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Thoughts at the End of the Week

Elliot Silver
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4

As the week is coming to a close, I wanted to write a little bit about a few things that I thought about this past week. I bet some of you are thinking the same thing, and I welcome your thoughts in the comment section as always.

I booked my flight to New Orleans for Domainer Mardi Gras in February. For those of you from New York, Jet Blue is offering round trip tickets for around $229 after taxes – not a bad deal at all.

I wish DN Journal accepted comments. There are so many great articles and news stories posted by Ron, and it would be great if we had the ability to discuss some of them on site. I bet this would surely be a big traffic driver and would be interesting to many.

It really annoys me when bloggers and other news outlets have a comment section and don’t approve them – or they only approve the favorable comments. I wonder if these people are naive enough to think that nobody notices this – or if they simply don’t want to feel put down by people that disagree with what they are saying.

I don’t think people should develop domain names simply because others are doing it. The reason I develop mini sites is that I am a full time domain investor, and this is a way to build/add value to my domain assets in a down market. The reason I fully develop geodomains – and will be developing Torah.com (very soon) is to build businesses on them so. Anyone can sell a good domain name, but not everyone can build and manage a business. I want to challenge myself while building a revenue stream for the future, and this is an ongoing process.

If you are going to make it as a domain investor, you need to look outside of the typical domain “hang outs.” Check out webmaster forums, browse SEO websites, read up on new technology, and think about things differently than others.

I believe there are many good potential domain deals in the high end of the industry, but most of the low hanging fruit under six figures has been picked, and there aren’t nearly as many deals to be had in that area. You need to have steel stones to invest in 6 figure + domain names these days without a development/business plan, and you need a back up plan if your primary plan is to flip them.

    Names I Chose to Develop

    Elliot Silver
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    3

    I want to thank everyone for their feedback regarding my blog post a few days ago asking which domain investments I should develop. After some careful consideration, I decided to develop four of the names right now, and since I haven’t used the services of WannaDevelop.com before, I am going to use them for these four names.

    I like vacation domain names because people generally do quite a bit of research before traveling. I don’t expect people to book vacations through my site of course, but if they are looking to learn about excursions or fun things to do, they can find them on site, and hopefully visit my advertisers’ websites, earning me revenue.

    Here are the four names I chose and why:

    1) DubrovnikVacations.com – Having been in Dubrovnik, Croatia last year for my honeymoon, this one is almost a no-brainer for me. Before I went on the trip, I was very skeptical – just ask my wife! People who hadn’t been to Croatia or didn’t know someone who had were also questioning our decision to visit. However, everyone who had been there or know someone who went there told us how great it is. Dubrovnik did not disappoint us at all, and I think I can help create a website that will be reflective of this.

    2) JerusalemVacations.com – Jerusalem is considered a Holy City by different religions, and millions of people visit the city every year. It’s a special place with so much to do, that people spend a whole lot of time researching before they visit. People from around the world visit Jerusalem, and a vacation in the city has broad appeal.

    3) EasternCaribbean.com – Just about all of the major cruise companies have cruise itineraries for the Caribbean waters. Most of the cruise companies divide them between Eastern Caribbean cruises and Western Caribbean cruises when people search. This site will specialize in information about Eastern Caribbean cruises, which visit cities like San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts; St. John’s, Antigua; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Labadee, Haiti (Royal Caribbean’s private island).

    4) ParabolicSkis.com – Someone mentioned about a potential trademark, which I didn’t realize when I bought the name. However, I believe the term has become generic enough to use, and I also believe there are defensible ways to use it. I love to ski, and it’s a big business, especially in the area where I live. I own a pair of Rossignol parabolic skis, and there is a huge difference between them and the non-parabolic design.

    I almost chose to develop DebtSettlementCounselors.com, with some good advice on building a lead generation site. The clicks are high value and it could pay off quite nicely. I’ve never done a lead generation site, and I don’t really have the time right now to research the ins and outs of one (privacy concerns are especially important to me). There is also considerable competition for decent SE positioning, and I wasn’t sure I could compete with the best sites, making monetization more difficult.

    I really appreciate all of the feedback. The other names I didn’t choose are still for sale. If you feel particularly strong about one of them, let me know and perhaps we can work out a deal.

    Blog Comment Spammer Trick

    Elliot Silver
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    3

    I came across a trick that’s been used by blog comment spammers in the hopes that they receive a back link on popular blogs that receive traffic. This trick is used on blogs that allow previous commenters to post comments without being moderated, something many bloggers prefer rather than having to moderate all comments.

    Spammers will post a comment that is related to the topic in discussion. While the comment may or not be entirely on target, the post is generally on-topic enough that it doesn’t raise any red flags to the blog owner. The blog owner will approve the comment, and with that approval, the spammer will have gained access to post unmoderated comments carte blanche using the email address with which he signed up.

