You will not get rich overnight with this; that is not my purpose for writing. You will make money in your spare time. How much is totally up to you!
I am going to take you through each step. Some of this you might know, but I think it is good to start from the basics and move on from there. This isn’t to insult anyone's intelligence at whatever level you are currently at…it is here to establish a baseline.
There are a few things you need to get going:
I am known as the king of the 99-cent domains! "99 cents for a domain", you say???? The ones you have, (or, plan to purchase), may have already cost you between $6-$9! This is true if you go to a registering service. I will get into them later. I have been buying my names on eBay. They are not the best of names, but they are cheap. Some of them have months left on their term before expiring. I keep the ones that do well and resell the others back on eBay. Again, some of these I develop and some I park. When I first started I got everything, and some of the names were pretty bad. I now look at each name and ask myself if this is a good buy. By this I mean, is it easy to remember? Would I type it in or look for the URL in a search engine? My buying has improved since I have joined www.namepros.com. It is a forum for domain nerds like me, or just the curious. They are a great community to ask questions, get appraisals, and buy/sell names. JOIN THEM.
When you get names on eBay, you need to check the info for accuracy.
Here are some resources:
Great! You Now Have a Domain Name….What Next?
You have to choose what you want to do with the name. You can develop it and runs ads on it or, use a parking service. Using a parking service is probably the easiest to do. You don’t need to know how to make a website or pay for hosting services.
Step 2: "Parking" Your Domain Name
There are many “parking†services out there and I have tried most of them. Domain parking is a service that will display single web pages loaded with links. The parking service has solicited the advertisers so you don’t have to worry about all the logistics. The links shown when your domain name is parked with them should be relevant to the subject matter. You don’t want gambling links on a domain name that is about computers. A visitor on your site has to click on a link in order for you to get money. This is what’s called “PPCâ€, (Pay-Per-Click). The payout varies on what the advertiser has paid the parking service. Generally it is a few cents to dollars! The advertisers are also competing on where they are on the layout on the parked site. The higher they pay, the better the location. The parking service makes their money by taking a cut of the advertising fee.
I have narrowed down to 2 services, Domainhop and Goldkey. DH was my choice in the past. I’ve recently been playing with Goldkey and am very impressed with the results from them also.
When your site gets approved to be on that service, you have to now go to the register to find out whom the domain name is with. You have to point the domain name to the parking service server. This is called the DNS and it looks like this NS1.domainhop.com NS2.domainhop.com. After you set this up in the control panel of the register, it can take 1-72 hors to propagate.
Payouts are different amounts and times with each service. Please read their FAQ for this info. I have just started to understand what this is all about and how to config each service so I get ultimate payouts. I am starting to enjoy $10.00 to my PayPal account monthly. Do not attempt click fraud (clicking on your own pages or have someone else do it) they do monitor for this and will shut you down!
I have approximately 40 names right now that are parked. Each cost me an average of $1.32. Here’s some quick math:
I also make money from my developed names. These are the names I feel are worthy of more traffic and will drive people to them.
Step 3: Developing Your Domain Name
This takes a lot more work to maintain, but at the same time, I find it more fun to do. Usually it is something of an interest to me or, a subject people want. After I make the websites, they require a limited amount of maintenance. They are mostly Bulletin Boards or what is called “Turn-Key†sites. Each site has ads from various services. Again, each ad is a PPC or, the web surfer must purchase something in order for a payout. These ads pay more typically than parking services. Some ads on 1 click can be $10.00+!
There is more to consider when you decide to go this route:
When I first started out a few years ago, I was juggling around 6 DN at a host and it was $45.00 each per year. I was going broke! I needed a way to have web space, cheap and at my disposal. I thought about getting my own server, but most are unix/linex and I don’t know a thing about that. So I decided to go to a reseller account. This type of account allows you to have space and you can either use it for multiple domains for yourself or, sell hosting to others. I tried to sell some space, but this is a tough market and are you ready to help support it 24/7??
A reseller account is where you have a block of space on a server and so do other resellers. The company that owns this server does all of the updates and tech support for you, NICE! You have to be careful when selecting a server because so many close up daily. Imagine having 10-30 websites and wake up and they are all gone!
TIP...
I use www.resellerzoom.com for my flipped domains server. They are GREAT! The few tickets I put in got fixed within an hour or, 2 at the max. The cost is $4.95 monthly thru PayPal. The space is 2 gigs and a max of 50 domains is allowed per account. Just think this is only $60.00 per year and you get to house up to 50 domains. I used to pay that yearly for just 1. What is nice about this is that in a few keystrokes you can easily add or, delete sites 24 hours a day. This sever also has a feature called “Fantasticoâ€. It is a neat application that will allows you to set up many scripts that are pre-built, with only one click. There are over 40 and some of them are forums, blogs, stores with shopping carts, and support sites. Please don’t confuse this with a virtual server.
TIP...
I have listed a few addresses above on what I am using. I try to stay away from a design that will require me to go in and update it constantly, therefore, the reason I do Bulletin Boards and CRM websites. The content is always being updated by the visitors and their posts.
