Where to find website monetizing experts

website monetizing

[trvdrm010]

I really need some input from experienced web marketers out there.

For the past 5 years I have been creating a lifestyle-related content-rich website with 800+ articles, all unique content with photographs and video links. I have even won some prizes for the quality of my website content. Obviously I am very passionate about the topic I write about.

So far I have tried Google Adsense and, just recently, Commission Junction as revenue strategies. Google Adsense didn't do much, and as far as CJ is concerned, I am getting fairly large impressions (330,000 impressions in 3 weeks), but just a few hundred clicks and $0.00 in sales. My web hosting company is telling me I have 50,000+ unique visitors a month. Now I am thinking of switching to a CPM based revenue model to at least capture some revenue on my impressions...

The key issue really is - I am not a web master / marketer. I am a writer / photographer / creative person who really doesn't enjoy tinkering with web code, meta tags, code snippets for ads, etc.

I'd love to focus on doing what I am good at, i.e. content creation, but I need to find someone who can take over traffic building and monetization. Where would I find such a person? What kind of monetary arrangement should I suggest to them as I don't really have out-of-pocket money to get this started?

Thanks in advance!

[eljefe3]

There's plenty of companies out there if you do a search, but be prepared to pay out a lot more than a small site like your's is taking in. No one will work on a commission basis at this point on your site.

[disgust]

do more research. adsense/ypn etc are likely going to net you the most money for most types of sites.

what was the cpm you were getting? was the problem CTR, epc, etc..?

[trvdrm010]

Thank you for your comments. With Commission Junction I have managed to generate 350k impressions in 3 weeks, but only 250 clicks and no sales. So the CTR is abysmal and the sales are non-existent. I am thinking of switching over to a CPM-based revenue model.

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding which CPM network to use? What CPM based rates have you been receiving and what restrictions (minimum traffic etc.) did you encounter? How many ads should I program on the page at the most? Has anyone used Pubmatic, and if so, what do you think of it?

Again thank you for your input!

[dingloo]

Tribal Fusion is a good one to try as they work on CPM basis.

As disgust said, try out adsense, yahoo publisher network, etc.

Once you do it over a period of time, track the impressions, clicks as well as the cost. Using this you should be able to arrive at the one that is giving you the highest eCPM.

This should help you have a good start.

Once you have these in place, one option is to go with a ad management (free) tool such as Google AdManager (even Tribal Fusion lets you serve third party ads). This way you can get a real time comparison of what works for you from various dimensions, such as the banner types on your site, the position, the geography as well as the ad network that is providing you the highest eCPM for each of the above parameters.


Hope it helps.

[dertyfern]

Have you tried selling/syndicating your content? If it's good and specialized it can be of value to someone.

I've dealt with a site that are like yours, traffic but no clear way of monetizing, and creating your own product is the best way to go--it was in the case of this site.

Adsense doesn't pay like it used to and takes testing and time to workout and affiliate programs have a whole different set of issues that can make converting difficult.

If you can find a way to make a consumable product--be it to a business or consumer--you're best off.

[trvdrm010]

Thank you for all the valuable input. I will try to do more research on all these topics. Thanks so much!