Posted on February 14th, 2010The web, for years, has been a useful medium for getting all kinds of data and information to people around the globe. This has been a technology that has revolutionized the way the we interact with each other. Now with the advent of smart phones and laptops, we are always connected, even when we walk down the street. Content providers enjoy the accessibility that they now have with people on the go. No longer do they have to wait for a television network, or radio station to approve their content. They can create something and throw it on the web for all to enjoy. But there has been one big drawback for all of this new content that has been provided. It is still hard for the content providers to be paid for their hard work. Even though many love providing this content, they still have to make a living. One way of doing this is to provide advertising on their web site. The only question is,which type of advertising should they present to their users?
Most people, when they learn that you can make money on the Internet with their content, will sign up for a default adsense account. They will let Google dictate the ads that are shown and this leads to them getting a small cut of the action. This is great for people that do not try to make a living on that one web site but if you are trying exactly that, you might need to find an alternative to adsense. There are many ad networks that you can choose between. After you choose one, the next step will be, which type of advertising should you use? Should it be CPC, which stands for cost per click(this is similar to adsense but may pay a little more) or should you use CPA, which stands for cost per action. Both have their strengths and their weaknesses. CPA tends to pay a lot more, but CPC tends to have a higher percentage of people click on it and make you money.
The choice that you make all depends on your user base. You should try out both methods and see which one, people respond to more. Try out a CPC method for a couple of days and see how well it does, and after you can try out a CPA method and see how well that does. If you are really trying to get a statistical number, you can try to split test the advertising. Split testing is when you set up a program, that will rotate your advertising with each passing visitor. You use this to see what kind of response your ads are getting from your viewers. Either way you decide to go, they both allow your visitors to make the decision for you.
Both CPA and CPC can bring in money to your web site. If used effectively, you can have your site seeing a great deal of profits in no time. At the very least you will be using your web site to make a living off of.