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Revenue Models with Links SQL??

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Revenue Models with Links SQL??
I would be interested in comments regarding what kind of revenue models have been successfully implemented. I have a regional directory that has been "live" for slightly over 3 years, using Links SQL of course, and love the product and the support community here!

Has anyone charged a nominal fee (one-time or on-going) for people to submit and manage their own site link(s) successfaully? I know it sounds like a potential admin nightmare! I'm also interested in the potential the new version of LinksSQL may bring to the table.

My site has been basically a free submission site to this point. Besides the submissions, I import the pertinent section of the DMOZ directory and spider sites in our region for new sites for inclusion besides looking at other databases. I'm at about 45K sites in our region with about 3-4K unique visitors per day.

Also, for revenue to this point, I'm running AdSense and sell some of my own advertising directly.

Any thoughts and success stories would be helpful!

Thanks.


mgeyman
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Re: [mgeyman] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
hello,

Please Pm me and we can arrange a phone call. I would like to brainstorm

texhost
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Re: [mgeyman] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Pretty much every model has been tried ;)

Success is a different story.

The biggest problem with the internet -- and it still is -- is connecting the cash register to the sites. There is no good way to take money, integrated.

Perhaps with links 2.13 and the payment modules, there will be a better means.

We've tried it all, but if people can't pay for a premium listing right then and there, 30 out of 31 will not get one.

Also, paying for listings has sort of passed on. We've tried different models, and none have worked well. Paying for logos, expanded listings, etc are all potential revenue streams -- but they don't really work. People want "free". So, you have to figure out how to be "free" and still take in money.


PUGDOG� Enterprises, Inc.

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Re: [pugdog] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
If you can rationalize to them why they should pay you money for a "premium listing," then you've already won half the battle.

- Assure them that they will have a positive ROI, the only thing they are losing is a extra income.

- Try to weave in some testimonials into the page of people that have benefited from your premium listing.

Those are just a few ideas I've been spit balling. As pugdog stated, everyone equates internet = "free."

The best salesmen will tell you, you don't try to sell a product or service, but rather a lifestyle change, something more desirable than the product itself.

Robert
http://www.pcprofiles.com
PC Profiles and hardware reviews
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Re: [mgeyman] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
You need to sell either a "desireable human needs concept" or a physical item".

You offer information leading them to futhfilment of one of those.
The concept can be money, love, friendship, success, sex, etc. There's one or two more.

A Gossamer Links /Forum Community can cover some of those - relationships between the members after a certain point "run" it.
Only large magazines with extremely fresh content and excellent, brain stimulating articles have found the "pay for content" model to work.

Otherwise you have an advertising/info model that pushes the surfer off to other pay sites for income.

Links SQL is good in developing structured review sites covering topic centers with income potential.

Link Farms (90% of all Links SQL sites) are pretty "tired" and no longer generate decent income.
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Re: [webslicer] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Quote:
Link Farms (90% of all Links SQL sites) are pretty "tired" and no longer generate decent income.

Agreed, but there are still a few that I know, which generate quite a substantial income each month :)

Cheers

Andy (mod)
andy@ultranerds.co.uk
Want to give me something back for my help? Please see my Amazon Wish List
GLinks ULTRA Package | GLinks ULTRA Package PRO
Links SQL Plugins | Website Design and SEO | UltraNerds | ULTRAGLobals Plugin | Pre-Made Template Sets | FREE GLinks Plugins!
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Re: [Andy] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
OK, then Name/URL them.

I'd expect that these Link Farms are Adult, and have been around for several years.

And how do you define "quite a substantial income"?
Over $10,000/month? Over $25,000/month?

It is extremely difficult in 2004 to start a Link Farm and make succed at making income (decent income) above $3,000-$4,000USD these days.

Last edited by:

webslicer: Mar 31, 2004, 7:46 AM
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Re: [webslicer] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Quote:
OK, then Name/URL them.

I'd expect that these Link Farms are Adult.

Not being funny, but how would you like it if I named your site? Kinda breaks customer confidentiality Wink Some of them are adult sites, but others are not. In fact, one is literally just a basic links directory.

Quote:
And how do you define "quite a substantial income"?
Over $10,000/month? Over $25,000/month?

Not quite that much... but over $1,500/month.. which, in my books, if pretty darn good for a links site, which requires very little looking after Wink That is just from banners/searchfeed.

Cheers

Andy (mod)
andy@ultranerds.co.uk
Want to give me something back for my help? Please see my Amazon Wish List
GLinks ULTRA Package | GLinks ULTRA Package PRO
Links SQL Plugins | Website Design and SEO | UltraNerds | ULTRAGLobals Plugin | Pre-Made Template Sets | FREE GLinks Plugins!
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Re: [Andy] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Good point.

I take back the request for you to name the sites, but my point stands.