Step 4: Ads, Ads and More Ads!
Ok, where to begin here? There are many many different advertising networks, but I'll just list the two main ones: Google AdSense and YPN. YPN is a new program and still in beta, so you may or may not be able to get into them. Adsense is the most widely used ad network, and it's VERY easy to integrate it into your websites. Both Adsense and YPN are contextual networks, meaning that they read the content of your page to determine which ads to display. This means that the ads are relevant to what the page is about, which increases the conversion rate and provides a better user experience.
TIP...
Some other similar accounts I find helpful:
Step 5: Cheap Advertising and Getting the Word Out!
The best way to get your site seen is to get it in the Internet searches. This is a tough thing to do, but you can help it by getting the sites linked to other sites. This way, when a "bot" is surfing around it will go to your site via that link. With each site you make (not parked), you should make a banner or a link for each site and displayed on all of your sites. Keep the link exchange within your own circle. Every forum or BB you are active with, you should have your links in your signature. I was talking before about Name Pros. When you post or reply to the forum you get points, almost like cash, in fact they do have a cash value. I use them to solicit others to put my text links in their signature at Name Pros, at other forums, or on their sites. I rarely need to exchange banners. The few I have are close net friends that do work for me. It is my way to give back for the work they have donated to me.
You can submit to search engine it does help. Make sure your keywords and metatags are done up. I have found recently that the bots/spiders don’t care too much about them. They seem to capture the data on the websites very well.
TIP...
It is totally up to you how much time and money to start with. The examples and information I have outlined is using low-end names. Your click rate and earnings will increase with the popularity of higher, more popular names. The time you invest is also important. Setting up the website and keywords is important. This is your foundation to success!
Good luck!
I am going to take you through each step. Some of this you might know, but I think it is good to start from the basics and move on from there. This isn’t to insult anyone's intelligence at whatever level you are currently at…it is here to establish a baseline.
There are a few things you need to get going:
- eBay
- Parking Service
- Domain Name
- Server Space, Ads
I am known as the king of the 99-cent domains! "99 cents for a domain", you say???? The ones you have, (or, plan to purchase), may have already cost you between $6-$9! This is true if you go to a registering service. I will get into them later. I have been buying my names on eBay. They are not the best of names, but they are cheap. Some of them have months left on their term before expiring. I keep the ones that do well and resell the others back on eBay. Again, some of these I develop and some I park. When I first started I got everything, and some of the names were pretty bad. I now look at each name and ask myself if this is a good buy. By this I mean, is it easy to remember? Would I type it in or look for the URL in a search engine? My buying has improved since I have joined www.namepros.com. It is a forum for domain nerds like me, or just the curious. They are a great community to ask questions, get appraisals, and buy/sell names. JOIN THEM.
When you get names on eBay, you need to check the info for accuracy.
Here are some resources:
- www.whois.sc (look up who owns it and the expiration on the name)
- It is also good to check out whom it is registered with while you are at whois.sc. This will tell you who the register is. Then go to the register to see if they allow a free PUSH between accounts. A push is a way to get a domain name between 2 accounts with that register. This is a free service. When a PUSH is done, it is almost instant, no waiting. Most reputable registers allow this service.
- www.iwebtool.com (tons of tools to check rank, links, so on)
- http://www.archive.org/web/web.php check-out what the site looked like in the past. It should have been archived or, live for at least 1 year previous.
Great! You Now Have a Domain Name….What Next?
You have to choose what you want to do with the name. You can develop it and runs ads on it or, use a parking service. Using a parking service is probably the easiest to do. You don’t need to know how to make a website or pay for hosting services.
Step 2: "Parking" Your Domain Name
There are many “parking†services out there and I have tried most of them. Domain parking is a service that will display single web pages loaded with links. The parking service has solicited the advertisers so you don’t have to worry about all the logistics. The links shown when your domain name is parked with them should be relevant to the subject matter. You don’t want gambling links on a domain name that is about computers. A visitor on your site has to click on a link in order for you to get money. This is what’s called “PPCâ€, (Pay-Per-Click). The payout varies on what the advertiser has paid the parking service. Generally it is a few cents to dollars! The advertisers are also competing on where they are on the layout on the parked site. The higher they pay, the better the location. The parking service makes their money by taking a cut of the advertising fee.
I have narrowed down to 2 services, Domainhop and Goldkey. DH was my choice in the past. I’ve recently been playing with Goldkey and am very impressed with the results from them also.
When your site gets approved to be on that service, you have to now go to the register to find out whom the domain name is with. You have to point the domain name to the parking service server. This is called the DNS and it looks like this NS1.domainhop.com NS2.domainhop.com. After you set this up in the control panel of the register, it can take 1-72 hors to propagate.
Payouts are different amounts and times with each service. Please read their FAQ for this info. I have just started to understand what this is all about and how to config each service so I get ultimate payouts. I am starting to enjoy $10.00 to my PayPal account monthly. Do not attempt click fraud (clicking on your own pages or have someone else do it) they do monitor for this and will shut you down!
