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discuss Tips for Domain Development in 2019

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I think this topic deserves to be revisited in 2019. Is domain development dead?

Here is an article that argues why it is not, and also why and how domain development needs to be redefined in 2019:

Domain Development in 2019
 
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There is nothing new here. Blog posts across the internet have been covering these 5 tips for the past several years. And for those wanting to follow these tips, the OP himself has only posted 35 articles on his own site in 7 months. He says to get 100 posts ... that is a lot of writing. And add the social media, links, etc., etc., etc., that's a lot of time. Developing domains into websites is a lot different than just buying and selling domain names ... if you haven't built a website before, try to do so using one of your domains and you will see how much time it takes.
 
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And for those wanting to follow these tips, the OP himself has only posted 35 articles on his own site in 7 months. He says to get 100 posts ... that is a lot of writing.

DNPlaybook.com is not part of a domain development effort. I am not in a rush to post. Will publish posts as I see fit.

And you are misquoting there. The article says 30+ pages of content as the minimum, 100+ as ideal. The goal of the post is to outline the bare minimum. And to encourage a conversation on the subject.

There is nothing new here. Blog posts across the internet have been covering these 5 tips for the past several years.

This is wrong. There have been Google algorithm updates much more recent than "several years" that required websites to adjust in order to maintain or gain ranking.

And add the social media, links, etc., etc., etc., that's a lot of time. Developing domains into websites is a lot different than just buying and selling domain names

Well, yeah. The article mentions a tip on how to lessen that time. And also makes the point that you are not just developing websites, but developing brands.

I think this is a very valuable and important conversation to have in 2019. Who doesn't want to create additional revenue streams. And if you are not lazy, then you can do it. That is the point of the article. Also, this doesn't mean you have to do it on your own.

If you want to add something valuable to the conversation, please do so.
 
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Times have sure changed.

That bit in your article about building out quick mini-site networks, back in the day, I was one of those. I only have a handful of mini-sites that survived all the algorithm changes, stricter code standards, and security protocols.

After developing so many different mini-site networks over the years that would rise for a couple years and then collapse, leading into today, where most struggle, I decided to change the game plan a bit last year to build out more network hubs (Sites that are 25k to 50k+ pages each) to house mini-niche-portfolio's on with optimized and custom in-house landers for assets with no development movement yet.

Times are definitely changing.

In order to compete, we must adapt, improvise, and overcome.

The one thing in life and business that always remains consistent, is "Change". Everything changes. The trick is pivoting in a way that you move with the flow of change, rather than against it, resulting in stagnation or drowning.
 
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These type of articles always give me a headache, x amount of pages, x amount words on a page etc. I started off with a coupon site back in 2001, then went to niche sites and other sites. Just took a quick look.

Doll site, somethingdolls.com. Made it in 2009, about 5 pages. Still ranking page 1 Google, Yahoo/MSN. 3rd spot, 1st spot.

Another niche site like that, 4 pages, started it, then got bored moved on to something else. Page 1 Yahoo/MSN for the major keyword, the major keyword being the .com. That was started this year. Now will add a little more.

Another started this year 50 pages. Imagine something like shoes.com, then you made a page for Nike Shoes, Adidas Shoes, New Balance shoes etc. It's not shoes but that kind of setup. keywordkeyword.com, then brand keywordkeyword. Ranking page 1 on both Google and MSN/Yahoo for most of those pages.

So I always wonder what people are actually developing out. If it's some crazy competitive type keywords where they really have no chance.

And when choosing a domain to develop, I'm always honest with myself. Can I make a site/page where it's the top 10 site/page on the internet on that subject. If yes, then it's something I can move forward on and it'll have a chance. So just this year I have 4 page sites - 50 page sites ranking on page 1 Goolge, Yahoo/MSN. So you can still do it.

There are some subjects that just don't require a lot of pages. Let's say a spot tourists like to go to, let's pick Multnomah Falls - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_Falls

That should be an easy site, not that many pages. 1 page on the history. A page on what to do there. A page on where to stay, eat etc. It's not a 50, 100 page site, probably under 10 and it could be a top 10 site on the internet on that tourist spot. A site that is 2 and 3 in the search engines, really not that much content - https://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/

Stuff like this - "Ideal quality content count is 100+ pages. 30+ pages should be considered the minimum. Pages should contain 400+ words. 600+ is ideal."

