How to Make Money on Building a Website

Make Money Building Sites and Selling Ads
1. Sketch out your site design and page layout. Plan to keep areas on the page that are proven to be effective ad spots completely free of editorial content. According to advertising strategists and ad providers such as Google, ads placed in specific strategic areas perform better than other areas. Exemplary ad spots include the areas right above your page's primary content, as well as the left-hand and top rows below your main navigational bar.
2. Build the site. You may choose to use a visual site editor such as Adobe Dreamweaver, or a basic text editor (e.g., TextEdit on a Mac or Notepad on a Windows PC) if you are comfortable with manually editing HTML code. Make notes in the HTML for where you wish to place ads.

3. Upload the site to your web host using the FTP software. If you do not have a web hosting account, you may register with one of the many popular web hosts that provide low-cost hosting. These include companies such as Fat Cow and Pronet (see Resources). To ensure economic feasibility and maximize their online profit, entrepreneurs who build sites for the purpose of hosting ads typically choose such low-cost hosting providers to keep overhead costs down. Some services will even provide sites with vouchers for free advertising on popular sites such as MSN and Google.
4. Sign up for an automated advertising program. These programs are typically the best way for new sites to sell ads. The advertising program manages and serves the actual ads through a piece of code that you place on your pages, and you are paid for each click or view that a customer generates on your page. Popular advertising programs include Google AdSense and Yahoo! Publisher. Insert the ad code in the placemarkers that you set in Step 2. Save the updated files to your web host.
5. Create your own private advertising program once your site has generated a significant amount of page views and unique visitors. A private advertising program, where advertisers provide you directly with ads and you set your own prices, is typically more lucrative than an automated ad program such as Google AdSense. However, advertisers will usually be wary of buying ad spots on a new site until it has proven that it is generates significant publicity. You may choose to set ad prices for your private program at a low level and raise them gradually as your site gains more viewers.
Make Money Building and Selling Websites
6. Find a niche market that does not have very many competing websites. A simple search on your favorite search engine will generate lists of websites for those specific keywords. Narrow or widen the keyword search until you find a market that does not have very many pre-existing websites. For example, 'pet care' is a competitive market with many pre-existing companies. However, 'Pomeranian dog care' has a much more narrow focus with very few sites serving this demographic.
7. Build the site using a text editor or visual site editor. Fill the site with unique content that is directed toward your market and the keywords on which you are focusing on. For example, a Pomeranian dog care site may have grooming tips, feeding guides and photos of Pomeranian dogs. Five to 10 unique pages are typically enough to create a relatively complete guide to your niche market.
8. Upload the site to a cheap web hosting account that provides free domain names. Your goal is to keep your overhead costs low so that you can maximize the income you make when you sell the site.
9. Calculate the price for how much you wish to sell your website. Add up the cost of web hosting, as well as the time you spent building the site. Then, determine how much profit you wish to generate off of the sale. Typically, entrepreneurs add a 30- to 40-percent overhead cost to their site's actual fees. You may also wish to consider how large the market is for the site you're selling. For example, a Pomeranian dog care site may not attract as many potential buyers as a site on men's skin care.
10. List the website for sale. You may choose to use general purpose listing sites such as Craigslist. Alternatively, you may use companies that are specifically operated as a marketplace for selling sites. Examples include the SitePoint Marketplace or WebsiteBroker (see Resources).