Guide to Selling Ad Space on Your Website

If you’re looking for extra ways to monetize your website, selling advertising space may seem like a no-brainer. But, it’s easier said than done, especially for lesser-known sites. There are certain prerequisites that’ll go a long way to convince brands to invest in space on your website.

1. Quality Traffic

Your website traffic is one of the largest considerations for advertisers deciding which websites to advertise on, since they need to feel confident that investing in your ad space will achieve their desired results. While most ad networks don’t set a minimum traffic requirement, you’ll struggle to attract advertisers with less than 10,000 visits per month. If you’re not quite there yet, you can increase your website traffic by brushing up on your SEO and leveraging other platforms, such as newsletters and social media.

Advertisers and ad networks know that traffic can be achieved with bots, which is why they don’t just want to see high footfall, but also high engagement rates. Some ad networks require a bounce rate lower than 50% to sell ad space.

2. Good Content

Creating high-quality content is best practice for any successful website. When advertisers consider their options, they’ll check out your site from the perspective of a customer – does your content entice users and make them want to read on? If so, you’ll be a more attractive option.

Furthermore, if your website content covers harmful, illegal, or controversial topics, you’ll have a hard time selling ads, as you’ll most likely face problems from an advertiser or an ad network.

3. Smooth User Experience

The UX and UI of your website is another top priority to advertisers – frustrated visitors will stay on your site for less time, and will be less likely to see and engage with ads. Advertisers will be able to pick up any website design issues by simply moving between your pages as a visitor would, so you can prevent this by maintaining logical and clear website navigation, mobile-friendly pages, and fast website load time.

4. Trust Signals

Trust signals are cues on your website that prove your authority to your website visitors, such as:

• Explanatory “About us” and “Contact” pages
• Testimonials and reviews
• Awards and achievements

The site an advertiser chooses to promote is effectively a spokesperson for their brand, so it’s important to show you’re a legitimate and beneficial option to them.

5. Ad Servers

Ad servers are beneficial for anyone looking to monetize their website with ads. They work by collecting data from your site visitors’ browser, which their algorithms then analyze and use to control where and who to serve ads to.

Using an ad server will  provide a plethora of insights on your website visitors and how they interact with ads, which will help you optimize the ad content and bidding models you use in the future. Plus they’re a huge part of the programmatic advertising process, so it’s important to have one installed if you choose this method (more on this later!).

If your website hits the above criteria, you’re able to start selling ad space – yay! The question is how? There are a range of ways you can go about this, varying in level of support and profit they provide. Here are the three best ways:

1. Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising is the most popular method of selling ad space. It automates the entire process using AI and real-time bidding, so that once you register your available ad space on the platform, you can sit back and relax.

Advertisers will compete at auction for desirable advertising spots, and your ads will be updated automatically based on the best offer right now.

How To Use Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising does the work for you, so the most important step is choosing the right platform. Programmatic advertising is split into two platforms – the demand side platforms (often called DSPs) are designed for advertisers and marketers, while the supply side platforms (SSP) are for those looking to sell ad space. Google Ads Manager, Amazon Publisher Services, and StackAdapt are popular options for publishers.

2. Ad Networks

If you’re looking to have more control over the content and placement of ads on your website, a traditional ad network is a better choice for you. This platform acts as a matchmaker between your website and relevant advertisers, and differs from programmatic advertising due to its manual nature.

How To Use Ad Networks

First, you’ll need to install an ad network of your choice. Popular choices include:

• Google AdSense
• Media.net
• Amazon Publisher Services

Advertisers will set up their ad campaigns on ad networks and define key areas, such as their targeting and budget.

The ad network will then keep track of your available ad space and introduce you to the advertisers that are most suited, based on their campaign requirements.

Once you’re connected with the right buyer, the ad network will place the ads on your site using an ad server.

3. Direct Selling

Another popular way to sell ad space on your website is to cut out the middle man altogether and reach out to advertisers yourself. This method involves seeking out and pitching to businesses directly. While it’s more profitable when done right, it’s also very time consuming and can be disheartening when you get ghosted.