You can't do 30+ pages on that. You can do under 10 and rank page 1.

I also probably do things differently than most people in that I do it kinda old school. I don't get my content off the internet, I get it from books. I buy books from Amazon, it's a business expense and it helps fill my bookcase up, makes it look nice. There is a subject, I take notes from various books, rewrite, organize the information better, like most people did back in the day in school when you had to do a report.
 
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These tips are a trend every year, not just in 2019. Every year someone post this on their site / blog in order to rank better in google.

I am not saying that they are not true, just that they are repetitive. :)
 
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That bit in your article about building out quick mini-site networks, back in the day, I was one of those. I only have a handful of mini-sites that survived all the algorithm changes, stricter code standards, and security protocols.

There used to be a lot of mini-site development back then. Most became worthless. I developed quite a few mini-sites as well. And used arbitrage. It worked very well for a while. I think I made around 50K over the time. Security, white hat SEO, and quality content are key to surviving algo changes. If the sites were developed on WP and left alone (ie not updated) then they became targets for hackers and spammers. So it wasn't just Google that killed them.

I decided to change the game plan a bit last year to build out more network hubs (Sites that are 25k to 50k+ pages each) to house mini-niche-portfolio's on with optimized and custom in-house landers for assets with no development movement yet.

That's interesting. Not sure I understand what all of it means. But sounds like you are focusing on content. Today we have to focus on 1 domain at a time and do a really good job at developing it. If you develop 1 or 2 domains a month, you end up with 12 to 24 per year. After 5 years you have 60 to 120. That is a really reasonable schedule to develop domains that will stand the test of time and be profitable. If you do it full-time or hire someone, you can develop more per month.

So I always wonder what people are actually developing out. If it's some crazy competitive type keywords where they really have no chance.

You have to rank for keywords that people are actually searching for. You can always rank for keywords that are obscure where there is little to no competition.

These tips are a trend every year, not just in 2019. Every year someone post this on their site / blog in order to rank better in google.

Actually, I find there is very little discussion about domain development in 2019. And, frankly, it is remarkable how many comments on this thread are actually resistant to talking about it. Very negative comments. Why is that? Domain development, done right, can lead to so many opportunities and untapped revenue. Instead of knocking the article, why not add to the conversation something of value?

Couple things that this article on domain development in 2019 mentions, that I think are not mentioned or are rarely mentioned, are the following:

1) Consider the domains you are developing as developing brands.

2) When engaging social media, create umbrella brands.

The article goes into more detail why those points will help in domain development.
 
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I think @JB Lions makes many good points, and clearly has a lengthy and successful background in the topic. The following particularly resonated with me....
So I always wonder what people are actually developing out. If it's some crazy competitive type keywords where they really have no chance.

And when choosing a domain to develop, I'm always honest with myself. Can I make a site/page where it's the top 10 site/page on the internet on that subject. If yes, then it's something I can move forward on and it'll have a chance.

I would summarize the good advice he offers (and my own thoughts) this way...
  1. Only develop what you can make truly world best.
  2. Only develop what you have expertise in and passion about.
  3. Prioritize among possibilities.
  4. Develop in something specialized, rather than something with endless current strong sites
  5. It is best not to think in terms of any particular number of pages or words, but rather make it as concise as possible but as lengthy as it needs to be to properly inform the reader. That will vary with the type of site a lot.
  6. Get the site good and with good traffic /search results prior to trying to monetize it.
Bob
 
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That's interesting. Not sure I understand what all of it means. But sounds like you are focusing on content. Today we have to focus on 1 domain at a time and do a really good job at developing it. If you develop 1 or 2 domains a month, you end up with 12 to 24 per year. After 5 years you have 60 to 120. That is a really reasonable schedule to develop domains that will stand the test of time and be profitable. If you do it full-time or hire someone, you can develop more per month.

create umbrella brands.
In short, I'm trying to perfect the perfect in-house landing pages utilizing mega content driven hubs to help stimulate indexing for multiple long-tail keyphrase niche terms to open the doors to start-ups researching keywords that some of my assets are ideal for. (If that makes sense)

I haven't perfected it yet and just getting started on this new network.

