Where your ad appears on a site counts very much

When it comes to Web-based advertising, whether you are using text, images, or a combination of both, the key is to make the ads relate to the subject of the Web page on which they appear in a way that’s relevant to the person viewing the page. Another important consideration, however, is the site’s primary revenue stream. If it isn’t affiliate advertising, then the site probably shouldn’t let affiliate advertisements take customers away from the site before closing on a sale.

Where Should I Place Ads?

Where your ad appears on a site counts almost as much as what you say in the ad. Ads can appear anywhere on the page, at the top, bottom, sides or in the center, but choosing the right time and place for an affiliate ad depends a lot on what type of site you are running. The first important distinction to make is between sales sites and content sites.

Sales Web Sites. Your advertisements should be carefully placed so as not to draw the visitors away from your site before you have a chance to sell them your products or services. Running ads on or after an order confirmation page, for instance, gives a web site a chance to generate a little extra income without taking customers away before they have a chance to make a purchase from you. Other informational pages on the site, such as order-tracking pages, also offer you a chance to promote an affiliate program without distracting the customer from making a purchase.

Content Web Sites. You have a little more flexibility in placing your ads on a content web site, as advertisements likely represent the main source of revenue. Your main concern, in this case, is not to go overboard. Content is your hook for bringing these customers back, so ads should not crowd out the stories, discussion threads, product comparisons, and so on that make up the content focus of your web site.

Ideally, you want to run ads for products that are in some way related to your own product or services. If your web site was a wine-of-the-month club, for instance, then after selling customers a subscription, you might suggest a book on wines or wineries that they can find at Amazon.com. You wouldn’t suggest the book on your site’s main page, because that might draw customers away from your site before you sell them a subscription, which you presumably would make much more money on (possibly year after year if they are satisfied).

In some cases product comparisons are a good example you may be able to present your advertisements themselves as content. Say, for example, you run a product comparison web site and compare the price of the latest Harry Potter novel on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Half.com; there is no reason that all three price quotes cannot not use affiliate program links to take them to the item in question. Your customers get the price comparison they are looking for and you get the commission when they purchase the product, no matter which site they decide to go with.