19th
Building a website is just the first step. Search engine optimization (SEO) will get your site listed in Google and other search engines. That's a good start, but marketing and promotion will bring in even more traffic.
If you own domains that you are not using you can park them and earn money. These parked domains can even earn more than fully developed domains. Sounds simple, right? It can be, but it may be hard to know how to start. I spend a lot of time helping people earn money from domain parking at parkquick.com. This site will be more free-form. I'll add stuff here that's too brief or too ephemeral to add to ParkQuick.
I'm coming at this from a different angle. I'm a domainer first. I'm learning the rest of it. I'll share a lot of what I learn - but who shares everything?
Links:
Domain Parking
Techmeme
SearchEngineLand
BlogCatalog
Blogs I enjoy:
CShel.com
DomainTools Blog
Domain Name Wire
Seven Mile
Shoemoney
thefragerfactor
Website Magazine knows web sites. Not domains.
Website Magazine is a great free resource for domainers looking to develop their domains. But don’t turn to the publication for good advice on domain names.
In the May edition, the magazine profiles “Website Magazine’s Ranking of Domain Registrars” based on traffic to the registrars’ web sites. The problem is how the magazine defines “domain registrar”.
For example, Sedo is ranked #3.
Sedo is a great aftermarket and a well known domain name parking service, but I don’t think it qualifies as a domain registrar. Another case in point: BuyDomains.com is ranked #16. Again, they sell a lot of domains but they certainly aren’t a domain registrar.
Dan Thies with a new approach to AdWords. At least it worked two years ago. This is a great video and a good example of “moving the free line.” The folks at Stompernet want you to salivate over this and sign-up for their paid service; but this is a great informative video on its own.
(This description refers to the Adwords Triangulation Method video - viewed from the Playlist button.)
Thought Convergence Acquires Name Intelligence
If “Thought Convergence” and “Name Intelligence” don’t mean anything to you, perhaps these two names will: TrafficZ and DomainTools. Thought Convergence, the parent company of TrafficZ, has purchased Name Intelligence, which is perhaps best known for its DomainTools services. Domain Name News first broke this story last month, but neither party would confirm the pending acquisition until this morning. Thought Convergence has been a major sponsor of Name Intelligence (NI) events including Domain Roundtable, so they’ve had a cozy relationship for a while. Why would Thought Convergence acquire Name Intelligence? Here are many reasons:
Is Google Trumping The URL?
When there’s a simple box to fill in with your search term, and you know exactly what you’re looking, why bother to use the address bar? If statistics on popular searches are anything to go by, it looks like many people aren’t bothering with that inconvenient “www” and “.com” and are just going straight through Google.
Hitwise UK just published its most searched for brands 2007 statistics, and the fastest rising US search terms are widely available. Both suggest that Google users know exactly where they want to browse to, and just use the search box to give them the link to click.
Making Money Online Versus Being an Entrepreneur
Back in February at Affiliate Summit West Jason Calacanis made some comments during his keynote that I’ve been thinking about lately. He seemed to think that people were wasting their time earning $100,000 a month in affiliate earnings and they should go out to create companies that they could sell for tens of millions of dollars. I think Jason’s comments were probably more to get a reaction then a well thought out statement. I think there are some real differences between a “make money online” home based business and being a entrepreneur and doing a “real” start-up.
Alexa Changes Rankings, Goes Beyond Dreaded Toolbar
The folks at Alexa have announced that their ever so popular (but, many might argue, often inaccurate) ranking system for web sites has been altered. The official word on the changes is slightly vague: Alexa claims “better rankings,” and “improved methodology,” but doesn’t go into detail. alexa One change, however, is definitely a big one: Alexa is now using several sources for its rankings.