Blogging caught on in a major way sometime between 1999 and 2001, mostly as a method of publishing a web log, or online diary. By 2005, however, it was no longer just a way for people to express themselves, vent and connect - blogging had become a viable source of income. Today, almost every blogger puts up an AdSense button, in vague hopes that people will click something. But then again, there are bloggers who earn in the thousands, through a combination of AdSense, affiliate marketing and other ad programs. AdSense is an ad application run by Google, while affiliate marketing is a complex system where merchants pay publishers (or affiliates) for persuading people to purchase a product through a link on their page. How do the bloggers utilize these tools to such levels? Firstly, a blog has to target the right audience. While people who come to make friends, connect and share secrets are excellent assets, they don't bring you much money. A professional blogger needs to attract an audience of people programmed to buy products and services - in a word, a commercial audience. How do you do this? Provide people with value - the surest way to attract their attention and loyalty. Cookie content - a phrase made popular by Brian Clark (Copyblogger) - is the best way to draw visitors and keep them there. Give visitors useful content on a monetarily viable niche, i.e. one that allows you to sell products and services. If your target keyword is racehorse, offer guides on maintenance of racehorses, popular breeding stables, diagnosing illnesses, breaking in and so on. On this page, you can place ads for riding gear, books on horses, tickets for races and so on. But even a website that provides excellent value is as valueless as a diamond in the mine, until it has been brought out and shown to people. This is where SEO comes in. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing a page to move it up in search engine rankings - not just Google, but Bing, MSN and others too. SEO is typically done by manipulating the HTML source code of the website, and additionally by incorporating certain keywords into the site's visible content. These keywords are also picked up by AdSense and similar ad applications, so make sure to use them consistently and creatively. If you want to make money off your blog, be sure to declare this visibly and openly. Self-righteous idealism has been thrown out of the window with the entry of the recession, and wanting to earn money in every possible honest way is no longer a crime. Encourage people to click here to look at the product pages for products you advertise, and be completely honest with them. This is the age of the salesman, and the honest one at that - offer pros and cons, benefits and disadvantages, and show people exactly who will benefit from a product and who won't. With a page that is pleasing to the eye, has ads located in strategic places, and offers honesty and value to its visitors, you have a winning package for yourself and your customers. You can earn money online by monetizing your website via advertising program or affiliate program. Hostgator hosting are one popular web hosting that you can promote and earn some money, more information available from our Hostgator review site.
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