Free but Not Profitable Web Hosting

Contributed by Millie Dearborn

Web Hosting That's Free But Doesn't Look Free

There's a trend out in cyber-land with web hosting. Many companies are capitalizing on the people who want to start very inexpensive web businesses. These companies offer a web hosting service that is free but doesn't look like it. That means that they register a domain name for you so that your site is www.yourdomain.com instead of being a sub-domain of the company's site. Then, you look professional, but you don't have to pay a fee every month. It seems to be the best of both worlds in online business, but there is a catch.

No Ads Web Hosting

First, you probably will have to include a link to the web hosting company's site. That in itself is not a problem because after all, they paid for your site registration. The problem comes in with ads. Many people make money on their websites through content ads, such as Google AdSense. You would run Google ads on your site, and you make money when people click on those sites.

Many of the free web hosting companies will not permit you to run these ads on your site because they do so. That's how they make their money. These web hosting companies may even run affiliate programs related to your site's theme. They are in essence taking a chance on providing web hosting for your site. If your site becomes popular, they can make a significant income with these ads. If your site only has a trickle of visitors, they will take a hit on your registration and web hosting.

Still, most people who run internet businesses make their money from ads and affiliate marketing making your site far less profitable unless you sell your own products.

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