PPC vs Development

[Ammudamus]

Good post about this topic on Rick Schwartz's blog:

http://www.ricksblog.com


Thanks,
A

 

[localexperts]

"Major corporations don't want to acquire just type-in traffic for 20 years multiples, on an undeveloped domain. They do want to acquire USERS and a branded domain with a site that provides those users with a positive experience that they gain information, products, services, interaction or entertainment from."

Very True. Having sold and bought a company or two, the last company I bought was all based on SEO. The owner wanted 3X multiple. I let him sit for six months trying to sell it until he came around to my way of thinking that a company whose value is type-in and SEO traffic is worth 1X revenue. MAX!

 

[TheWatcher]

I've read this blog early today and I totally agree with development resale. I've learned a lot.

I like the number comparison.

 

[ipodxpert]

Bottomline - Content is the King. If you have good content you will have good user base.
If you have good user base you will have good chance of selling your website.

that was really informative article.

 

[localexperts]

Actually good marketing is king. Good content is queen.

Bad content, good marketing == McDonald's = worldwide leader

Good content, bad marketing == Roy Rogers = very few left

 

[TheWatcher]

Actually good marketing is king. Good content is queen.

Bad content, good marketing == McDonald's = worldwide leader

Good content, bad marketing == Roy Rogers = very few left

Another useful thought added to my brain today! Thanks George.

Cheers.
Em

 

[ipodxpert]

localexperts, i absolutely agree with you. that was very nice input.

 

[localexperts]

Thanks. Just look at the lead gen companies. Respond, Servicemagic, Reply.com - they are sites with a bunch of forms (bad content) and great marketing.

Servicemagic sold for what to IAC? Too much IMHO

That is why I left Respond. I wanted to take the business in a great content direction with the plan of securing more leads and the board wanted to continue doing more of what we were doing.

In 2008, we will see who has the last laugh.

For the left coasters and international, some more info on Roy Rogers. Started by Marriott. Big in the East Coast US, then went down to a handful of stores left because they never really did any TV marketing or focused on the kids. Good hamburger.

http://www.royrogersrestaurants.com/

 

[Ammudamus]

George,
What types of things on a development side are you doing to increase traffic and revenue for your .TV properties?

Thanks,
A

 

[localexperts]

George,
What types of things on a development side are you doing to increase traffic and revenue for your .TV properties?

Thanks,
A

Our problem is not increasing traffic, our problem is retaining traffic. Our efforts are focused on traffic retention and brand building that will lead to increased revenue.

In 1999, my BD team blanketed the country with the message that netgenShopper (the precursor to the modern day Respond) was "yellow pages on steroids".

Well that was myth. Netgen was a bunch of forms - boring.

We are focused on the "Dr Phil model". Dr Phil is a star - right? Why - because he is on TV.

There are thousands of Dr Phils in their own discipline across the US. Some have talk radio shows. Others don't have a platform. We will give all local experts a platform.

We are trying to blend elements of Dr Phil, talk radio, lead generation, minders, and the yellow pages into a life portal focused on events/wedding, cars, home, fitness, finance, pets, and family.

So corporate videos/virtual tours, professional resumes, expert chat sessions, Q & A, minders, and more.

The reason I own the GEO TVs is because I want to go "deep" in key markets and augment with local videos and other local content.

 

[Ammudamus]

George,
I agree that marketing can be a huge lift for a website versus good content. Besides the current space you are focused on, what recommendations do you have for folks on a development side? Are there companies that can create this community, increased traffic (retention of traffic) and revenue?

Thanks,
A

 

[localexperts]

1) A "god send" for me has been rentacoder. I found two excellent HTML designers on there for very cheap. The Hive pointed me to RAC and it is great. The Hive is also very good, but doesn't do HTML.

2) Focus on content that makes money. Too many website owners build sites that are great but these sites have zero practical plan for making money. AskMe.com is great example. We loved that site. Respond was a partner. AskMe.com turned into a software solutions provider.

Guess what, Local Experts is nothing more than AskMe with two slight tweeks to make case - local and Pay Per Lead.

Had Askme.com made those changes, they would have a eight year jump on me.

Lifeminders was another example. 20 million members. Great content. People loved it. What killed the company, over dependence on CPM ad revenue. When the ad market rates fell, the company couldn't send out enough emails to make plan.

Look beyond video. Video alone - well that is YouTube. Why would someone come to your site when all your site does is link to YouTube videos. They will go to YouTube.

Produce your own content. Focus on value to your members. Focus on a clear, distinct marketing plan to secure advertisers and traffic.\

Its not rocket science, but too many people make it more complicated than rocket science (when it is not needed).

Are there companies that can create this community, increased traffic (retention of traffic) and revenue?

We test channels with $500 test to determine how much traffic.

For example, realtor.com and homestore.com. They wanted us to pay mid to low $XX,XXX to be the main advertiser on their home section.

Guess what, I launched leadingcontractors.com - SEOed the heck out of it and drove as many leads and as much revenue as our prime (center - above the fold ad) on Realtor.com

Cybertonic - can confirm this. He took over the ad space, when we told Homestore to go take a flying leap. Six months later he emailed me on another issue - his comment to me "guess homestore didn't work for you, that is why Respond gave up that ad space." -

yep. Sucker Line forms behind me and I'm behind Servicemagic.