There are exceptions, but making very substantial (which I define as over $10,000/month) income is quite difficult. And making thousands in a non-adult link farm is just incredibly difficult. Possible, of course. Sell Viagra ;)

And it is not normal for a new (less than 2 years old) non adult link farm site to make more than 1,000-2,000.

Would you mind naming the category, age and traffic level of the non-adult(s) that make more than $1,500/month? That'd be interesting.
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Re: [webslicer] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Quote:
There are exceptions, but making very substantial (which I define as over $10,000/month) income is quite difficult. And making thousands in a non-adult link farm is just incredibly difficult. Possible, of course. Sell Viagra ;)

Agreed.

Quote:
And it is not normal for a new (less than 2 years old) non adult link farm site to make more than 1,000-2,000.

Again, I agree (the site I am talking about has only been around less than a year, but thats an exception).

Quote:
Would you mind naming the category, age and traffic level of the non-adult(s) that make more than $1,500/month? That'd be interesting.

Category: General (like DMOZ)
Age: Not sure
Traffic: AFAIK, about 10,000 hits per day (not unique).

He may be earning more than $1,500, but I'm not sure (I know its at least that much/month). He is a friend of mine, which is the only reason I know how much he is earning. Not the kind of thing that comes up in normal conversation with general clients (nor would I expect it to Smile). I would settle for $1,500/month any day...Cool.

Cheers

Andy (mod)
andy@ultranerds.co.uk
Want to give me something back for my help? Please see my Amazon Wish List
GLinks ULTRA Package | GLinks ULTRA Package PRO
Links SQL Plugins | Website Design and SEO | UltraNerds | ULTRAGLobals Plugin | Pre-Made Template Sets | FREE GLinks Plugins!
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Re: [mgeyman] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
  
Good discussion Smile

Quote:
Has anyone charged a nominal fee (one-time or on-going) for people to submit and manage their own site link(s) successfaully?

I tried this on my Flash showcase for the first couple of years and have to agree with pugdog, unless you can build in as much automation for the transactions as possible it's difficult to justify the time you spend on it.

A far better revenue earner is Adsense IMHO. Now that they've introduced site specific tracking (Channels) and if you use it in conjunction with an Adsense stats tracking script like (http://www.adsensetracker.com/) this allows you to experiment with colour schemes, placement etc. to find the best click through percentage for your site.

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There are exceptions, but making very substantial (which I define as over $10,000/month) income is quite difficult. And making thousands in a non-adult link farm is just incredibly difficult. Possible, of course. Sell Viagra ;)

There are a few examples of link based sites (using LinksSQL) that I would estimate are earning the figure you quote a month webslicer, the thing is these sites are well established (been running for years) and are recognised as the strongest source for their topic, be it server scripts, middle east news, Flash source files etc.

One the whole though id say the people who are the most successful at web site publishing (not necessarily using LinkSQL) are the ones running over 20 sites spanning diverse topics (each of which brings in a modest amount - on average about $500+ each month per site)

Last edited by:

Chas-a: Mar 31, 2004, 10:13 AM
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Thanks for all of the wonderful comments....

Has anyone charged for allowing companies to update/modify their link description at their convenience? I know site integrity is super important from both the site visitor and the site webmaster's perspective (policing the site f- watching out for those that may attempt to degrade the site's integrity).

Andy's new Detail page plugin might be another link enhancement that could be bundled into the fee structure. I'm just trying to think of a way to be different from the ODPs, Yahoos out there. Giving the premium listee more enhancements and flexibility vs. the Free, basic listing. I would think you would have to have strict rules upfront - abusing the privilege and you lose your ability to make updates and no refunds. Unfortunately, it seems to be a trade off in effort - policing vs. me updating their descriptions for zilch $$. Just thinking out loud here....

mgeyman
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Re: [mgeyman] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
That's the problem.

>> Unfortunately, it seems to be a trade off in effort - policing vs. me updating their descriptions for zilch $$

There has not been an all around good solution for all cases.

Andy and I are concentrating on revenue models, and plugins designed around revenue models, rather than convenience or "cute" plugins. The holidays are coming up fast, and there is barely 6 months to get things in place before it's here again.


PUGDOG� Enterprises, Inc.

The best way to contact me is to NOT use Email.
Please leave a PM here.
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Re: [pugdog] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
If you think about it, this type of thread might make a good section on the Gossamer-Threads Forums...
A section on business/site development based on Gossamer Products. With all of the vast wealth of knowledge of the members here, it would be an outstanding resource for the rest of us...
What about it Alex!!

</not a clue>
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Chas;

I agree, we have quite a few.
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> One the whole though id say the people who are the most successful at web site publishing (not necessarily using LinkSQL) are the ones > running over 20 sites spanning diverse topics (each of which brings in a modest amount - on average about $500+ each month per site)
---------------------------
Diverse topics.
I could work for the next 50 years... and not be done.
Our biggest gets about 5,000 visitors/day.

