Learn How to Make Money Advertising Online in Just 4 Steps

Introduction

If you’re looking to boost your income, learning how to make money advertising online is a powerful place to start. With more people spending time on the internet than ever before, businesses are constantly seeking ways to reach their audiences effectively.

This opens up countless opportunities for individuals to earn by promoting products, driving traffic, and capitalizing on ad revenue. 

Whether you’re new to digital marketing or have some experience, this guide will walk you through proven strategies to make money advertising online and help you get started on the path to online income!

Why online advertising is a great income source?

Online advertising has become a powerful income generator, tapping into massive digital platforms like Google, Facebook, and YouTube, where billions of users spend their time.

This approach is highly effective because it allows advertisers to connect with precisely targeted audiences who are more likely to engage with their content—driving higher conversions and revenue potential.

The flexibility of online ads also means creators have multiple ways to monetize, from display and video ads to affiliate marketing and social media sponsorships.

With so many paths to earning, online advertising provides creators and businesses alike a way to grow profits and build lasting connections with their audiences.

STEP 1 - Choose the Right Ad Spy Tool

When choosing a tool, consider features like platform coverage (Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads), filtering options (by country, ad type, keyword), and reporting functionalities. Each tool has unique features, so select one that fits your target platforms and goals. 

Identify Top Competitors

Research your competitors who advertise frequently online. Ad spy tools allow you to filter ads by competitors or brands in your niche, which helps you track their recent ad campaigns and observe their strategy.

Save Competitor Ads: Use features like “favorites” or “collections” to save competitor ads that inspire you or match the audience you aim to reach.

Analyze Winning Ad Strategies

Examine Ad Creatives: Look at the visuals, color schemes, and copy used in successful competitor ads. Notice trends like the use of video ads, carousel formats, or specific headlines that generate high engagement.

Inspect Ad Copy and CTAs: Pay attention to the language, calls to action, and offers. See what types of CTAs (e.g., “Learn More,” “Shop Now”) are most common in your niche, and how they're paired with urgency or scarcity language.

Targeting Insights: Many ad spy tools offer demographic and interest-based targeting information, so you can see who your competitors are targeting and adjust your approach to capture similar or niche audiences.

Spot Trends in Ad Performance

Track Engagement Metrics: High-performing ads will have visible engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares. Use these metrics to identify which ads are resonating with audiences, noting whether they are new or long-running campaigns.

Timing Analysis: Spy on seasonal or trend-based ads, such as holiday promotions or product launches. Understanding when competitors ramp up advertising can help you prepare similar campaigns in advance.

STEP 2 - Create and Test Ads Based on Findings

For instance, if you find out someone successfully advertising native ads on the Outbrain platform, you can sign up on Outbrain and create a similar ad to start earning. 

First, you’ll need to register for the relevant affiliate program (a quick and free process) to obtain your affiliate link. You’ll include this link in your ad so that any activity it generates is tracked, enabling you to earn commissions from the ad’s performance. 

Mimic High-Performing Elements: While you shouldn’t copy competitors, you can adopt elements like color schemes, CTAs, or layouts proven to work in your industry.

A/B Testing: Use A/B testing to refine these elements further. For instance, test two different headlines inspired by successful competitor ads to see which performs better.

STEP 3 - Setup Ad Trackers and Run Ads

To achieve success and understand precisely what is generating revenue and what is causing losses in your campaign, it’s essential to analyze the statistics.

There are specialized tracking tools available that are simple to set up and provide clear insights into all this information.

STEP 4 - Monitor & Optimize Your Campaigns

For example, if you launch a native campaign and notice that only one site generates commissions through clicks while the other ten result in costs without any commissions, it’s clear what needs to be done.

You would keep running the ad on the site that brings in commissions and stop displaying it on the under performing sites. This way, you optimize the campaign to make it more profitable.

You then repeat this process, cycling through steps 1 to 4, refining and filtering until you’ve established multiple profitable campaigns.

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