Creating a eCommerce website and hosting it is within the reach of most of us. Even if we don’t know the alphabets of creating a website, we can hire a web developer and do it.

“Unless we get a lot of traffic to our websites, we will not be able to make decent money from an Internet venture. There are millions of websites and the competition among these websites to attract visitors is intense. How can a beginner like me make money on the Internet?” Suresh asked me.

“Statistically only 3% of visitors to any website do an act, such as buying a product or responding to a survey, that helps the website make money. So, it is clear that traffic and income have direct proportionate relationship. But every rule under the Sun has an exception. In many cases, it is possible to make money even with a little traffic,” I told Suresh.

“That’s encouraging. I would like to hear about such projects,” said Suresh.

“One of the ways to make money online is to sign up for contextual advertisement programs such as Google AdSense and Yahoo Publisher Network for your website. Do you know what Contextual Ad program is?” I asked Suresh. He shook his head.

“A Contextual Ad program combines pay-per-click and pay-per-impression advertising. It displays ads that are relevant to the content of your webpages on your webpages. You get paid for valid clicks on the ads on your site or search results pages as well as impressions on your content pages. Anyone with a website or a blog can join this program. It is free to join,” I told Suresh and continued, “Each valid click by your visitor gives you money. The amount of money you earn for each click varies from Rs.1 to Rs.1,000. So, if your webpages can generate high value ads, you will make decent money even if your website attracts low traffic.”

“I think you are kidding. Who will pay Rs.1,000 per click?” Suresh was not ready to believe in what I said. “Whether you believe it or not, it is true. There are thousands of businesses that sell very expensive or high cost niche products. For such companies prospect acquisition cost runs into thousands of rupees. Such companies are happy to pay more than Rs.1000 for every valid click,” I told him.
“Can you please give me an example?” Suresh asked me. “Mesothelioma is a disease that afflicts 3,000 people every year. The disease is caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a known toxin that many irresponsible companies continued to market for decades in the face of scientific evidence proving its danger. Mesothelioma attorneys have made negligent companies pay millions of dollars to asbestos victims. This means lawyers representing Mesothelioma victims earn in millions. So, these lawyers are ready to pay you even $50 ((Rs.2200)) for every valid click. If you send people who are affected by Mesothelioma to these lawyers that will help them to get compensation amount, you will make good money. If you attract just five such visitors a month, you will make Rs.10,000 a month.”

“So, if I create a website that informs victims of Mesothelioma of their treatment options, legal rights to damages and helps individuals locate experienced attorneys with track records of success, I will make big money. It’s exciting,” said Suresh.

“There are two important things to note. The practice of writing content exclusively to attract high value contextual ads is discouraged by all ad networks. You must develop a website on a theme for which you have a passion. For that content you can work to optimize its earning potential. If you try to artificially inflate your earnings by targeting high value ads and keep sending worthless visitors, ad networks will dislike your website and may refuse to supply ads to you,” I said.

“I understand what you mean. I think I need to do a research on the keywords ‘contextual ads’ and ‘top keywords’ and then start my own website,” Suresh said.

I met Suresh after six months. He told me that he had created six websites and maintain them well. Even though his websites attract low traffic, he is able to make good money. “I am very careful about my content. I ensure that the visitors I send to advertisers are good. If I am in doubt about my content, I always contact the ad network such as Yahoo and Google and get their clearance before publishing the content, ” said Suresh. He is earning more than Rs.10,000 a month.

You too can do it. Are you ready to work hard?