My business model changed over the last 12 months.

My 2005 25k+ page asset is now the network(s) umbrella.

The 50k+ asset I'm testing now is the network Hub. (Some public testing can be found in the insiders lounge - VIP/Gold Only)

All the assets listed on the 50k+ network hub are slowly being updated to complement the niche of the hub itself. Assets can be sold individually, in packages, or the whole network hub along with all hub assets can be acquired in a network purchase.

The Umbrella, serves as the brand manager for all the network hubs and domain assets under each hub.

Each network hub is niche targeted and the assets that best fit that niche become part of the new hub.

Hubs are massive 25k to 50k+ page content driven sites with a few monetization options. The targeted content assists with seo/sem in the added exposure and indexing through deep linking and contextual article links referring to landing pages.

It's not a perfect science and I'm still hammering it out and testing, a lot. The data crunching is crazy.

If the assets never sell, but continues to generate revenue, that's fine by me. I tell my wife that this new landing page layout/monetization strategy on huge network hubs is part of our emergency contingency plan, to help insure that our assets don't creep up on us one day as the portfolio(s) get big again and hit us with a huge renewal bill out of pocket that forces us to drop or resell some dirt cheap again, way before they matured. (It sucks when that happens)

My biggest attraction to branding landing pages out and making clear development intentions is for added asset protection. In case someone, some day, comes along with a UDRP. I now have dated usage/TM/Definition and clear business development scope as a foundation to help keep my assets from being taken unjustly.

Another reason that I am starting to prefer the 301 in-house lander over the independent (1-page stand-alone) lander, is less code updating work. Each individual landers code will eventually become outdated and devalued in the index for lack of current standards. Rather than have to go update thousands of individual landers, when it's inhouse, it all updates on the same platform. Much more time management friendly in my opinion.

Planning with future updates in mind.

A lander on a large asset will pass value within/between it's own pages and not be penalized for a redirect coming to it. Yet another reason why inhouse landers may be a better option now days than static independent landers (Same server ip value passing penalties).

Since the new test hub asset targets a nomadic entrepreneurial market, it gives me the versatility to apply several verticals that play well with the core resource and remote work values. In essence, it all ties together and gives targeted exposure of my other assets and assets + websites to traveling/nomadic entrepreneurs that found my resources helpful and decide they like one of my business in a box development directions. Of course, that's a hypothetical situation but when I cross reference it with human psychology it seems to make sense that a larger brand asset with such a large amount of resources, would gain trust and authority faster than a mini-site and potentially result in more asset inquiries motivated by that same trust.

Well, that's my thoughts on larger assets these days and their practical uses for our industry.

Everyone does it different and only trial and error active testing and development will reveal the truth. Mere speculating doesn't come close to what is learned building these assets out and applying real-world business strategy, ethics, scaling, licensing, and hands on experience.

At a minimum, it gives an investor an inside look at what a start-up/end-user must go through once they acquire an asset to build on.

A domain itself, is just the beginning of a blank canvas waiting to be a painting.

I think once more investors can relate to how an end-user handles an asset, it will clear the smoke and mirrors that clutter the industry, making it easier to identify viable assets that a start-up, or at the very least, a hobbyist would want to invest in to build on.

Just my thoughts anyways. I'm still just a hobbyist, even though I developed my first asset in 2005 (On a .ws - lol) and then moved it to the .com in 2007. The rise and fall of mini-site networks has been tiring for me.

This time, I'm fortifying everything for the long-run game.
 
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Wow still reading what @Eric Lyon just posted but surely this wins the eloquent NPs post for the week (as well as the most ambitious and possibly industry changing)? Like this ...
A domain itself, is just the beginning of a blank canvas waiting to be painting.
and this...
I think once more investors can relate to how an end-user handles an asset, it will clear the smoke and mirrors that clutter the industry

I love the analogy of the blank canvas and painting. I think domaining will be much stronger if some creative people like Eric and some creative and innovative end users from outside the industry do things that others can learn from, and/or get ideas from. We really need to celebrate more the creative and successful and innovative users off domain names!

