. A website can provide information on a variety of subjects. It’s really all up to the creator.
3. Register a domain name. You can register a domain name using your hosting service or you can use registrars like Godaddy or Register.com. Your goal should be to find a domain name that contain keywords that describe your site. I’d also recommend registering a .com domain name instead of a .biz or .info. You can use the Google Keyword Tool to see how often people are searching on keywords that you plan to use in your domain name. When using the keyword tool focus on finding keywords that generate a number of searches, but have low competition.
Below is a short example of this process:
Bob has decided that he wants his website to be about cooking. He goes to the Google Keyword tool and types in different names to get an idea of the number of monthly searches for that name. He decides to use the name “Bob’s Cooking Tips”. He realizes that the name may not be available on GoDaddy, but his goal is to use any suggestions from GoDaddy around the “Cooking Tips” name because based on the Keyword Tool the keyword term gets over 5000 searches a month.
4. Log into your hosting control panel. If you decided to obtain hosting services from HostGator. You would log into your control panel and install WordPress. It’s a very easy process and if you are not comfortable you can get assistance from your hosts support staff. Once WordPress is installed you will receive an email with all the information you need to access your website.
Below is a short example of this process:
Bob has settled on a name for his website and now he’s ready to get started. He logs onto his HostGator control panel and selects the option to install WordPress. Once the installation is complete he receives an email with the information he needs to log on to his website. Using his web browser he logs into the administrative area of the website and starts browsing through the free templates available that he can use for his website.
5. Add content to your website. Before you can make any money from your website you need visitors. And to get visitors you need content. People need a reason to come to your website so you need a lot of good content to attract visitors. Adding content can be a lot of work. It can also be difficult for people who have good ideas, but are not good writers. There are a number of resources available on the Internet that can provide assistance with content creation. A few of these resources are listed below:
- Unique Article Wizard – Provides a complete system of unique article generation, directory submissions and much more that will also aid in traffic generation to your blog or website.
- Iwriter – A website that focuses exclusively on writing content. The pricing can range from $2.00 to $10.00 per article depending on how many words are in the article. If you would like a quality article I would suggest paying a bit more to ensure you employ more experienced writers.
If you elect to use writing resources you basically let them know what information is required in the articles and you don’t pay a dime if the work does not meet your expectations. You can also accept articles and modify them as needed to fit the writing style you are trying present to your visitors. If you are comfortable writing your own content your goal should be to add three to five articles per week. As your site content increases you can decrease the number of articles to one or two a week.
6.Getting traffic to your website. There are plenty of websites on the Internet collecting dust because their owners didn’t understand the next steps after the website was created. If you are patient it’s not that difficult to eventually drive traffic to your website as long as your site contains valuable or unique information. Some things you can do to get traffic to your website are listed below.
- Your website needs to be active. Add content regularly. A static site is not going to generate many return visitors so focus on keeping fresh and unique content.
- Be a leader not a follower. It’s likely that you are not the first and won’t be the last to provide information on your website’s topic. Set yourself apart from others so people have a reason to visit your website and shun the others. Focus on outdoing others in your niche by providing unique content, more information, etc.
- Create articles on Web 2.0 sites. Use sites like Hubpages, EzineArticles and Squidoo to establish an online presence. Promoting your website through article creation is a very effective tool that gets results. You can use core articles that you have already created and use spinning software like Unique Article Wizard, so they are unique.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Understanding SEO is important. Find a low competition key word using the Google Keyword Tool and then ensure that you optimize your title and add the keyword in the body of your articles or posts. Add one-way and reciprocal backlinks to your website by using free directory submission websites. WordPress has several free SEO plugins that will help with optimization.
- Yahoo Answers can be a great resource. You can setup filters so you are emailed when specific questions fit your criteria. You can respond to these questions with useful information and then use your website as a source.
- Use social networks. Facebook and Twitter can be effective ways to promote your website if done so without spamming.
- Post on forums. Find a forum that is similar to your website’s information or services and start posting useful information. After you create enough posts start using a signature that links to your website. This method can be very effective if you are answering questions with knowledgeable information that people think highly of.
Yaro Starak gets 2,000 to 4,000 unique visitors to his blog everyday. He provides a valuable guide on search engine optimization that can be very instrumental in helping bloggers generate traffic. To watch a video about this guide….click here.
7. Monetize your website. The traffic stage will take a bit of time so patience is needed. Once your website is getting over 5000 visitors a month it’s a good time to start making money from your website. You can use Google Analytics to monitor your website’s traffic. The list below provides different ways to monetize your website.
1. Contextual Advertising – A form of advertising that appears via ads on websites using banners or within the content that resides on the site. Some of the more popular Ad programs are:
- Google’s Adsense
- Chitika Online Advertising Network
- Adbrite Exchange
2. Affiliate Marketing - The process of promoting a product or service for online advertisers or merchants. Some well known affiliate programs are listed below.
- Clickbank
- Amazon Associates
- Commission Junction
3. Selling a product or service – If you don’t have a product or service to offer you can resell someone else’s product using Master Resell Rights (MRR). Using MRR you can keep 100% of the profits from any sales you make. The product selection is vast so its a great option if you have multiple websites.
4. Direct Advertising – Offering space on your website for the purposes of advertising. To be successful using this method you have to have a website that generates a lot of traffic. Before you can use this method your site must mature and show consistent quality traffic. Direct advertising is the ultimate in passive income. Many webmasters earn thousands of dollars a month using this method alone.
Creating a profitable website takes work, but it’s far from impossible. The steps above are basic, but it’s enough information to understand what it takes to create and monetize a website. How much you profit from a website is ultimately up to you and how hard you work to succeed. This is not an overnight process, but with good planning, patience and devotion, generating a substantial monthly income is easier than you think.
Tip: There are several all-in-one products available that can help you start and build your business online. One of which is SBI, which focuses on creating an ebusiness and not just a website or blog. They have a proven track record of helping aspiring business owners create and market successful businesses using a combination of business-building processes, tools and guidance. If you are interested in learning more about SBI check out my review.
