Webmaster Programs and Website Tips

Improve Your Internet Business

We started TexasCooking.com way back in 1997, a quintessential Internet business run from home, talking about something we truly like, which is publicizing my family's legacy of home cooking skills. The first question I almost always get when discussing my job with anyone is "so how do you make money from all this."

The short answer: It's complicated.

The longer answer: Using all the technologies and opportunities on the Internet, I've been able to parry this into a job that comfortably pays the bills. I decided to create this special page to publicize some programs that we find useful. If you are a webmaster, or if you are a business owner looking to market your website more effectively, read on.

If you are at a point where your website receives over 10,000 page views a month, you can join an ad network that displays banner ads on your website pages. Choosing an ad network depends on what your website is about, who your audience is, and your website's traffic. Once you apply to join an ad network, they will assess your website to determine if it meets their requirements. These include not only page views, but also the content of the website.

Advertising: Valueclick

One firm that we use for our website's ad banners is Valueclick. We had several false starts with other ad companies before finding Valueclick. Once accepted, it was very easy to pick the banner campaigns we were interested in.

The "skyscraper" banners you see on our inside articles and recipe pages are from Valueclick. Valueclick pays you on a CPM basis. This means that you get paid per thousands of impressions. For example, a banner ad might pay $1 CPM. So if your page gets 40,000 page views, and the banner is displayed 40,000 times, then that ads pays $40 gross. Their ad rates are not as high as some other's, however their general audience advertisements are one of the best.

Valueclick also serves pop-under banners at a rate of one banner to one person on a 24-hour basis. We've found their pop-unders to be one of the best programs out there. You can choose to run only their pop-unders, only their banners, or both.

Valueclick has a relatively low requirement of only 10,000 page views per month. However, they also look at the content of the site. Adding them to your webpages is very simple, and its a nice way to generate additional money from your website traffic. There are other advertising companies, like Tribal Fusion or Bust Media, which have much higher requirements for traffic and they are choosier in website content.

APPLY TO VALUECLICK.

If any of you join, feel free to let me know your experience.

Our partner, Labnet, offers lots of programs and help on useful subjects as growing and promoting your website, improving your ranking in search engines, adding an online community, web hosting, etc. Click here to visit Labnet, and learn more.

Steve Labinski
Texas Cooking
Austin, TX

Need a domain name? Renew your domain name?
Domain Name Registration

Want to get your website listed in the search engines? Learn how to improve your search engine ranking.
Search engine submission

Computer Upgrades
Memory Upgrades
Find inexpensive memory upgrades for your personal computer or laptop

Run A Business? Selling ecommerce on your website?
You can team up with an affiliate network to promote your website. Affiliate programs are a great way to inexpensively get your website seen, and to get new customers buying from you. You simply pay a commission on sales they generate. We use affiliate programs successfully on Texas Cooking, and our other websites.
Try starting with the Share-a-Sale network. We have used them, and found folks running them very friendly and helpful. Just click on the button below.

Restaurant Loans: Read our information on creative financing for existing restaurant and retail businesses.

Write for Texas Cooking
About Texas Cooking - Advertise on Texas Cooking - Food Links
Restaurant Loans - Financing Equipment
Webmaster Tips