Last week, I took one of my parked domain names and built a very small website, monetized with Adsense. The domain name had received a fair amount of direct navigation traffic, but it wasn’t making much money as a parked page. I figured it couldn’t really make any less with Adsense, so I would see how it does.

I was surprised at how much more revenue was generated during the past few days, granted we’re not talking about a lot of money. While it had a PPC page up for a full month, the domain name generated 42 clicks and made just a couple of dollars. In the few days since I’ve had my “mini site,” the domain name has received just 8 clicks, but more than double the revenue.

Time will tell how the site does during the year, but right now it’s only making money from direct navigation traffic. If and when it gets indexed, it will hopefully generate some search engine traffic and potentially drive more revenue.

Of course, we need to take the time of building it into account. I purchased an article from TextBroker.com for $5.00 and paid about $125 for the logo (I intend to build the site out further, hence the logo expense).  I also used a free template for the base of the website, and it was fairly easy to modify on my own, even with my limited experience.

All in all, if it makes $500 this year, it will pay for itself and my time.

I am not going to mention the domain name because I don’t want to draw attention to what the site looks like or where it was previously parked.

I want to take a second to thank you for voting in the poll where I asked you to give your valuation for SlipperyElm.com. There were 217 total votes, and about 46% of those who cast a vote think the name is worth $1,000 or less, while about 54% of voters think it’s worth above $1,000.

If I was going to vote in this poll, I would have selected between $3,000 – $6,000 for the domain name. I personally think it could be sold for somewhere around $4,000, which is why I paid $1,000 for it at Sedo in private. I don’t think it would have necessarily been an easy sale, but I think it could have been sold for that amount, especially given the comments by a couple of people familiar with herbal remedies.

That being said, I felt that I bought the name for a good price and I have the opportunity to add even more value by building a website that has traffic. I felt that I could spend around $75 on custom articles and a few hours of my time putting the site together using a free web template. At worse, I drove my cost up to $1,100 (approximately) for a name I think is worth around $4,000 before development.

While I am growing the traffic that comes to the site to learn about slippery elm, I am also able to monetize it. IMO, I will earn far more from Adsense than I would if I had $1,000 in the bank.  At .4% interest, I would only earn about $4/year on that cash in the bank. However, I will bet this name makes around $20/month within 6 months (maybe more). There have been a few paid clicks already, ranging from $.25 to $2.00/each, so depending on where things shake out, it could be significantly more than my prediction.

I am fortunate to be able to take $1,000 out of the bank for this type of investment, and I understand that many people couldn’t. It was just a few years ago that I paid for my first domain name that was $1,000 and it made me nervous. Had this been a $20,000 or greater investment, I probably wouldn’t have gone this route, since I could probably make more flipping names with the $20k in principal rather than letting it sit and build traffic on it.

For me, the bottom line is that I believe I bought an under priced domain asset (I bought it after a couple rounds of negotiations), and instead of trying for a quick flip, I am going to do my best to increase the value of the asset and earn more income than I would have had in the bank. I am going to hope to sell the name for greater than $10,000 once traffic and or revenue justify the value.

I want to start this post out with a bit of a caveat. I haven’t personally tried the directory application on a local keyword domain name yet, so this is mostly just a suggestion and not based on my experience. I do use the WhyPark directory app on ActingCoach.com and have at least one paying advertiser.

I think geo keyword .com domain names like PhiladelphiaPlumbers.com, SanFranciscoElecticians.com, and BostonLocksmiths.com are strong domain names. If the profession has many competing companies in that city, it could be a big opportunity for development. The city should also be large enough that many people are looking for a company in this field in the particular city (for example, RonkonkomaPlumbers.com might be a bit limited).

One way to manage development at a more minimal cost is to use WhyPark’s directory app. I would recommend having the company create a custom layout for you to your specs (around $200 for that I think) or hire someone to do it for you on eLance. As much as some people may dispute how a site looks, I am one who believes it’s important to have a good looking, updated website to get advertisers onboard. Additionally, I recommend a custom logo as well.

I would also use a copywriter (like TextBroker) to write a number of helpful articles related to the domain name’s content. This will at least get the site off the ground to start, and it will not only make the site look more populated to potential advertisers, it will also help with Google indexing and search engine traffic.

Once the site is launched, use your Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics accounts to track visits and search queries. As traffic grows, you should reach out to potential advertisers on the phone and via email. Although some people will probably be willing to sign up if they find your site, it will be much quicker to call or email them first. This way, you know they know about your site.

Having traffic is important because many potential advertisers will want to know they are getting value for their advertising dollar. I would charge anywhere between $5-20/month, depending on your location and the competition.

It’s easy to set up the WhyPark directory app, and it can be a time saving, cost-effective way to build out a directory website on a geodomain name. It’s something I will try when I have the right name.