Website monetization can be tricky, especially at the beginning, and just like a house has to have a strong foundation, it has to be done right from a strategic point of view. In this article, we will provide insights on what should be done before diving into it so that you can skip learning it the hard way.
Monetising immediately once you get your first traffic isn’t a good idea for most cases. In reality, if you just throw ads shortly after setting up a website, it’s likely to bring you a few cents here and there, but won’t help you reach the far-going website development goals.
Based on our long-time work with thousands of different websites, we have compiled the list of prerequisites to improve the odds of successful monetization.
When should you start?
To start monetization, we recommend reaching a stable traffic flow of 5,000 unique daily visitors. For security purposes, using the HTTPS protocol is also a must for every website seeking monetization partnerships with ad networks.
The website also has to have a sufficient amount of quality content published. To get approval from the trusted and recognized ad networks including MGID, there should not be fake news, disgusting, adult, sexually provocative, or illegal content. There have to be at least 30 posts, each of which contains at least 500 words. Articles should be unique and align with their headline, pictures, or video. Also, all articles should be dated and the last article has to be posted within 3 days before applying.
Having a good layout and user experience is also essential for efficient work with any ad provider. Make sure your website is stable, complete, could be navigated easily, and gives a positive experience, i.e. pages load fast, all links are clickable, etc. There should be only high-quality multimedia files without any part of them being blurred. It is acceptable to use blur to keep a person's confidentiality if necessary. The website should have a Contact us and About us section and connect links to main social pages.
Ad placement requirements
Next, you can choose the most appropriate mix of ad formats and providers. Remember, however, that putting ads on your website should not deteriorate a reader’s interaction with the content.
The majority of ad providers have their policies on the content-to-ad ratio. Usually, to pass all ads should not exceed 30% of the page content. Avoid pop-unders or having too many banners as it irritates users. Also, all ads placed on the website should not contain adult, illegal content, or other malpractices.
When using several MGID widgets (and also widgets of the same format), create an individual code for each widget. If there is a standard JS-code integration, you should also create separate widgets for every website. Do not place widgets in the prohibited placements, such as placements that overlay the content, another widget, or hidden in a transparent layer.
Bottom line
Monetization is a planned logical step that allows you to generate sustainable revenues in the long run and further grow your audience. Based on our experience, we encourage publishers to go forward with ads once they reach stable traffic flow, post a good amount of high-quality content, and implement key best practices for positive user experience.
