Make Money by Building your Own Website
The first of our money making methods is building your own
website. Owning your own website will give you several advantages but the
biggest edge is that it will open up paths to other money making opportunities.
So it’s best to start here.
Starting a website isn’t as expensive as some tend to
believe. In fact, you can get your own website up and running for $20. That’s
much cheaper than any other form of advertising and even better, you can reach
just as many (if not more) people through a website than any other form of
advertising. Talk about a win-win situation!
Another advantage worth pointing out is that a website will
allow you to reach people all around the world. Virtually anyone in the world
(so long as they have internet access) becomes a potential customer.
Your website will work in your corner day or night, on
weekends and holidays. This is a convenience for everyone involved. It’s a lot
easier to find information on the internet than it is to get in a car and drive
to the local library. By offering this kind of convenience to others, you will
have already made a positive impression on them. In business, your first impression
is the one that sticks out.
This leads to improving credibility. A website will tell
potential customers what your niche is and how much you truly know about it.
Since many people use the internet to research products prior to buying them,
you will want them to bookmark yours.
Overall, owning your website is the first step to growing
your online presence. It opens up endless opportunities toward success. Are you
ready to get started? Here we go!
Registering a Domain
The first step to owning a website is to register a domain.
A domain is simply the url of your website. Most people tend to jump through
this step without giving it any thought while others tend to think too much
that they can never come to a conclusion. It’s important to not take this
decision too lightly.
Do your Homework
That word seems to bring us a feeling of nostalgia – not
necessarily the good kind either. We thought that homework was reserved only
for our past. However, those who are successful find that taking the extra time
to thoroughly research their investments allows them added advantages. So don’t
just pick the first domain name that comes to mind. Go through the process to
get it right.
Next, you want to brainstorm ideas. This involves thinking
of as many possibilities as you can and writing them down on a sheet of paper.
These phrases should connect with your niche. Once you have a list written
down, you’re ready to begin.
Gather Information
Gather information about each of the possible domain names.
Do this by visiting Wordtracker.com and researching the number of
searches that each phrase gets.
Registering a Domain
Now that you have done enough research, it’s time to put
this information to good use. Here, you have several different options. The
only thing I will say for sure is that you do not want to register a domain
with one of those freebie places. Trust me when I say that nothing is free and
you will end up paying for it in the long run.
Keyword Rich Domain Name
Throughout the years, it has been necessary to register a
domain using exact keywords. However, that is no longer as necessary as it once
was thanks to Google’s big update in 2012 called the Exact Match Domain update.
This update specifically targeted websites that only rank due to their domain
name matching a phrase. As a result, content is now the most important factor
for ranking a website, which is as it should be.
This doesn’t mean that you will not want to register a
domain with keyword targeting. It just means that you can’t expect to simply
rank a website by choosing a keyword rich domain name. You will still have to
add content. We will discuss ranking the website in more detail a little later
in the book.
Brandable Domain Name
A brandable domain name is one that matches the product and
services of the content. It can be a short slogan, tagline, or one word company
name. This is actually becoming a popular choice because so many big companies
are buying and holding onto the really good domain names, selling them for
thousands of dollars. A very catchy brand domain can be just as effective as a
keyword rich one.
If you choose to use this approach, ask yourself the
following:
- How would the brand look on a shirt?
- Is it catchy?
- Does it infringe upon anyone else’s copyright?
- How would it look on a business card?
Stay Away from Long and Awkward Domain Names
When flipping websites (more on this later), sometimes it’s
a good idea to go after more descriptive domains. Just don’t let it be so long
and awkward that it’s hard to remember. I would say to keep it to five words or
less. Normally, anything longer than five words starts to become annoying to
users.
Extensions
Extensions come in many different forms. Everyone knows the
.com extension. However, when registering a website it can be a good practice
to go ahead and grab the .net and .org extensions as well. This helps to
protect your brand. You can easily forward each domain to your main website. So
there’s no need to worry about content for each of them. Just focus on a single
website and forward all extensions to your main.
Registering Trademarks
There are several stories of people whom have made a lot of
money registering domains that matched or closely resembled large companies. At
first, these companies just paid the owners to grab the domain. However, in
today’s world these companies have become much more sadistic. Now they are just
taking these poor souls to court and forcing them to hand over domains that
infringe their trademarks (for free mind you).
