Do you have a website? Did you know that you can make extra money from your website even if it's just a simple blog or a one-page showcase of your model train? Well, you can! You're probably not going to be the new Bill Gates but you could be giving out fancier Christmas presents next year (or treating yourself to something nice, if you're a Grinch) or simply help pay for the hosting of your website! So how exactly do you go about this? Keep reading!

Google AdSense

This is by far the most common way of earning extra cash from your site because it is so easy to do. Google AdSense is basically the placement of discrete text ads on your site, based on the content. If your site is indeed about model trains, Google AdSense will place ads for model trains on your site. Every time someone clicks on one of the ads, you will be paid a proportion of the advertiser cost per click. You can either make these Google ads stand out on your site to try to get people to click on them or have them blend in if you prefer to maintain the aesthetics of your site.

For more information go to the Google AdSense page at: google.com/adsense/login/en_GB/.

Affiliate Schemes

The second most common way of making your website make you money is to sign up to a so-called affiliate scheme. This is basically the promotion of specific companies? goods on your site. Should someone click through and purchase something, the company will give you a slice of the cake. Once you've signed up and placed the necessary bits and bobs on your site, all you do is sit back and watch the money roll in!

There are two slightly different types of affiliate programs; one type is run directly by the company itself (with this type all you do is choose a company who has an affiliate scheme and whose product might be of interest to the readership of your site). The web host Daily, for example, has an affiliate scheme that lets you choose from a variety of banners so that you can get one that fits best with your site. They will give you joining credit of ?10 and 30% of any sales you've helped generate. Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

Here are some other companies with affiliate programs:

Amazon

eBay

iTunes

The second type of affiliate scheme is one found on one of the huge affiliate networks like Tradedoubler, for example. Hundreds of merchants are signed up to these networks hoping that potential affiliates will promote them on their sites. That makes things a lot easier for you - it's easy to find merchants that fit the content of your site, as they're all gathered in one place. In addition, you usually get good commission rates because the companies are competing against each other to woo you. It's usually free and once you've joined you'll be able to choose the best banners and text ads for your site.

In both types of affiliate schemes, you will be paid either a cash amount or a percentage of the sale that occurred as a result of someone clicking on the ad on your site. It's up to you how much you want to promote the product advertised on your sites. Some websites are specifically designed for the promotion of a company's product and some of these websites make a lot of money. If you can build a site that gets a lot of traffic (that generates lots of sales), perhaps you CAN be the new Bill Gates!

Here are some of the top affiliate networks:

Tradedoubler

Commission Junction

Affiliate Future

Affiliate Window