Newsletter

Of course, you’re very knowledgeable on the content of your
site and the products or services you sell. Why not create a
newsletter for your visitors? Even if a visitor bookmarks
your site, there’s no guarantee they’re going to visit again.
But if you can offer interested articles and tidbits in a
newsletter that you send via email weekly, bi-weekly, or
monthly, you can keep them coming back. You’re providing
them with information that is of interest to them and, in
return, you’re gaining a regular visitor to your site who, if
isn’t a customer at the time, will probably turn into one.
It’s a good idea to put a privacy policy on your site that
applies to customers and subscribers. This way, they
know when they purchase something or sign up for a
mailing, that you’re not going to use their email address for
spam, sell it to other websites, or otherwise find ways to
make them regret ever visiting your site. Free newsletter
templates are available at
http://www.newz2me.com/templates/newsletter-templates.htm
The screen shot below is from
http://www.lockergnome.com
This site has several different newsletters, each targeted to
a subject matter that their visitors will be interested in. The
offer for free newsletter is visible to everyone that lands on
this page. A web developer, for example, would
immediately notice the offer for more information and sign
up. It’s too easy and free not to! And what does
Lockergnome get for this? Repeat visitors, increased
traffic, and, ultimately, a higher CTR with AdSense.

Advertising on Other Sites

We know you have ads on your site to make money. Those
that have ads on your site are paying for them so traffic
comes to their site and they make money too. You’re going
to want to do the same.
It’s your turn to use the search engines. Find high ranking
sites whose content is related to yours, but isn’t a
competitor. Let’s go back to the basket-weaving example.
If you have a basket-weaving site, advertising on a site that
sells products to basket weavers would be excellent
exposure for you.
Just remember that advertising does not have to be
expensive, but that the cheapest advertising can sometimes
cost you the most. Beware of placing ads on sites that
aren’t ranked that high with search engines or who
don’t have a lot of traffic. Even though their cost for you
to advertise on their site may be low, if you’re not going to
get any traffic from it, you’ve wasted your money.
After you’ve found some good sites for your ads, make sure
you’re happy with their ad placement. Observe their site
design and content much like you have your own in the
previous paragraphs. Some sites put ads on the bottoms of
their pages. Is there anything that’s going to direct the
visitor to the bottom of your page? You want your ads to be
visible and to blend into the layout of the page. By doing all
of this, you’ll do as much as you can to insure the ad you
place is worth your money.

Google AdWords

Google Adwords is a way for you to advertise your site.
Registration is comprehensive and is not something you
should rush through. They will allow you to pick keywords
and key phrases and set the price you’re willing to pay per
click. Unlike other sites that are mere ad banks, Google
AdWords allows you to target your audience in the same
way they do with AdSense. Your ad will only appear on
search pages and websites related to your site, using the
keywords and key phrases you’ve chosen. The higher your
click-thru rate and click-thru price is, the higher you’ll rank
in their ads.
The screen shot below shows an example of Google
AdWords. The sponsored links on the right of the page are
paid for by websites and Webmasters through AdWords. Of
course, in this instance, one of the keywords they used was
‘google.’ The Webmaster will pay a set amount per click for
each visitor that clicks through the ad below to his/her site.

Sponsored Ads

Like Google, http://www.linkshare.com and other programs
allow you to pay for sponsored ads. Those ads are placed
on sites whose visitors are likely to be interested in your
site. With sponsored ads, you can target your audience and
achieve more success for your dollar.