It’s best to just stay away from trademarks altogether
because if you get caught, then you will likely be forced to give up the
domain.
Registration Process
Now that you know some of the tips to keep in mind, you’re
probably anxious to get started. There are so many websites to register your
domain with that it’s impossible to mention them in a single book. At the end
of the day, the choice if yours. In my experience, I have found that two of
them seem to excel above the others. Those two places are GoDaddy and
NameCheap. GoDaddy is definitely the more popular of the two. No matter where
you choose to register, the process should be something like this:
1. Check to see if the domain you want is available.
2. You will get a list of available extensions for the
domain name you choose. Select the options you want (if available) and continue
on.
3. The next step will likely be to purchase the domain. Fill
out all required information and then make the purchase. In some cases, you can
add a hosting plan to the purchase. If that’s the case, then read the next
section before selecting this option.
Things you Should Know about Web Hosting
Web hosting is where your website files are stored and
displayed for the world to see. This is the highest cost of owning your own
website, but that’s not saying much. Great web hosting plans cost around $10 a
month.
Web Hosting companies are not all the same. Some are better
than others and free hosts will end up being a bigger expense than $10 a month.
Don’t use a free web host. There are too many reasons to list but just know
that websites hosted by these free hosting companies are very easy to spot.
Just don’t do it!
By now, you should know what your niche is. You should also
have a list of goals that you want to accomplish. Whatever the case may be,
choose a hosting plan that offers unlimited storage and unlimited domains. On
average, it will cost an extra $1 to $2 a month – or the equivalent of a soda
pop. The reason is that you want to leave your options open.
Most website owners have at least two domains. For every
main there is a test domain where they try out new ideas before letting it go
live on their main website. You don’t have to do this nor would I even
recommend this for beginners, it’s just something to keep in mind as you learn
gain experience. Let’s face it, it would be frustrating to decide you want a
second website in the future and find out that you’re limited by your hosting
account.
Another tip for choosing a hosting company is to perform a
Whois search for them before agreeing to anything. Any company that has not
been around for at least a year should not be used. Why? Because most web
hosting companies do not last one year. The ones who make it over that hurdle
are normally legitimate companies.
Uptime is another big concern. GoDaddy and HostGator (two of
the most popular web hosting companies) both guarantee over 99% uptime. You
want your website to be active 24/7.
Not all hosting companies are the same. Some excel over the
competition while others are just looking to take your money. Take your time to
research before deciding what company or plan you want to use.
Use WordPress to Build your Website
Now that you have a domain and hosting account, you’re ready
to start building your website. WordPress is, hands down, the best choice for
beginners. It requires no coding knowledge to get started and offers some of
the best SEO tools on the web.
Installing WordPress
Most notable web hosts offer WordPress installation packages
for members. This will be located on the c-panel. To get there, simple type the
following url into your browser:
www.yourdomain.com/cpanel
Find the WordPress installation and simple follow the
instructions. Once you have installed WordPress, you will need to check the
email that you provided for your initial login information. Once you have it,
the link to log into your WordPress website is as follows:
www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin
WordPress Dashboard
Once you are logged in, you will find yourself at the
WordPress dashboard. Although there are enough options here to fill an entire
book with details, I’ll try to briefly explain some of the more important
options available to you.
Settings
This section is where you apply all of the setting for your
website. For now, we will just focus on users. This is where you can grant
people access and manage existing users. You probably want to go ahead and set
up your own password now (unless you want to continue using the one that was
assigned to you).
Pages
This is where you build and control all pages on your
WordPress website. You can either edit existing pages or create new ones.
Posts
This section will be the most used as it’s where all posts
are controlled. Here, you can write new posts, edit existing ones, or even set
up categories. Keep your website organized through keyword rich categories.
Find Keywords
Before adding content to your new website, you will need to
find keywords to use in order to rank your website. The process is the same one
we used to find a domain name. In fact, there really are no difference save for
one. Instead of searching for possible domain names, you’re looking for keyword
phrases that you can use to write content about. Use Google Keyword Generator
to accomplish this. Here are a couple of key factors to consider:
- Number of searches
– First and foremost, you want to use keyword phrases that get a lot of monthly
searches.
