Monetization Strategy

One of the keys to ensuring maximum profits is understanding your traffic and matching it with the right kind of monetization.

Contents 1 Parking 2 Direct PPC Advertising 3 Affiliate Programs 4 Custom Built Sites 5 Long Term

Parking

Parking is arguably the quickest and easiest way a domainer can make money after she/he has purchased the domain. It's also the most widely used.

Most parking companies have automated systems that attempt to identify the keywords found in the domain and then match it up with categories, graphics and PPC advertising.

Direct PPC Advertising

This is the "DIY approach". Rather than give a % of your PPC advertising to a parking company, you could sign up for PPC advertising yourself. However there are usually strict controls on parked domains, so be sure to check before you begin work.

Affiliate Programs

Niche domains can often perform well in this category. Combining valuable content with affiliate links can lead to big profits. It's a different model than parking as you are focusing on a conversion rate (rather than a click-thru rate).

How do you do it? Join an affiliate program that closely relates to the theme of your website. Then, place a link to a specific affiliate/product on your website. If visitors click on the link, you get a percentage of a profit if a sale is made. Of course, you should join several affiliate programs and give preference to those that offer a lifetime commission option.

Custom Built Sites

This is the future of domaining. Building sites with something to offer - real content, social networking, communities etc.. The key is finding a model that works, be it subscription based or a combination of affiliate products and PPC.

If you are building a site yourself, give some serious thought to selling your own advertising. This could be in the form of banners, pay per click etc.. Do some research on what competitors are charging and go direct to relevant advertisers.

Long Term

When deciding on a monetization strategy, you need to think about what you want to achieve.

• Do you want to build up an asset in the hope that a larger entity acquires you?

• Do you want to make a quick buck, with a view to selling the domain in a year or two?

This will ultimately determine that path you need to take.