Making money from viral traffic differs than that earned from other types of traffic. The fact is that viral traffic lands on your page without looking for something specific, as is the case with everyday traffic like that from the search engines or from a specific link on the web.
Because they come to see the content that went viral, the bounce rate of viral
traffic tends to be higher and conversions much lower.
Viral Versus Regular Traffic Scenario
On the other hand, another user comes to your site because you created a video that went viral because it demonstrates how to make iced vanilla ice cream latte, that user is not likely to be interested in buying a coffee maker. Likely, they already have one and that is why they want the recipe, or they are just curious.
But, there are different ways to make money from viral traffic, read on to learn more.
Grow Email Lists
Make sure to have an opt-in in place and a great subscriber gift so you can get them on your list for email marketing purposes. This is a much more effective tactic than trying to convert them directly, and then you can market to them on an on-going basis via email.
In the coffee example, you can offer an eBook of coffee drink recipes that will engage that traffic to sing up.
Engage Them To Subscribe To Blog Updates
Since viral traffic came to see a particular type of content, it’s best to offer them the same with a blog subscription form prominently placed near the target content they came to see. It is likely they will be interested in getting more of the same type of content in the future.
Prominently display the RSS feed button or the email blog update form, and then cater to them and keep them engaged with more great content. As they keep getting more interesting content, the likelihood of them buying something increases significantly.
CPC Ads)
Google Adsense and other CPC ads see high conversion rates because they are so highly targeted to the specific user that comes to a site. Typically ads are based on recent searches that user has done online and so when a site has a great deal of traffic those click rates and the revenue they bring can be substantial.
Advertising
One of the best ways to monetize high traffic sites that enjoy viral traffic is to offer advertising space.
Advertising revenue increases significantly on sites that have a lot of traffic and it can be one of the best earning potentials for viral traffic surges.
You can use various advertising platforms to connect with advertisers looking to buy ad space, such as, Buy Sell Ads, or engage in direct deals. Make sure to advertise your ad space on site and have an “Advertise With Us” page to provide all the necessary information to engage those looking to buy space.
Get Paid for Leads
When viral traffic won’t convert into sales, a good method of monetization is with CPA (Cost Per Action) affiliate programs. These programs pay anywhere from $2 to $40 or more per lead in specific industries. Netflix pays publishers $25 for every successful free trial sign up on their site. That type of payout can really be lucrative.
The key to converting CPA offers is to make sure and choose highly relevant offers to the content on your site. For example, if your content is about cars and you create a video showing classic car restoration and it goes viral, relevant CPA ads can be placed that refers traffic to insurance companies. The fact that they don’t have to pay anything, just supply their contact information can lead to much higher conversions than other offers.
Testing
The above methods, like any other online marketing tactics require testing to see what works best on your site and within your niche.
Test different methods, different ads and placements, and always make sure to have either a blog update sign up or email marketing list opt-in form with a great offers, as these two methods facilitate the ability to capture their contact information and cater to them on a long term basis.