    Although many blog administrators will see subsequent comments, including the URL, they can be easily missed, especially when a blog receives many comments. It’s amusing to see spammers try this method, especially because their keyword names are usually dead give aways, and most blogs use “no follow,” preventing them from receiving any search engine benefit.

    To Develop or Not to Develop

    Elliot Silver
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    28

    There is no question that certain domain names I own shouldn’t be developed by me. Purely and simply, they are domain investments, and the goal is to eventually sell them to an entity that does want to develop them.

    Some domain names I shouldn’t develop are in highly competitive verticals, and it would be virtually impossible to rank high enough in search engines to drive traffic and generate revenue in a cost-effective way. Other domain names are highly targeted and specific, so even with a high ranking website, there wouldn’t be much traffic or a great pay off with development.

    However, there are some domain names that I own that might make good candidates for smaller sites that can be monetized effectively with affiliate banners or Adsense, using the services of AEIOU, MiniSites.com, or WannaDevelop.com. Choosing what to develop in this manner is difficult.

    Out of the names below, on which would you develop mini sites, and on which would you hold simply as investments?

    BeerPairings.com
    DebtSettlementCounselors.com
    EasternCaribbean.com
    DubrovnikVacations.com
    JerusalemVacations.com
    MartiniqueVacations.com
    FatMetabolizers.com
    Metabolizers.com
    PaintHardener.com
    ParabolicSkis.com
    PopunderBlocker.com
    RedBelliedPiranha(s).com

    Protect Your WordPress Blog

    Elliot Silver
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    4

    I was viewing a friend’s website on my Blackberry the other day, when I noticed a bunch of random unrelated links above his header. There were Viagra links, Honda links, Cialis links, Acai links…etc. You name the affiliate link, and it was probably there. When I visited his site on my laptop, those links were nowhere to be seen.

    Several months ago, I had a similar problem, which my developer diagnosed as some sort of code injection. This was attributed to my not upgrading to the latest WordPress version (currently 2.8.4). Basically when security flaws are found, WordPress closes those holes in the next edition, and site owners need to upgrade ASAP. Because hackers and other malicious people can then learn what security flaws were found in the previous version, they can exploit those flaws in blogs and websites that aren’t running on the most recent version.

    In any case, it can be a bit tricky to remove the cause of the malicious links, but it’s important to do so, otherwise your site is leaking “search engine link juice,” and those links can be harmful. This doesn’t even consider that other areas of your site may have been attacked, which can cause other problems. Simply upgrading to the newest version of WP may not help, as the malicious code will still be there.

    One of my the best things for me is that the person who manages the technical side of my blog is knowledgeable about programming and WordPress, and he has been able to help me with errors (both human error and a malicious hacking attempt). If you don’t know of a capable person, it would be wise to find someone smart that you trust who can help you at a moment’s notice. There are also plenty of resources on the web that can help you, but sometimes the fixes are complicated.

    Always be on the look out for strange things that happen with your blog’s performance and layout, and if you notice something funky, don’t just cast it aside. Search Google, Twitter, and WordPress to see if other people are facing the same issues. Stay on top of WordPress or other platform updates and security warnings, and you may help prevent damage to your website.

    Why I Like Supplies.com Domain Names

    Elliot Silver
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    8

    I like Supplies.com domain names because nearly every business or industry has supplies, and where there are supplies, there are usually companies that sell supplies online. Likewise, people search for different types of supplies online, and as we all know, a developed website on a keyword domain name can rank well in Google and Bing.

    So how do you know what type of Supplies.com domain name to buy? I generally do two types of searches before making an acquisition – a Google keyword search and a general Google search. With the former, you are able to see a very rough estimate of how many people are searching for that particular keyword/phrase per month (I do an exact match search). With the later, you are able to see the number of results and get an idea of the amount of advertisers. Obviously the more advertisers, the greater the potential to earn with Adsense/PPC, as well as seeing who your potential buyer could be if you opt to sell.

    If you plan to develop a Supplies.com domain name, there is one important thing to keep in mind. People who visit aren’t generally looking for information – they are looking to buy supplies. Most of my developed domain names are informational websites, and I don’t need to have a product. With a Supplies.com domain name, it would behoove you to sell supplies.

    One way to sell supplies without having to worry about inventory management and fulfillment is to work with a company that does drop shipping. Many companies offer this option regardless of who you are (as long as you open an account and possibly subject to a minimum opening order). Additionally, if you own the category-defining Supplies.com domain name, other companies who don’t regularly offer drop shipping might offer it to you, because they recognize your brand, even though it might not be developed. It’s one of the benefits of a great domain name.

    I don’t own any Supplies.com domain names, but I would buy a good one to develop in the future.

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