Developing first Monetized site. Advice would be much appreciated.

[Burtyboy]

Firstly thanks for reading the thread.

I have acquired itexpo (dot) net which I believe is my best domain so far out of my vast portfolio of 5 domains. Thank God I found this forum before I bought any more is all I can say. Firstly I know it's .net and it's not the desirable TLD of .com

Anyhow I would love some feedback on some ways to develop it.

My first thought was this: A directory of IT expos & conventions that also has eg: google adsense or any other variation that may be better.

I had another thought of "itexpo" having items for sale through some sort of affiliate program but not sure about that or whether I'm ready for it just yet. What sort of difficulty level to develop something like that? given I'd be learning the ropes on this type of site.

Your suggestions would truly be appreciated.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[dcristo]

Not to be rude mate but I don't really think this domain is that valuable or even worth developing. It's a .net, fairly weak keyword, not to mention the fact that IT expos would be very capable of marketing their own expos. When it comes to monetizing a site, adsense should be at the bottom of the list, you're basically acting as a middleman. If it's the only way you can monetize the site, you have to question your business model. I know that doesn't answer your question, just trying to help.

 

[Burtyboy]

Thats cool, appreciate your honesty. But maybe you could give me some specifics?

If adsense is bottom of the list then what is your top of the list or even a good place to start?

Regarding a business model what are some other suggested avenues to monetizing I should look at other than PPC?

Cheers

Jamie

.

 

[dcristo]

In terms of monetization I generally view adsense as supplemental income and never treat it as the primary income source. With the right ad placement usually you can use both adsense and affiliate ads without it negatively impacting your affiliate revenue. Sometimes you have no option but to rely solely on adsense to monetize a site, but it's usually not going to earn you that much. Regarding other business models, you can look at product creation, affiliate marketing, direct ads, just to name a few. All of these have the potential to earn a lot more than what you would make from using a PPC model.

 

[BLazeD]

I would scrap that domain.

Think of your favourite hobbies.

Looking for available domains based on that hobby.

Install a Wordpress blog and start creating content

 

[Biggie]

the name could be more useful and would fit better in .org

imo...

 

[Shane]

Many people believe .net's aren't worth developing. I am not one of those people.

Your focus should shift from direct traffic to organic search traffic.

 

[dcristo]

Many people believe .net's aren't worth developing. I am not one of those people.

That wasn't what I was implying in fact I am developing two .net's as we speak. But if you're going to develop a .net you better make sure you have a solid keyword.

 

[Shane]

That wasn't what I was implying in fact I am developing two .net's as we speak. But if you're going to develop a .net you better make sure you have a solid keyword.

I hear and understand your point. However, I do disagree with you. There are best practices but ignoring them doesn't guarantee failure.


What would 99% of the forum say if someone else asked for the same advice but for TheArtofTheName.com? They'd be told to drop the domain and find something better.

It's important to remember that these are best practices not absolutes. No disadvantage would stop a motivated and talented developer.

 

[dcristo]

I know this is a domain forum but honestly my comments were based on the idea more then anything else. I just can't see this idea really making money. When you are new to the industry you want to taste success as soon as possible not waste your time on projects that likely won't succeed. Otherwise it's hard to stay motivated when you're not sure if what you are doing is really worth it. If my 2nd project didn't work out for me I would probably be in a different career.

 

[Shane]

I know this is a domain forum but honestly my comments were based on the idea more then anything else. I just can't see this idea really making money. When you are new to the industry you want to taste success as soon as possible not waste your time on projects that likely won't succeed. Otherwise it's hard to stay motivated when you're not sure if what you are doing is really worth it. If my 2nd project didn't work out for me I would probably be in a different career.

True and in that regard, I complete agree with you.