- Competition – You
want to stick with keywords with a low competition rate.
Adding your First Post
Although it would take a long time to go through the process
of creating an entire website, I can get you started. Your first post will be
the most difficult but with a little research and writing skills, you can get
it live.
The first step is to log into your WordPress website and
click on Post and then New Post. Now you will have a blank
page staring you in the face. Write an article about your keyword phrase and be
sure to incorporate the exact phrase into your post. Your post must conform to
the following:
- Main keyword in the title
- Provide valuable information
- Maintain a 1%-2% keyword density
Making Money with your Website
Whew! The technical part is out of the way and we can
finally set up your first money making opportunity. The method is to use a
program known as Google Adsense. The way it works is that you agree to host
Google Ads on your website. Whenever someone clicks an ad, you earn money.
Sounds simple, right? It’s a little more complicated than that. Still, Adsense
is a great method of generating passive income. In fact, it won’t take long to
start earning enough to cover the expense of hosting your website. Make no
mistake though, generating money with Adsense isn’t all fun and no play – not
at first anyway.
First and foremost, go ahead and sign up for an account with
Adsense. Read their policies and tutorials on how it all works. This
information will prove invaluable. In fact, most people skip reading Google’s
Terms of Service and tend to break the rules right out of the gate. This will
lead to your website being banned. There are rules for both webmasters and
website content. Both must be strictly complied with.
Prerequisites
You need traffic in order to make money with Adsense but
that doesn’t mean that you can’t go ahead and get it set up and learn more
about how it all works. Just don’t expect much revenue right out of the gate.
With that said, there is one general rule that will
guarantee you long-term success. Post useful, keyword rich content on your
website – prioritize the word useful. There are so many tips out there that
claim to be used in determining website rankings. However, I’ve found through
experience that if you post high quality content utilizing SEO then your
website will get traffic. So focus on adding quality content to your website.
Everything else is secondary.
Next, you will need to make sure you are using a theme that
can easily incorporate ads. It’s a well documented fact that ads which do not
blend with their corresponding website are ignored by visitors. Even if you’re
getting thousands of visitors, you will make nothing so long as they are not
clicking on the ads.
The Competition
Use Google to search for your competition. Visit their
websites and pay attention to their design and the type of content they post.
Look for their ads and how they are incorporated into their content. Finally,
find things that could be improved on. You don’t want to copy their design.
You’re just looking at some examples of what is successful. Chances are that if
the website is ranking on Google’s first page, then they are generating a nice
stream of passive income.
Furthermore, Adsense allows you to specify up to 200 urls to
ban from showing up on ads placed on your websites. It’s likely that some of
your competitors are paying for ads that might show up here. Although I don’t
recommend it, you do have to option of banning their ads from showing on your
site.
Adsense Has Three Money Making Options
We will wrap up this section by going through all three ways
that Adsense gives webmasters to make money.
Content Advertisement
Content Ads make up most of the capital on Adsense. Google
offers their ads in a variety of sizes, themes, and shapes which makes it very
easy to place this content on any website. Since it will also automatically
scan your website, the content within these ads will match the niche of your
website.
Content comes in both text and image formats. While text is
definitely the most common choice, image ads do have their place. Units can
place up to three ads per strip of coding. It’s best to stick to one or to per
page. Through WordPress, you can create a widget to automatically place ads on
new posts and pages. This will save you countless hours of work.
Search Bar
Adsense also allows webmasters to place search bars on their
website. When a visitor uses this to search the web, all relevant content that
is listed works just like an Adsense ad, paying you every time a user clicks.
Referrals
Referring others to use Adsense, Adwords, and other Google
tools will earn you money. While this isn’t the most popular choice for
webmasters, it’s certainly worth mentioning. It’s not click based but the
rewards can be very high. For example, if a user clicks through your link and
signs up with Adsense and then earns $100 or more, then you will also receive a
check for $100 just for referring them.
Payouts
Adsense earnings must exceed $100 before payment is made.
This is so that Google can ensure that webmasters are following all of their
policies. While there are horror stories of webmasters earning $90 and then
being banned for breaking the rules, this will not happen so long as your
website follows all of their rules. This is yet another reason why it’s so
important to read all of the terms or service before posting your first ad.
