UPDATE: This product is now outdated. While AdSense-monetized “placeholder” sites have been widely criticized as being spammy, and may get you dropped from the search engines, I think they are theoretically still a good idea. Compare this to say Godaddy or other registrar’s standard placeholder pages, which are often just a bunch of spammy links. At least using this method, you’re putting several pages of relevant content on your site for anyone who happens to land there. The problem is that too many marketers used these type of sites to try to game the search engines. Many also incorrectly tried to build their business around these type of sites (which contain syndicated content) instead of creating original content and building high-value websites. For the most up-to-date information and recommendations, please join my free newsletter.
Edition #37 – 4/13/2006
I mentioned this last week when I was talking about the CB Niche Builder, but it’s worth another visit, and a closer look.
I waste a lot of domains…
I’m constantly thinking up new ideas (whether they are good ideas…who knows). Whenever I get an idea, I’ll head over to the registrar and register a domain.
Getting a domain seems like the logical place to start, right? Here’s the problem. At least 9 times out of 10, I’ll get too busy with other projects, and I’ll never do ANYTHING with the domain I registered during my moment of inspiration.
So now I have a bunch of domains sitting around doing absolutely NOTHING for me! It’s started to really eat at me lately, because I know that I could be putting those domains to better use.
I’m not one who likes to leave money sitting on the table, and I doubt you like to either.
Some assets are OK to let them sit around. For example, if you own gold, there’s nothing you can really do with it. You simply stockpile it, and hope it appreciates in value.
Other assets you don’t want to just sit on. For example, a house. In general, it would be foolish to buy a house and then just let it sit there unoccupied for many years while you’re waiting for it to appreciate so you can sell it.
Why would it be foolish? Because you’d be leaving money on the table. Sure you can gain from the appreciation, but you can also bring in income every month by renting out that house.
Domains are virtual real estate. Yes they may appreciate (maybe if you have a REALLY good one), but they also have the power to bring you passive income while you wait.
So that was my problem… how do I get my unused domains to bring me income?
Of course the ideal way is to develop a website. Start a blog, hire ghostwriters, create nice graphics…the works. But obviously we don’t all have time to do that. If I did, then every domain I ever bought would be developed by now.
I could pay someone to build the site for me, but that’s not really what I’m looking for. I don’t want to outlay a lot of capital for every little domain, and I don’t want a full-blown website to maintain.
I could use a semi-automated software program to generate a site for me. Sometimes I do that, and it’s a good solution, but often I just don’t even have the time or ambition to do that for my unused domains.
I needed the quickest, easiest solution I could find.
So here’s what I’ve been doing. I found a cool collection of pre-built websites, which cover over 100 different niche topics. I simply plug my Adsense ID into a simple text editor, click one button, and the site is ready to upload.
I just added my AdSense ID to three sites and had them done and uploaded in under 10 minutes from start to finish.
That’s what I needed.
Is it ideal? Not really, but in my opinion it’s a lot better than doing nothing, and here’s why…
Even if your site receives minimal traffic, your domain will probably “pay for itself” with AdSense revenue. If you picked a good domain, and send a few links to the site, you will most likely turn it into a positive cash-flow situation.
Beyond the income, you’re ALSO improving the future value of the domain. If you decide to fully develop the site at a later date, you’ll likely have dozens or even hundreds of pages pre-indexed and ready for you to use.
If you decide to sell the domain, you can sell it with an established website instead a free parking page. Even if the website is simplistic and ugly, the fact that it is indexed in the search engines is a huge asset to a potential investor.
So here’s the deal. If you’re like me, and want to put up some websites with the least amount of work possible, then this is for you…
I’m offering my entire collection of 195 websites for you to download today.
(Link removed – no longer available)
I’m also including two software programs, and instructions so you can customize any website within 2 minutes.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hey Eric!
I’ve got the same problem. Right now I’m re-launching one of my products with major upgrades and I have another project 98% completed and need to plan a launch for that. As I’m working out the technical details on projects, my mind is still creating new projects and I want to grab the domain before it’s gone. So I also have quite a few doing nothing.
I’m planning to use a few of the site builders I have (and yes I have a few of those also!) just to get them up for the search engines.
I’m just glad to find a like-thinker. >
Am interested in your offer of the 195 adsense websites, but how does it work if you are selling the same package to many people. I am tired of researching and would like to get something started on the net and this would seem a good starting point.
Bill
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the Adsense Sites offer! I already uploaded 8 to a site I have
related to cars and it took me about 30 minutes. Will do a batch everyday since my time is very limited.
Ok just wanted to drop a line so others can see this is very simple to do, it just take a little effort on our part.
Thanks again.
Edna
I must confess, Eric. I’ve been waiting for someone to release a package like this at a low price so I can run some tests on it for my students to investigate this as a business model. Once we have our first 50 sites up and running, I’l let you know the preliminary results.
Thanks for all the comments!
Bill- That’s a good question, in fact it’s kind of important, so I may address it in another edition of Eric’s Tips. I would not really recommend using this as a backbone for your business. It’s more a matter of filling in the cracks so your existing business isn’t wasting money, or simply “priming” domains for future use.
If your primary business happens to be domain speculation, then it probably is a good thing to start with. Also, there are some very quick things you can do to make the sites even more effective. I’ll mention this in the next edition, but basically you can use the search and replace tool to add additional customized content to any site to make it unique, if you’re willing to spend an extra few minutes.
It will be interesting to hear the results of David’s test. Of course it will take some time to know if they are getting indexed.
How could I get maximum mileage from these 195 websites? My guess is to use them as templates and plug in my original articles. Also, is it possible to make any money at all with them in their original states?
I await your response.
Thanks,
WIllie