Domain Development
How to develop a domain
A quick guide on developing domains
If you are only parking your domains you are leaving a big chunk of cash on the table.
Developed domains receive extra visitors through search engines and you also have the chance to get repeat visitors if your content is appealing, so you can make a higher profit compared to a parked page. Even if you just plan to sell your domain: Projects usually sell for higher prices than domain names without content do.
It is clear that developing domains takes far more efforts than just pointing your nameservers to your parking company.
I would suggest you start developing a domain in a certain niche that you are especially interested in or in a niche that you have a good amount of knowledge in. The reason: It will be easier to write articles about something you like and/or know well. That means you will be faster as not so much research is needed and therefore chances are you wont get bored and really manage to finish the project. Unfortunately too many people just don’t manage to get one good project done. It’s not always a matter of time, sometimes its just a lack of motivation.
I would not try to target a high paying keyword at the beginning, there is just too much competition for a good search engine ranking.
Also stay away from “endless topics”. If you are trying to develop a domain with your main keyword being health, then it would just be impossible to get a site done covering every angle of the topic. So really look for a niche to begin with.
You could also start with a small mini site and enhance it from time to time. It is just important to get going. Some domainers are planning to develop for years without a single page done. You should definitely be faster.
3 Development Options
Building your own site or mini site. This is our focus here.
Having a custom site built by someone else. You can find offers on forums.
Using a service that generates web sites and related content automatically. This sounds great but leads to duplicate content so try to avoid this as you can get kicked out of the search engines index.
How the pros develop a site - research comes first
If you are basically interested in everything than you can head straight in the direction that the development pros are heading and follow these steps to find a profitable niche:
Look for niches with low competition, but a high number of searches and high click prices. Then take a look at your domain portfolio if you have any domains that could be used and make sure the correct keyword is part of the domain. If there is nothing in your portfolio you can try to register something else that is still available if you want to stay in that niche or just continue your research.
Web hosting for your project
Having decided on your topic you should take care of the hosting issue. In order to get your website online you will have to find a web host where your web page will be stored on a server so anyone with internet access can get connected to it. You will find lots of offers on the internet, for the beginning try to get a cheap solution from one of the market leaders. Most domain registrars also offer hosting, but it might be better to look for a better deal than to stick with your registrar.
Web design software for designing the website
There are several solutions out there. Try to get some impression using the internet what fits your needs best. Nowadays Wordpress is becoming very popular for posting internet content, but you could also use a traditional software like Frontpage or Dreamweaver.
Prebuilt templates
Buying a template can save you lots of time. It is especially recommended for people without any web design knowledge. You may also want to find someone who designs your logo.
Content for your project
First of all make a list of keywords relating to your topic, I would suggest brainstorming and researching the internet for the beginning. If you are willing to spend some money give wordtracker a try. Use those keywords to decide which sub topics (=web pages) you want to develop. Then use your own knowledge as far as possible and do further research on the internet to get your articles written.
Of course you can also hire someone to write the content for you, but I suggest you try to do as much as you can by yourself to save money. If you outsource your content writing make sure to check if the texts are unique as you should not have any duplicate content on your web site.
Ads to get cash
In order to earn money with your site you will need to add some kind of ads on your website. These could be ads distributed through an affiliate network or adsense. Later you should try to sell links or banners for a flat fee, as this could prove more profitable and stable.
Optimizing your website
Before publishing your website try to get at least some knowledge on SEO so you can take advantage of a better search engine ranking. Also consider doing some social marketing, link building, an advertising campaign or a press release.
Monitoring your site
You should not spend too much time monitoring, rather build new sites, but from time to time check (using a free analytics tool) what your visitors are especially interested in. Maybe you can get some more targeted content in that area to maximize your efforts.
Protecting your market
Try to register as many domain variations as possible (like the plural, other extensions and misspellings)to prevent competitors getting your traffic.
In addition also get domains related to your business field (eg. your main keyword) to keep competitors off them.
Repeat for new sites
When setting up further sites do take advantage of things you already have. You might want to use your template again to save some time. Just make some changes and the new sites will look completely different.
Final thoughts
It is also important to keep track of your costs as some people spend a lot more money on the development of their domains than they will be able to make back in the future. Of course most people make a decent profit from their projects that far exceeds what they can earn by parking their domain. Still I needed to mention that point to make it clear that there should always be a clear plan before you start to develop something.
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