Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

It’s quite ironic issuing this statement; as a web developer I am supposed to be pushing everyone around me to develop, build, create.

Right?

While this is true in small quantities, when a domain is truly one project that derives its potential from its owner’s imagination and vision, developing all domain names into web sites is not the smartest thing to do.

You’ve heard the usual mumbo-jumbo for months: develop, mass develop, build minisites and traffic will come flooding faster than a waterfall, even for the ugliest long-tail B’ class TLD that you own.

Wrong.

Without a concrete plan, throwing “content” onto a web site can actually kill its current revenue and potential.

Let me explain.

There has been some conversation lately over at DNForum whether a parked domain can bring in $1,000 per day or more – day after day. While some responses were skeptical and some negative, in all truth such consistent daily revenue is not only possible, it’s actually achievable.

The secret is simple: obtain domains that do well at their basic function of traffic generation. While this category includes the obvious generics and typo-domains, there are also domains with dormant traffic, sleeping giants if you must.

Would you develop a sleeping giant of a domain in order to monetize the traffic that’s already there to be harvested?

Again, as a web developer I would be biased if I told you to go ahead and develop. As a domainer, I will tell you: don’t do it.

In a nutshell:

Smart domaining entails being selective in your domain registrations, parking and development. With time and experience you will learn how to make the right choices about which domains to register, which domains to park and which domains to develop.

There is no single solution for all.

For more news follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/acroplex

I’m often amazed at the type of content slated as “development” with the usual tags of “minisite”, “stores” and “portals”. Often a euphemism for graphic headers slapped on an interface that lacks intuition, those design atrocities are presented to domainers as money-makers that would beat parking and PPC revenue.

Stop for a second and think – why would any visitor click on the AdSense content you flaunt in those “minisites” when the rest of the content is so poorly and distastefully done?

Are domainers truly on a shoestring budget, or is it because nobody has taught them better?

The subject of taste in everything is related to one’s background, education and exposure to alternatives. When you’re shown a bunch of poorly done skeleton sites as the cheap, better alternative then you’re getting what you’re paying for.

Having been a web and graphics developer for the past 15 years, I simply shake my head at the acceptance of poor quality as a quick, economic solution to domainer needs. Quite often, domainers fall flat into the pitching trap of fly-by-night individuals with no design credentials, no portfolio and no ethos; because whoever tells you that money will be flooding your pockets when you slap that “minisite” onto your long-tail domain, is lying through their teeth.

What is the solution to this disease permeating through the domainer halls?

Simple: choose the top 5 domains from your portfolio and hire a professional for the job. Invest in a true design that delivers not just the eye-candy but also incorporates an intuitive user interface, effective call to action images and custom-written copy that wasn’t ripped off Wikipedia.

Lose the bad taste, gain from the experience of true developers that live and breathe what they do.

Follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/acroplex

The Bible tells us of God resting on the 7th day of his creation of the world – if only God was aware of the way things would evolve.

Life no longer holds a resting moment, as every instance of the seven-day week is filled with work of some kind.

If it isn’t the newest trends and events we need to keep up with, it’s projects that have tight deadlines and “want it yesterday” attitude from the clients.

The Internet solidified all the liquidity of life, shredding our privacy, our private time, our resting time – forever taking away whatever piece of Eden was left in the human nature, several eons after its exodus from the proverbial garden.

On the 7th day, God rested – apparently he laid down with a good book in hand, not interested in reality show television, not having peer pressure to attend the NFL premiere, not eager to participate in online drama about minisites versus full scale development.

God knew better – and us, humans created in his image, should learn to rest too.

After reading Rick Schwartz’s latest blog post about how Google AdSense closed down his account over minisite content, I had an obvious question: why did Rick pay TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars for 10 minisites?

The term “minisite” was coined as an obvious bait for the domain community, sometime in the past year and a half. It indicates a quick and dirty development of a web site, often with no graphical user interface, with no custom images and with content of dubious quality. Creation of such “mass developed” minisites is aimed at those with a very small budget that want “something” to go live, in order to monetize it via the placement of AdSense ads or ads from other networks.

There are several such firms that provide development of small web sites, catering to the “minisite” domain gang. Quality of work varies – however, a minisite is a minisite and it does not really qualify as true web development.

With parking revenue dwindling, panicking domainers often opt for the cheapest alternative, not considering long-term results and consequences of pushing out badly executed content. The alternative option would entail the following elements:

• A proper business plan
• A budget
• A development expert
• Time

However, all these elements can be addressed, as long as there is proper focus on what one is trying to achieve.

If the need is for short-term cashflow, minisites *might* work – until Google pulls the plug as in Rick’s case. If the need is for long-term revenue from the development of web sites that actually provide content and add value to the Internet community, the answer is simple: full-fledged web development.

So get your paper pads and pens out and start outlining your next project. Big or small, it does not matter. What matters, is quality of work and control over its execution. So hire a true web development professional. Mass developed mini-sites stand no chance.