What some people don't get is that a blog can look exactly like a website and no one could tell the difference - so you can have 125x125 ads or whatever you want wherever you want on either, that's just the design. The real difference is that blogs are run by some sort of content management system and usually have some sort of interaction (comments), so you could say they are "writable," they are usually referred to as a 'web 2.0' site because they are writable and because many have the ability to link related articles and display tags, etc. (Seriously - watch this video, it's very educational! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g) Whereas the first websites were just static, in other words webmasters usually had to go in and edit the html pages and then they displayed simply text and images on a screen. So you can sort of think of it in terms of permissions as well as the ease of having a CMS. Web 1.0 was about static sites with little to no interaction (readable for users), web 2.0 refers to more interaction and smarter sites (writable for users). Now web 3.0 is referring to the capability of adding the next "executable" permission - allowing users to create executables on sites and it also refers to sites having artificial intelligence. You can make the same amount of money using a site or a blog, you can use the exact same SEO elements on each and the same content on each and market each in the same way. Personally, I started out creating HTML sites, and then PHP + HTML sites and now I find using blogs (WordPress specifically) is infinitely easier for me - I wouldn't dream of going back!
The bottom line is it all depends on what type of site you have and what you plan to do with it. For some, a static site is best, for others a blog is the perfect solution.