When you open an online business, whether from your own website, or a selling site (or venue), you often have the ability to add advertising to your pages. There are a variety of different types of advertising ranging, from Google Adwords to advertising banners, which can produce a steady stream of income for you whether you sell anything or not. This can be a good way to boost your income for very little extra effort.
There are pros and cons, and pitfalls, to consider when thinking about adding advertising to your website or store. First, you need to be sure it is okay to do this. Some hosts and venues have policies against adding advertising, or other links, to your pages. Contravening these policies can result in your listings being pulled, or even your account being cancelled, so be sure you know if adding advertising is allowed.
You should also consider the impact it will have on your pages from the perspective of you primary customers. If you are selling vintage clothing, for example, and your site is covered in flashy ads for non-related things, your customers may find your site less appealing and they may leave to shop elsewhere. Most advertising links to other websites and will also serve to draw your customers away. Where possible try to set your ads to open in a separate browser window or tab, leaving your site open and making it easy for your customers to return to do business with you after checking out your ads.
Ads can produce income in a variety of ways. The most common form is to pay you a nominal fee per click through. That is, every time someone clicks on one of the ads on your site, and goes to the advertiser's site, you are paid a few pennies. It may seem like a small amount but, if you have a busy site, the payment can mount up to several dollars or more each month.
Affiliate ads often pay a percentage of any sales made by the company advertised who people find that company through the ad placed on your site. Depending on the procuct(s) involved this can range from a few cents to several hundred dollars per sale.
Another form of advertising is simply paid ads. In this case you are paid a flat monthly fee to have the ad(s) on your site. This type of advertising results in a regular income but does not have the potential for larger payments in the way pay per click or percentage of sale ads do. It will be a steady payment, however, and may be more desireable for those who don't want to take risks. There are fewer oportunities for this type of ad but they do exist.
Selling (or, more acurately, renting) advertising space on your pages can be a good oportunity to make a little, or perhaps a lot of, extra income beyond your sales revenue. For many it is worth looking into.