Average site gets only 50/visitors/day. (not hits)

Total over 50,000 visitors/day

What is Adsense? URL?
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Re: [webslicer] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Quote:
What is Adsense? URL?

http://www.google.com/adsense/

Its only one of the best programs to make money ... nothing much Wink

Cheers

Andy (mod)
andy@ultranerds.co.uk
Want to give me something back for my help? Please see my Amazon Wish List
GLinks ULTRA Package | GLinks ULTRA Package PRO
Links SQL Plugins | Website Design and SEO | UltraNerds | ULTRAGLobals Plugin | Pre-Made Template Sets | FREE GLinks Plugins!
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Re: [webslicer] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
In Reply To:
Diverse topics.
I could work for the next 50 years... and not be done.
Our biggest gets about 5,000 visitors/day.

Average site gets only 50/visitors/day. (not hits)

Total over 50,000 visitors/day

What is Adsense? URL?

Hi,

Adsense is page specific (page content targeted) text ad's run by Google.

https://google.com/adsense/

Every time a unique visitor clicks on one of the ad's from your site you get a percentage of the revenue that advertiser bids per click - Google don't publish the exact percentage but its believed to be around 30-40%.

By experimenting with my sites Adsense ad placement last month (tried at the bottom of the page, using towers right, changing the colours etc.) I managed to double my click through rate ;)

Last edited by:

Chas-a: Apr 1, 2004, 7:14 AM
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
Hi;

Thanks very much for that. Man, I wasn't thinking. Google, of course. The smartest targeting available anywhere.

We actually do use it on some general sites where it performs "best in its class".

Most of our sites are very targeted so specific programs payout to us exceed Adsense by a good margin.

But we could add it in still on some specific pages where we get general typeins that I don't know what to do with. We have some clothing and drink domains, for example that people type every day.
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
In Reply To:

By experimenting with my sites Adsense ad placement last month (tried at the bottom of the page, using towers right, changing the colours etc.) I managed to double my click through rate ;)


Interested in releasing those results?Cool I'm all ears, errr eyes.

Robert
http://www.pcprofiles.com
PC Profiles and hardware reviews
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Re: [Robert_B] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
here's what i settled on Wink

www.bestflashanimationsite.com

Last edited by:

Chas-a: Apr 1, 2004, 10:52 AM
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
I've thought of trying something similar myself, using a clear background.
Did you experiment using the current setup, but with a white border instead of blue?

How about the affects of 5 ads instead of 4? I've thought about doing this, but I'm afraid that the bottom ad would only generate money for clickthrus that is less than the four above it.

Thanks for your help!

Robert
http://www.pcprofiles.com
PC Profiles and hardware reviews
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Re: [Robert_B] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
> Did you experiment using the current setup, but with a white border instead of blue?

No, several area's on the site use a blue border (date added, ratings and reviews for the links) I wanted to distinguish the ad's using the same border. Its using a css border style effect, I found the Google borders didn't match the sites design well as they vary from 1 pixel to larger horizontally.

>
How about the affects of 5 ads instead of 4?

I didn't try the 4 ad towers so can't say, the idea was really to push down as far as possible with one of the tower banners ;)

It may well vary from site to site but I found with using the horizontal banners they perform far better at the bottom of the page when compared with placing them top.







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Re: [Robert_B] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
>> How about the affects of 5 ads instead of 4? I've thought about doing this, but I'm afraid that the bottom
>> ad would only generate money for clickthrus that is less than the four above it.

And the poiint is??

Isn't getting the click better than *not* getting the click? I'd rather have a 7-ad bar down the side!


PUGDOG� Enterprises, Inc.

The best way to contact me is to NOT use Email.
Please leave a PM here.
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Re: [Chas-a] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
>> It may well vary from site to site but I found with using the horizontal banners they perform
>> far better at the bottom of the page when compared with placing them top.

On my pages, the bottom banners rarely do anything -- I even got rid of them.

I have good luck with the large bar across the top of the page, integrated into the header. It's the first thing people see on the page, so it gets attention first, then they look at the links.

The next performer (adjusted for page views) is the side bar. The long side bar, if integrated into the site, works well.

It depends on your layout. Integrating the ads into the site, color wise, shape-wise, etc, works *much* better than having them stand out as ads. If they look more like content -- highlighted content -- on the page, the ctr's are much higher. People view them as possible resources

The google adsense system is very, very hard to rig, which is why it's working, and why it can pay out what it does.

To that end, there is no "one" solution or answer to any question.

What works great on one site will not work at all on another.


PUGDOG� Enterprises, Inc.

The best way to contact me is to NOT use Email.
Please leave a PM here.
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Re: [pugdog] Revenue Models with Links SQL?? In reply to
In Reply To:
If they look more like content -- highlighted content -- on the page, the ctr's are much higher. People view them as possible resources

Good point, I've noticed the same.



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