How To Find Advertisers To Pitch Ad Space To

Since there’s no guidance with direct advertising, it can be hard to know where to start. To help you out, these are my top methods for identifying potential buyers to reach out to:

1. Competitor research: Head over to your competitors’ websites and take note of the products and businesses they advertise. These companies are investing in your market so are likely to be open minded to new partnerships.
2. Keyword research: Google keywords relevant to your business’ industry, niche, or products, and locate the brands advertising in search results.

Once you find advertisers, you’ll need to use the art of persuasion to seal the deal. The best way to do this is creating a media kit with your top numbers, such as your monthly traffic and website engagement, as well as results you’ve had with previous partnerships.

4. Affiliate Advertising

The final method is affiliate advertising, which involves adding promotional links to your website pages. As an affiliate, you’ll be paid every time a user either clicks the link (CPC), or purchases the product or service (CPA).

On the whole, these are much less intrusive than traditional website ads, since – if your affiliate links relate closely to your website content – they can be integrated naturally into your written content.

How To Become an Affiliate

To make money as an affiliate, you need to be promoting products your audience will be genuinely interested in. Amazon’s affiliate program will let you choose from a huge product variety. Alternatively, affiliate networks such as Impact or ClickBank will let you browse a plethora of affiliate partners to find the best brands.

Once you find a relevant program, you’ll need to choose the product or service that you’d like to promote.

After joining an advertiser’s affiliate program, you’ll promote their brand, product, or service by adding a personalized link to your website. Every time a visit clicks through to the link and makes a purchase, you’ll receive a payment, which can be up to 30% of the sale.

Ad space isn’t sold through a bulk payment. Instead, advertisers will pay you based on their desired outcome, which is measured through engagement. While ad networks usually use an impressions-based model, affiliate marketing varies between platforms. And for those selling directly, how you charge will be entirely up to you, so it’s important to know the most popular models:

1. Cost per Click (CPC) — You get paid every time a user clicks on an ad
2. Cost per Action (CPA) — You get paid every time a user clicks through the ad and then completes the advertiser’s desired action, such as purchasing a product or downloading a file
3. Cost per Mille (CPM) — You charge advertisers for every 1,000 views their ads receive, even when it isn’t clicked on directly
4. Cost per Lead (CPL) — You charge for every time a user clicks the ad and provides useful information to the advertiser, such as their contact information

To determine which is best for you, you should use a platform such as Google Analytics to check your website page’s clicks impressions, key events, and engagement time.

For instance, if you have high levels of traffic and less engagement, CPM advertising would be the most beneficial, since this only requires visibility. On the other hand, highly trusted brands in niche markets may be able to earn more money through CPL advertising.

Selling directly has the highest revenue potential, but equally demands much more time, energy and resources since the entire process, from finding advertisers to negotiating a deal, falls on your shoulders.

To make the best choice, there’s more to consider aside from revenue.

• The level of control you want: You set all the rules with direct selling, whereas third-party platforms manage the content and placement of ads for you.
• The amount of time you have: Using an ad network or a programmatic advertising agency will take care of a lot of the ground work and speed up the process.
• The size of your website: Unlike programmatic advertising, most ad networks have no minimum traffic requirements, so are more suited to smaller sites.

Ultimately, I’d recommend small to medium websites start with an ad network, thanks to their level of support and lack of restrictions.

When selling ad space on a website, there are ethics and regulations you need to follow. Although you aren’t creating the ads yourself, you’ll be endorsing them, so it’s important to only post ads that are ethically sound, containing truth, accuracy, and honesty.

Data privacy laws are also vital to follow. These vary by state so it’s important to do your research and  handle your site visitors’ data appropriately.

 The main consideration when choosing how to sell ad space on your website is whether you want to sell directly or use a third-party platform to facilitate advertising deals. Ad networks are the best choice for smaller traffic websites, since they provide support and have low entry barriers. That said, it’s worth looking into direct selling as your website traffic grows, since it has a much higher earning potential.