Easy way to make money from a website in 2023

Your own website can be a source of stable income. Although the competition in today’s Internet is fierce, there are thousands of ways to attract an audience and then monetize the traffic. Affiliate marketing is one of the most accessible ways of monetization, and by “accessible” we mean that it doesn’t require big investments. Keep reading, to see how you can create a high converting website and effectively monetize it using one of the most reliable methods – affiliate marketing.

What is affiliate marketing

It’s a form of interaction between advertisers and website owners, who are called “affiliates” or “publishers”. Affiliates promote services and products, receiving a commission every time users click on their links and perform a targeted action on the advertiser’s site – a purchase, subscription or download. Thus, advertisers expand their audience, increase the profit, and publishers generate an income stream for the promotion of services and goods.

How to start earning with affiliate marketing

First of all, you need a website with an active audience. Many people assume that only million-visitor resources can make money from affiliate marketing. In reality, you can make money with a smaller audience. The most crucial factor is to choose the right niche – the niche you’re proficient in, otherwise you’ll have to hire copywriters who will create unique content with useful information.

Now that you have a website filled with interesting content, you need to find advertisers. You can search for them yourself or through a CPA network. If you don’t have much time and you rather spend it on improving your website and creating more content than on searching for affiliate programs, comparing the payments and solving technical problems, then working through a CPA network is the best solution. Besides, if you register at CPA network you will get access to thousands of offers from top advertisers.

How much can I earn on my website?

Affiliates can be divided into several groups according to the level of income they make from affiliate marketing:

• Affiliates with low income – $300 per day.
• Affiliates with average income – $300-3000 per day.
• Affiliates with high income – more than $3000 per day.
• Pro-level affiliates who earn $10,000 or more per day.

Income from affiliate marketing can exceed a stable 9-to-5 job salary, but as in any business, you need persistence and the desire to improve your skills. Different approaches bring different results. Successful affiliates learn and develop their approaches (sometimes also called “bundles”) – sets of strategies to promote products and services more effectively and maximize profits.

Also, no approach can show top results all the time, so you need to keep your hand on the pulse and constantly catch new trends.

How to create a high converting website 

Having a website makes it much easier to promote affiliate services and products, but surely not every website will make you money. What you need is an effective selling tool.

The abundance of website builders has both made it easier and harder for affiliates. There are a lot of options for sites for almost every niche, but experience of thousands of website owners proves – it’s not the beauty of website design which converts, but following certain rules. These rules apply to both affiliate websites and online stores. Here are the most important ones:

• Website usability

This term combines functionality, simplicity and clarity of the website. The user should instantly understand the site’s navigation and access the information they need. The more cluttered your website looks, no matter how beautifully it is designed, the more likely that a user will simply leave, because they didn’t find the needed information. Clear and understandable menu with subcategories and filters – all this helps a user to find what he needs and at the same time catch user’s attention with other products/services.  

• Mobile version

Adapting the site for mobile devices is no longer just one of the possible options, but a necessity. More than 70% of people in the world go online with smartphones, and this trend will only strengthen. For example, the American giant Walmart increased its sales by 98% after adapting the mobile version of its website.

• Page speed

Your website is slow – the user is gone within the first seconds. Today, when there is no shortage of online resources, no one will wait for your site, so don’t forget about the importance of this factor. 

• Security

Visitors should see that your resource is protected by the security certificate such as SSL certificate which establishes secure connectivity between a user and the website. A lot of users look for HTTPS and a green lock in the address bar before trusting a website with their information. The indication that your site is absolutely safe will convince a user of the correctness of their choice. 

Also, address the website’s privacy policies that customer data is not shared with third parties. 

• Value proposition

Show in a single phrase why a visitor should want to buy a product or service, how it will help improve their life or solve their pain point: grow beautiful hair, lose weight, create comfort at home, etc. This is the phrase that is placed in the most visible place on the page, so the user immediately understands how a particular product or service will benefit them. Don’t come up with catchy, but empty slogans. There are already too many of them on the Internet, and you won’t stand out by using them. 

• High resolution photos and videos 

High resolution visual content is a must for any high converting website. In reality, it’s not text that converts, but photos and videos. The worse the quality of photo/video materials – the faster a user will leave your site thinking it’s a scam, and they will be right. You probably noticed that some one-day websites often feature blurry pictures of people and products, where you can even see the pixels.  

And of course, don’t forget about the usefulness of the photo: if you prepare a product review, add photos of products from different angles. Technical characteristics are also very important: page speed again, all photos should load quickly, a long wait always annoys users. Who didn’t close a tab if it took forever to load an image?

• Social Proof

Having reviews on Google, Trustpilot, social media, cooperation with famous companies, being featured in magazines/newspapers is a huge plus in the eyes of your users, because it says your resource is reliable and trustworthy. Place icons of these resources, so visitors can immediately see them.  

• Customer testimonials

Reviews are another huge trigger for spending money. It’s important for people to know that there are those who have already bought this product or ordered this service and were satisfied. This works psychologically – it’s important for us to justify the need to buy with similar experiences to other customers. That’s why reviews are placed on the main page in one of the most visible sectors of the website.  

Remember – reviews have to be believable. A rating of 4.8 looks a lot more convincing than a perfect 5.0. 

• Special Deals 

Promotions are a good reason to click and buy quickly. The best place for putting the information about discounts and promo codes is on the home page at the top or on the main banner – a user should see the benefits of the purchase right away.   

• “You might like it”

When a customer sees the “you might like this” phrase they will most probably like it. Seriously, a lot of people look through related items selection out of curiosity, but a big part of all these users end up with buying something else in addition to what they were going to purchase in the beginning. 

• CTA

The call to action button should be visible to a visitor and stand out with the color. It’s better to create one clear and understandable call to action rather than a lot of buttons with different appeals which will only confuse visitors, because the choice always gives rise to doubts and delays the performance of the targeted action. 

• FAQ

The FAQ section dispels buyer’s doubts and provides more information on the products, especially for the more expensive segment. Remember – any additional information is a big step towards completing the purchase, because the more we know about the product – the less we hesitate.

Takeaway

When developing their own online resource, many people already know exactly what methods of monetization they will choose. This is usually done either by experienced affiliates, or by those who are experts in some field and who know exactly what will attract a certain audience, and can figure out which way of monetization will be effective. There are also those who focus on content first and start considering the ways of monetization only once they earn the attention of users.

Affiliate marketing stands out because it allows you to make money by offering services and products which are interesting to your audience. For example, if your site is about cars, you can promote car accessories and services that you know or even have tried and get money from each new user. Thus, your audience will trust your expertise, click on your affiliate links, perform the targeted actions, and you will generate more sales and hence, earn more. This is difficult to achieve working just with contextual or targeted advertising.

If you decide to leverage affiliate marketing, you will most likely need a website. A highly converting website is not necessarily a website with a unique sophisticated design, surprisingly or not, quite often it is just a simple and functional website with high-quality visuals and sections, sharpened to attract and retain users. If you already have a website and want to monetize it, join Indoleads. We have over 2,000 affiliate offers from top advertisers and a dedicated account manager for each of our affiliates.

Start making money with Indoleads!