Google AdSense isn't the only answer...

Google AdSense is the most widely used ad platforms in the world and for good reason too. All you have to do is slap some ad tags on your page and you're good! The Google AdSense user interface is easy to use and of course, the Google brand is the most well known. There's no secret why they are the most widely used ad platform.

However, Google AdSense isn't the only ad platform you should consider. Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend using Google AdSense but you can make so much more money by combining it with several different ad platforms and strategies:

Ad Networks

There are tons of ad networks across Canada that have a large pool of advertisers at their arsenal. Not only do they have many advertisers, but most of those advertisers tend to be big brand advertisers. Where do you sign up you say? Well keep in mind, ad networks only sign with publishers that have atleast 50,000 unique users per month.

I have received better eCPM's than Google AdSense with ad networks. However, most of them require you to use frequency caps on their advertisements. A frequency cap is the numbers of impressions per user per day. This means you will need to set something up in the background that will show up as a remnant when a user hits this frequency cap. Say your frequency cap was 3 impressions per day per user, when the user has clicked 3 times the frequency cap has hit and another ad platform will have to show. This is where Google AdSense comes in. It is perfect for showing after the ad network frequency caps are hit.

Ad networks are great because the eCPM's are better than Google AdSense. However, you must still keep Google AdSense in the background for those users that browse your site for longer and see a lot of ads. Here is a list of the top ad networks in Canada:

Affiliate Advertising

Affiliate advertising refers to any ads that link to a product or service that is sold online. You receive money if the user that clicks on that ad ends up buying the product or service via commission. Affiliate advertising is perfect for those niche websites. Ideally, you want the type of audience that is looking for a product that is very specific. For example, if your website was about the new Apple iPad and you posted a review on it, why not throw on an Amazon affiliate link at the end and get a commission on your users who end up buying one? Do you think users that read a review of the Apple iPad are motivated buyers? Heck yes!

Affiliate links come in text links, image ads and sometimes even videos. Don't get lured by the pretty pictures and videos though. Your bread and butter is going to be with well placed text links that will seamlessly lead your users to purchasing that product or service. The key is to be targeted and seamless.

Email and RSS

Remember that newsletter you send out every week? Why not throw some ads on there to boost revenue? You don't have a newsletter but you have a blog and an RSS? Perfect! Transfer those guys onto Feedburner and enable Google AdSense ads. You can even setup email alerts via Feedburner that make it easier for your users to keep up to date with your content. And all the meanwhile, you're monetizing the email alerts and RSS feeds that are sending your loyal users back to your website. Win freaking win baby!

So, don't think you should just setup Google AdSense and then forget about it. You can double your revenue without attracting one new unique user. I know I did! All you have to do is splice in ad networks, affiliate marketing and email/RSS ads while having Google AdSense in the background. You can take that to the bank!