My son bought a website...

[GBGallardo]

Hey guys, I am going to let my son write this post to all of you:

Hey guys, I am Robert...16 years old. I have been doing web development for quite some time now and I finally bought my first established website.

The website URL is: http://www.PumpCost.com You type in a zip code and from a feed it pulls live gas prices for any zip in the US! Pretty cool.

It's really not a company, but I paid $300 for it and in just over one month I have pulled just over $110 with Google AdSense. Therefore I know the website is working and making me some spare cash. I am not trying to make a living off of this website but for the experience, it has taught me a lot and that I like.

Now my questions for you guys is what are some way I could expand this website to gain more viewers, build the site up, etc...any suggestions for my little business?!

I just wanted to share...

**And PhxMJ I sent you a PM over at L-Power about stocks.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[carlhuber]

Do anything the much more established http://www.gasbuddy.com/ does. Same concept. They have a whole community going, so you might consider adding a forum. Add a section for gas optimization tips...etc.

What's the deal with pressing the lowercase "s" in "Homes" link at the bottom of the page? It takes me to a credit card sign up page: http://www.pumpcost.com/gascards.php What's going on there?

 

[AndrewG]

The first few things I would do is work on the layout a little more. I think the gas price search needs to be brought up higher.

Here's how I would do it:

(logo)

Real time gas prices

(zip code search)

(google search)

(ad space)

contact | about | links | etc

Good luck!

-Andrew
​

 

[rico]

You've got a niche audience coming to your site... ie car owners. So find products to market to them as well. So affiliate schemes for insurance, warranties, finance etc would all work well for your visitors.

They'll create a higher cost per visitor than just google ads

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

I think you need to re-arrange your ads on the front page and the gas price page. What are your click conversion rates like?

 

[kidgas]

How delayed is the "real-time" price? It is 0.13 off at one of the stations I passed on the way home from work.

 

[Sehcill]

I can't speak for everyone, but I personally don't make a special trip to get gas; I get it on the way to somewhere else, or on the way home etc. Sooo...code your site to be extremely friendly to cell phone / iphone browsers so people can check while they're out and about.

-Jason

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Alan at SE]

just curious, where does your website pull the gas prices from?

 

[Jorge]

just curious, where does your website pull the gas prices from?

If he answered this question, wouldn't this render his site useless?

I would try to link the prices with google maps, making a lot more useful the information.

 

[Alan at SE]

true, he doesnt have to answer. ive thought about a hotel vacanies website but i couldnt figure out how to pull data like that.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jorge]

If you are into web development, I suggest searching for "web scraping" techniques. Although sometimes they are not fully compliant with websites copyright policies.

 

[Yankees338]

Hey guys, I am going to let my son write this post to all of you:

Hey guys, I am Robert...16 years old. I have been doing web development for quite some time now and I finally bought my first established website.

The website URL is: http://www.PumpCost.com You type in a zip code and from a feed it pulls live gas prices for any zip in the US! Pretty cool.

It's really not a company, but I paid $300 for it and in just over one month I have pulled just over $110 with Google AdSense. Therefore I know the website is working and making me some spare cash. I am not trying to make a living off of this website but for the experience, it has taught me a lot and that I like.

Now my questions for you guys is what are some way I could expand this website to gain more viewers, build the site up, etc...any suggestions for my little business?!

I just wanted to share...

**And PhxMJ I sent you a PM over at L-Power about stocks.

How about adding private ads to other sites with a related topic (i.e. sites about how to acquire optimal mileage)? IMO, little private banner ads with a graphic ad much more appeal to a site than AdSense. Plus, they can be more profitable if they're incorporated correctly.

Another thing I'd consider as far as marketing goes would be to contact travel agencies, Chambers of Commerce, and local hotels to see if they're willing to advertise your business to tourists. Tourists need gas, and they likely won't know where to go for it, especially at a decent price.

 

[djs13]

A little off topic and I apologize...but I was wondering where did your son purchase the site? I am looking for a site online that sells marketable web sites that aren't too expensive.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.