The wealth of recipes online, free to anyone who wants them, is truly astounding. From comfort food and regional favorites to gourmet dishes and true ethnic cuisine, there’s not much you can’t find. Whatever your palate craves, you’ll find it in the wild of the internet.

If the dotcom crash of the ’90s taught us anything, though, it’s that free content will only get you so far. Billions of dollars were lost when the investment world suddenly realized that these pretty sites weren’t bringing in a hundred revenue. The Internet trembled, sites disappeared, and domain names that were once “hot” suddenly became dark and silent.

Of course, the world of free content is much more stable now. Advertisers have grown accustomed to the way online ads work, and revenue streams have begun to flow in a more streamlined manner that would be recognized by most business school graduates. It’s a shame the grim science of economics has to weigh on the tasty science of cooking, but that’s the brave new world.

One way you can help keep these sites up and running and providing their abundant free recipes is to do something many of us try to avoid: click on the ads. All of these clicks are tracked, and the site you visit sets its advertising rates partly based on them. It won’t take more than a few seconds each time you visit, and your clicks could mean the difference between a vibrant, content-rich site and one that disappears and takes all your toys with it.

Finally, look around the front page of your favorite “little” recipe site. Many of them have PayPal links that allow you to contribute directly to the operation of the site. Many of these sites are not run for profit, and are paid out of pocket by domain owners, either as a labor of love or a vanity project. Your few extra dollars can help keep the site afloat when the owners’ funds are a little shy.

There will likely always be a plethora of recipes available online for free, but you can do your part to help make sure!