One of the most often asked questions from novice webmasters is: How do I monetize my site? How do I earn an income from my site or blog?

The solution is quite simple, yet the effectiveness (read how much you will make) can be very complex and complicated. There are so many factors involved, it is more than just throwing a few banners or text ads on your site. Factors that will greatly determine how much income you will derive from your blogs or sites.

Maybe it is better to start from the very beginning, before you even start to build your site or blog. The first factor you have to realize - the Internet is run by search engines. There are exceptions but for the most part the search engines will determine how many visitors your site will receive.

And to simplify things further, by search engines read Google. Mainly because Google will deliver the majority of your traffic. MSN and Yahoo will deliver traffic but not in the numbers Google will.

Next, while the Internet is run by these search engines, its powered by KEYWORDS. Understand this fact fully, and your life as a struggling webmaster will be over.

Keywords and keyword phrases are what people place in the search engines when they're searching for information or searching for a product to buy. Obviously, keywords are the source of your online income, they're the building blocks of any income from your site. Therefore, you have to choose your keywords carefully. You need ones that people are using and searching for on the web.

Use resources like Wordtracker.com or Overture.com to find the best keywords. One excellent resource is www.nichebot.com - it will not only give you the number of searches made for any given keyword but it will also give you the ratio of numbers of sites to exact keyword phrases, i.e. it will give you the amount of competition for your keywords. You can proceed or act accordingly. The lower the ratio, the better chance you have of placing your site on the first page SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).

Getting on those pages will be your first step in really monetizing your site or blog. You can do yourself a big favor by placing your main keyword phrase in the title of your Domain. For example, if you have a site on Gaming Laptops - place those keywords somewhere in the title of your site or blog.

In your content or webpages always construct or create pages around keywords that have a product attached. For example, if you have a page entitled 'Best Gaming Laptops', more than likely your visitors will be searching for the best gaming laptops to buy. Monetizing your site will then only be a matter of finding affiliate programs to match this keyword phrase. (High end gaming Laptop Manufacturers). Or placing Google Adsense text or image ads on this page. Another popular alternative to Adsense is the new upstart - Chitika eMiniMalls, interactive/search/product review banner ads.

Another good strategy is to pick affiliate products that are high paying where just one click can result in $100 or more. Where to find these affiliate products? Some top general affiliate programs are Amazon, Commission Junction, LinkShare, Clickbank -- all these reputable programs lists thousands of products that sell well online. These programs will also send your checks out on time!

Once you have this simple system worked out: high searched for keyword + low ratio competition + matching affiliate link or banner = $$$

You will be well on your way to monetizing your site or blog. Look for popular unexplored niche areas for your content or webpages and you will increase your earnings. Try out different keywords and see which ones develop into an income stream on your site. Explore the successful ones with variations of your main keyword. Example, 'Gaming Laptops UK'. Then get affiliate products to match these variant keyword phrases.

It is a simple formula you can follow time and time again, with all your keywords.

There are countless ways to monetize your site or blog, but trying the system described above will give you a head-start on your competition. Perfect this system and you will be on your way to becoming one of those much talked about success stories on the web. Better yet, you can remain totally anonymous, and quietly earn an income from your webpages day after day. Keep everyone guessing and wondering just what's putting that smile on your face?