I have approximately 40 names right now that are parked. Each cost me an average of $1.32. Here’s some quick math:
- 40 x $1.32= $52.80 for these names with up to 1 year left on them
- $10.00 payout monthly from parking services = $120.00
- This gives me $67.20 profit. For doing nothing.
I also make money from my developed names. These are the names I feel are worthy of more traffic and will drive people to them.
Step 3: Developing Your Domain Name
This takes a lot more work to maintain, but at the same time, I find it more fun to do. Usually it is something of an interest to me or, a subject people want. After I make the websites, they require a limited amount of maintenance. They are mostly Bulletin Boards or what is called “Turn-Key†sites. Each site has ads from various services. Again, each ad is a PPC or, the web surfer must purchase something in order for a payout. These ads pay more typically than parking services. Some ads on 1 click can be $10.00+!
There is more to consider when you decide to go this route:
- A server or web host is needed.
- A way to make a website
- MS FrontPage, DreamWeaver
- CPGNUKE www.cpgnuke.com (www.gamecheatforum.com for example)
- PHPNUKE www.phpnuke.org (www.mssupport.net for example)
- Turnkey www.prozilla.com (www.eimage.us for example)
- Pre made templates (www.groleaunet.com for example)
When I first started out a few years ago, I was juggling around 6 DN at a host and it was $45.00 each per year. I was going broke! I needed a way to have web space, cheap and at my disposal. I thought about getting my own server, but most are unix/linex and I don’t know a thing about that. So I decided to go to a reseller account. This type of account allows you to have space and you can either use it for multiple domains for yourself or, sell hosting to others. I tried to sell some space, but this is a tough market and are you ready to help support it 24/7??
A reseller account is where you have a block of space on a server and so do other resellers. The company that owns this server does all of the updates and tech support for you, NICE! You have to be careful when selecting a server because so many close up daily. Imagine having 10-30 websites and wake up and they are all gone!
TIP...
I use www.resellerzoom.com for my flipped domains server. They are GREAT! The few tickets I put in got fixed within an hour or, 2 at the max. The cost is $4.95 monthly thru PayPal. The space is 2 gigs and a max of 50 domains is allowed per account. Just think this is only $60.00 per year and you get to house up to 50 domains. I used to pay that yearly for just 1. What is nice about this is that in a few keystrokes you can easily add or, delete sites 24 hours a day. This sever also has a feature called “Fantasticoâ€. It is a neat application that will allows you to set up many scripts that are pre-built, with only one click. There are over 40 and some of them are forums, blogs, stores with shopping carts, and support sites. Please don’t confuse this with a virtual server.
TIP...
I have listed a few addresses above on what I am using. I try to stay away from a design that will require me to go in and update it constantly, therefore, the reason I do Bulletin Boards and CRM websites. The content is always being updated by the visitors and their posts.
Step 4: Ads, Ads and More Ads!
Ok, where to begin here? There are many many different advertising networks, but I'll just list the two main ones: Google AdSense and YPN. YPN is a new program and still in beta, so you may or may not be able to get into them. Adsense is the most widely used ad network, and it's VERY easy to integrate it into your websites. Both Adsense and YPN are contextual networks, meaning that they read the content of your page to determine which ads to display. This means that the ads are relevant to what the page is about, which increases the conversion rate and provides a better user experience.
TIP...
Some other similar accounts I find helpful:
- Kanoodle; www.kanoodle.com (www.secureimagehost.com has both the text ad and pop up running on it.
- Bidvertiser; www.bidvertiser.com (www.ipodcafe.net has a text ad running at the bottom)
- Commission Junction; www.cj.com (www.brewguy.com the ads Mr. Beer and the yearbook one is theirs)
- Affiliates; Too many to list (www.usdrugcenter.com is an example) Affiliates are in fact one of the most effective advertising methods available, but require more time and effort to manage.
Step 5: Cheap Advertising and Getting the Word Out!
The best way to get your site seen is to get it in the Internet searches. This is a tough thing to do, but you can help it by getting the sites linked to other sites. This way, when a "bot" is surfing around it will go to your site via that link. With each site you make (not parked), you should make a banner or a link for each site and displayed on all of your sites. Keep the link exchange within your own circle. Every forum or BB you are active with, you should have your links in your signature. I was talking before about Name Pros. When you post or reply to the forum you get points, almost like cash, in fact they do have a cash value. I use them to solicit others to put my text links in their signature at Name Pros, at other forums, or on their sites. I rarely need to exchange banners. The few I have are close net friends that do work for me. It is my way to give back for the work they have donated to me.
You can submit to search engine it does help. Make sure your keywords and metatags are done up. I have found recently that the bots/spiders don’t care too much about them. They seem to capture the data on the websites very well.
TIP...
It is totally up to you how much time and money to start with. The examples and information I have outlined is using low-end names. Your click rate and earnings will increase with the popularity of higher, more popular names. The time you invest is also important. Setting up the website and keywords is important. This is your foundation to success!
Good luck!
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