Test channels, don't commit until you know you can get traffic. Google and Yahoo are proven winners. Test Test Test

A good article on the testing methodology I use and have witnessed it working from my former boss Steve Chapin.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/35/ideas2.html


Folks, been fun - will see you Jan 1

 

[End User King]

Great thread, bookmarking this

 

[Ammudamus]

George,
Once again, your insight is much appreciated. In your opinion, why do a lot of the older .com's gain so much traffic through a simple customized parking template? Is it due to the recognition of the extension? Why has this not translated to extensions such as .TV?

Forgive my ignorance, but what tests are occurring? Do these tests help increase traffic or show if your property has the ability to gain traffic? Most .TV properties are not big traffic producers anyways, but the generic names of the properties allow there to be a huge marketspace to capture. I think one of the keys for these type of extensions to grow is to show a real way to monetize or show a consistent traffic model.



Thanks,
A

 

[localexperts]

In your opinion, why do a lot of the older .com's gain
so much traffic through a simple customized parking template?

Type in traffic. Look at AssociatedCities.com. Those sites were built on people living in Richmond, VA typing in Richmond.com to see what was there.

Is it due to the recognition of the extension?
Yes

Why has this not translated to extensions such as .TV?
It does translate to .NET and .ORG althought at diminished levels to .COM. I've purchased several .NETs (such as videographer.net) that have done well. It will not translate to .TV until the average internet user realizes that there is a .TV extension. A good example, WINC (a radio station in Winchester, VA) uses winc.fm. That is the first time I heard about .fm. I'm in the business, so I researched .fm. It will take the average user 100X hearing .TV before curiousity kicks in.

It will also take more TNT.tv, CBSCares.tv, and ShopNBC.tv promoting the extension.

The three other TLDs (.com, .net, and .org) have the advantage of 10+ years from the early days of the web. I was driving around the Baltimore Beltway today and noticed a big sign for CosmeticSurg.net on a building. Once .TV gets more promotion, you will see more type in. It may reach .NET and .ORG levels; but it has a long way to catch .COM.

Forgive my ignorance, but what tests are occurring?
We test other sites to locate the message, ad placement, and channels(sites) the successful drive quality traffic to our sites. QUALITY is key. You can purchase 1M uniques from several companies. However, that traffic may not be QUALITY depending on the what, where, when, and how that traffic ends up on your site.

I buy .TV for branding. I buy .COM and .NET for re-furb.

 

[Ammudamus]

George,
Very interesting! I figured a part of the issue is the recognition of .TV. I don't believe there should be a comparison with .COM as that is the premiere extension.

Ideally, you can purchase uniques from companies, but need to make sure that it can translate into revenue based on the "testing" that occurs on other sites similar to yours. Is that what I am hearing?

Also, how do you deal with the whole parking issue? I know there are some obvious "no no's" that really turnoff potential viewers:

1.Boring template
2.No real product
3.Lack of figuring out who your real traffic is and developing a core community.

Does all your feedback relate to just development or can there be a sustainable model for .TV with the various mini site parking companies?

Thanks in advance. The education has been great.

Best,
A

 

[domainer50]

Actually good marketing is king. Good content is queen.

Bad content, good marketing == McDonald's = worldwide leader

Good content, bad marketing == Roy Rogers = very few left

Definitely have to agree. Marketing and money are king.

 

[sashas]

Actually good marketing is king. Good content is queen.

Bad content, good marketing == McDonald's = worldwide leader

Good content, bad marketing == Roy Rogers = very few left

I like the way you think!

But what if you have Good Content, Good Marketing?

You end up with a premium brand like Mercedes or BMW or Ferrari. You can drive a Ferrari anywhere in the world and the folks around you will know that you mean business since you drive such a damn fine car thats synonymous with speed.

 

[domainer50]

I like the way you think!

But what if you have Good Content, Good Marketing?

You end up with a premium brand like Mercedes or BMW or Ferrari. You can drive a Ferrari anywhere in the world and the folks around you will know that you mean business since you drive such a damn fine car thats synonymous with speed.

Precisely, for this reason the companies with the best products and the best marketing teams are the ones that succeed.

 

[localexperts]

Ideally, you can purchase uniques from companies, but need to make sure that it can translate into revenue based on the "testing" that occurs on other sites similar to yours.

That is the general concept. Yes.

For our "tests", success is can we generate $2.50 for every $1.00 we spend. If you have low overhead, your margins can be lower. The success criteria is all based on your specific metrics.

At Lifeminders, our success metric wasn't revenue, it was how many users can we signup and can the cost/user remain below a certain threshold.

Also, how do you deal with the whole parking issue? I know there are some obvious "no no's" that really turnoff potential viewers:

1.Boring template
2.No real product
3.Lack of figuring out who your real traffic is and developing a core community.

Does all your feedback relate to just development or can there be a sustainable model for .TV with the various mini site parking companies?

We have direct relationship with advertisers (same as Yahoo and Google). So in our core markets (wedding/event planning, home, fitness) we send traffic to our pay per lead advertisers and PPC is secondary on our version of the parking pages.

I realize many people might be shocked, but many small businesses don't like PPC. They haven't been successful. Some prefer pay per lead. Some like PPC. Some do both. Some do neither.

For 2008, we are expanding, the new template is in development. I have a snapshot. It looks more like a portal. If I get a moment, I will load it on the server and post a link.

We blend or fuse different types of content, but we also have PPC

Check out www.officiants.tv. This site is being redeveloped for Jan 1 relaunch, but you can see the PPLead folks (their videos) will go on the right. The PPC revenue is bottom left, below the fold. Warning, I'm working on the site so it might have some errors when I work it later tonight.