Thanks so much,

Bob
 
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In short, I'm trying to perfect the perfect in-house landing pages utilizing mega content driven hubs to help stimulate indexing for multiple long-tail keyphrase niche terms to open the doors to start-ups researching keywords that some of my assets are ideal for. (If that makes sense)

Makes sense. I am assuming you are using a database to deliver the content to your various developed properties. Long-tail keywords are easier/faster to rank for and can be very lucrative.

All the assets listed on the 50k+ network hub are slowly being updated to complement the niche of the hub itself. Assets can be sold individually, in packages, or the whole network hub along with all hub assets can be acquired in a network purchase.

That's a large network. Must've taken a long to time to build.

Hubs are massive 25k to 50k+ page content driven sites with a few monetization options. The targeted content assists with seo/sem in the added exposure and indexing through deep linking and contextual article links referring to landing pages.

Content is key. SEO/SEM are important considerations. Quality incoming links are most valuable, but people underestimate also the value of contextual internal linking.

This time, I'm fortifying everything for the long-run game.

You hit the nail there. It's gonna take time but it will yield results over time. It's like planting and watering seeds. In due time they will grow into a beautiful garden or forest.

If you make the sites worthwhile (i.e. valuable) to the visitors, then Google will reward you for that.

The days of quick mini sites are gone. Domainers have to think long-term.

  1. Only develop what you can make truly world best.
  2. Only develop what you have expertise in and passion about.
  3. Prioritize among possibilities.
  4. Develop in something specialized, rather than something with endless current strong sites
  5. It is best not to think in terms of any particular number of pages or words, but rather make it as concise as possible but as lengthy as it needs to be to properly inform the reader. That will vary with the type of site a lot.
  6. Get the site good and with good traffic /search results prior to trying to monetize it.

I agree with most of your points with a couple exceptions. If you have an amazing domain but don't have expertise on the subject, you can always study up on it or purchase original content. Even if there are plenty of sites on the subject, if your domain is superior and you can build a solid site on it then the domain itself will make you stand out from the pack. Isn't that what we tell potential buyers?

I also agree with #4. Rather than building a site that covers a large scope of a subject matter, zero in on very specific aspect. It will be easier to rank because you will have less competition.

#5, Google likes a lot of content. But it is just not the quantity of the words and pages, but also how readable they are to the readers. So if you have many pages that ramble on about nothing specific but are just to fill a page with text, then those pages won't help much. So "concise as possible but lengthy as it needs to be" sounds right. I think that 400 to 600 words is reasonable based on the subject matter.

Keep in mind that Google uses time spent on page and bounce rate as signals in their ranking. So you want to create content that makes visitors want to stay on pages and browse the site.
 
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If you have an amazing domain but don't have expertise on the subject, you can always study up on it or purchase original content. Even if there are plenty of sites on the subject, if your domain is superior and you can build a solid site on it then the domain itself will make you stand out from the pack.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. If I have an amazing domain name, particularly if it is in a subject I don't have expertise in, the last thing I'm going to do is try to develop a website on it. You could potentially end up de-valuing the name. I would rather spend my time with an amazing name by reaching out to potential end users and marketing the name based on the name itself, not throwing a website together on it.
 
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Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. If I have an amazing domain name, particularly if it is in a subject I don't have expertise in, the last thing I'm going to do is try to develop a website on it. You could potentially end up de-valuing the name. I would rather spend my time with an amazing name by reaching out to potential end users and marketing the name based on the name itself, not throwing a website together on it.

It depends on your strategy. Premium domains can take years to attract the right kind of buyer unless outbound is your main strategy and you are good at it or can hire a capable broker. In the meantime you have bills to pay. And if you can rank on the first page, first position even, then that domain becomes much more attractive to the right buyers. You may even get a better price, on top of any monthly revenue.

Also, not all amazing domains make good candidates for development. For example, you may want to focus on a niche.

But if you are going to develop, you should pick the best names. Like my article on domain development points out, today domain development is essentially brand development. So if you are not thinking long-term, then you shouldn't even start.

Only develop what you have expertise in and passion about.

I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the point that @Bob Hawkes made about being passionate about a project. This will go a long way to make you stick with with it. I forgot to mention it above in my earlier comment. And certainly if you have expertise in the topic then that is an advantage.

If you look at domain development as a way to make quick revenue, then you failed before you began.
 
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