WAYS TO MONETIZE YOUR SEO

Raf Bruynseels – Laurent Van DesselJanuary 2010

Introduction

� SEO the last step in web development?

� Convert SEO efforts into maximization of income

� Contextual Advertising

� Affiliate Marketing� Affiliate Marketing

� Read our extended paper at http://www.rafbruynseels.be/docs/monetize_your_seo.pdf

Contextual AdvertisingWhat?

� Most commonly SEO monetization method

� Easy to setup for web publishers

� Web publisher: pastes snippet of Javascript in page � Web publisher: pastes snippet of Javascript in page code � scans content of page (based on title, url, text content, keywords, …)

� Result: website visitor is presented highly relevantadvertisements

Contextual AdvertisingWhat?

� Different type of payouts:

� Pay-per-click (CPC)

� Pay-per-mille (impressions, CPM)

� Cost-per-click � value of one click on a specific ad

� Cost-per-mille � value of thousan impressions of a specific ad

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks

� Ad network: middle man between the web publisher and the advertiser � provide their proper technology

� Google Adsense (will enjoy our focus)

� Chitika

� Kontera

� Adbrite

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Chitika

CHITIKA

� Getting more popular every day

� Doesn’t scan page content to display relevant ads

� Displays ads only for search engine users only � ad content relates search term

� Result: visitor sees only advertisements he/she’s interested in � CTR increases

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Kontera

KONTERA

� in-text advertisements

� CPC lower, but very suitable for high traffic websites

� Perfectly embedded in content � non-obtrusive

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Kontera

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Adbrite

ADBRITE

� Fairly similar to Google Adsense (see later)

� Difference:

� admission policy less strict

� Also in-line text advertisements

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Google Adsense

Google Adsense

� Most popular contextual advertising network

� Very easy to sign up and create advertisements

� Largest pool of advertisers (signed up via Google Adwords)

� Strict admission policy (forbidden topics)

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Google Adsense

� Creating individual ads to display:

� Array of possibilities

� Type (link unit or ad unit)

� Format (size)� Format (size)

� Color

� Channel (to track individual performance)

� Google creates JS snippet

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Google Adsense

Contextual AdvertisingPopular advertisement networks > Google Adsense

� Important to keep in mind

� Don’t click your own ads (accidents may happen)

� Don’t ask your friends to click your ads� Don’t ask your friends to click your ads

� Don’t disclose your earning details in public

� Violation may result to a Adsense ban

Contextual AdvertisingTweaking your ads

� Important: keep experimenting

� Positioning:

� Above the fold� Above the fold

� Near navigation / rich content

� Adsense heatmap

Contextual AdvertisingTweaking your ads

� Design

� Large rectangle best performer

� Color

� Text color very importantText color very important

� Blend within content

� Blue/Darkblue textlinks � related with hyperlinks

� Text ads > image ads

� Banner blindness: banners get ignored subconsciously

Contextual AdvertisingTweaking your ads > Colors

What is Affiliate marketing?

� A method of promoting web businesses

� Affiliates are rewarded

� Partnership with an online merchant

� A win-win-win situation� A win-win-win situation

Examples:

Types of affiliate programs

� Pay-Per-Sale

� Pay-Per-Lead

� Pay-Per-Click

Tracking the visitors

� URL with unique ID

� Cookies

Promote the advertiser’s products (1)

� Text-links

� Easy

� Deeplinks

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� Banners

�Most used

� Flash banners

Promote the advertiser’s products (2)

� HTML-advertorials

� Activity

� HTML code

� Product feeds

�Webshop products

� Integration

� Feed file

Product feeds: Integration

� Processing tool

� Easy

� Limited functionality

� Own script

�More complex

�More flexibility

Hands on: Creating a script

� Product feed

�Which information to use?

� Database (MySQL)� Database (MySQL)

� Insert the products in a table

� Website

� Show the products

Questions?

Credits

� Raf Bruynseels

�Website: http://www.rafbruynseels.be

� Twitter: http://twitter.com/RafBruynseels

� LinkedIn: http://be.linkedin.com/in/rafbruynseels� LinkedIn: http://be.linkedin.com/in/rafbruynseels

� Laurent Van Dessel

�Website: http://www.laurentvandessel.be

� Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurent_vd

� LinkedIn: http://be.linkedin.com/in/laurentvandessel