Turn Links.com into a classifieds site?

[richrf]

Hi guys,

Looking for some feedback on possibly turning Links.com into a classifieds site. It would not be to sell merchandise since I do not want to get involve in anything where money is exchanged. But, before I go down this route, I thought I might solicit some comments on classifieds sites in general. Thanks for the input.

Rich

 

[Dave]

Turn it into a network for webmasters to exchange links.

 

[richrf]

Turn it into a network for webmasters to exchange links.

Thanks. This is was something along the lines I was thinking, or I might find another non-monetary subject domain to work with.

Do you think there is a need for a centralized classified site for link exchanges?

Thanks for help.

Rich

 

[B.C.]

Dear Rich,

As an avid golfer, I have to urge you to rethink your development strategy.

Links.com, although it could be quite successful as a link exchange directory, has the potential to be one of the leading golf-related websites on the internet. I'm not quite sure what your development budget is, but it'd be worth spending mid-high $XX,XXX to develop the name into something that's worth marketing.

Just my two cents.

 

[richrf]

Dear Rich,

As an avid golfer, I have to urge you to rethink your development strategy.

Links.com, although it could be quite successful as a link exchange directory, has the potential to be one of the leading golf-related websites on the internet. I'm not quite sure what your development budget is, but it'd be worth spending mid-high $XX,XXX to develop the name into something that's worth marketing.

Just my two cents.

Hi there,

Thanks much for taking the time to post and share with me your suggestions.

The issue I continue to face with a golf-related site, is content. Links.com was for a while a golf related site, and traffic was mute with very little repeat traffic. Since I do not have the subject matter expertise nor the content that the big golf sites have, I am reluctant to spend much money developing the site, only to achieve very little incremental traffic.

I am open to any suggestions though.

Rich

 

[Catch.Center]

You should try to qcquire the place where you can get revenue.

That is my strategy for domain building.

 

[4u-domains]

Umm... This is a $xxx,xxx domain but it looks like, with respect, you dont have a fraction of that budget to develop it.

Mention 'Links' as a term on the interent and 99% will think of the links from one site to another.
1% would be other ideas including golf..
That alone should direct you into developing this in one way only, the obvious way.

This really needs the weight of a big developer or well funded company behind it.
Microsoft or Google would make millions with it. This is the real shame of it.

You could turn it into any Link related enterprise and the next trick will be throwing a huge amount of money on it for promotion. Once it has the identity on the web, it would get exponentially bigger and one of the big boys WILL come looking.
I'd mortgage my house to develop this name given the right idea.

The cheapest alternative is finding a really clever and unique use for this , based on the Link industry or finding a partner with that great idea, and then bashing away on the usual forums promoting it.
It could be the next Twitter for links..

 

[richrf]

You should try to qcquire the place where you can get revenue.

That is my strategy for domain building.

Thanks for the idea. I will keep my eyes open.

Rich

---------- Post added at 05:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:47 PM ----------

Umm... This is a $xxx,xxx domain but it looks like, with respect, you dont have a fraction of that budget to develop it.

Mention 'Links' as a term on the interent and 99% will think of the links from one site to another.
1% would be other ideas including golf..
That alone should direct you into developing this in one way only, the obvious way.

This really needs the weight of a big developer or well funded company behind it.
Microsoft or Google would make millions with it. This is the real shame of it.

You could turn it into any Link related enterprise and the next trick will be throwing a huge amount of money on it for promotion. Once it has the identity on the web, it would get exponentially bigger and one of the big boys WILL come looking.
I'd mortgage my house to develop this name given the right idea.

The cheapest alternative is finding a really clever and unique use for this , based on the Link industry or finding a partner with that great idea, and then bashing away on the usual forums promoting it.
It could be the next Twitter for links..

Hi there,

Lots of good ideas.

I would develop an idea if it had some stickiness. What I am doing now is testing ideas on relatively tight budgets. If some idea seems to attract repeat traffic, I will put more money into it, until I am convinced one way or another. Reaching critical mass is tough, but it is pretty obvious pretty quickly if an idea stinks. So far, most of the ideas I've tried out fit into this class. Some were OK, but plateaued and it wasn't worth the effort to keep going seeing as there wasn't enough to get it to critical mass.

But I keep trying. Got two ideas in the pipeline right now.

Thanks for the great advice and suggestions.

Rich

 

[don.marah75]

I think a classifieds site would be good. Its a nice domain name.

 

[richrf]

I think a classifieds site would be good. Its a nice domain name.

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep working on the idea.

Rich

 

[Lithium]

I think it would be a really cool idea to have it developed into a site that auto suggests other submitted links for you to exchange with. You could also use the site as a category based search engine. Like a facebook for people looking for link exchange.

 

[richrf]

I think it would be a really cool idea to have it developed into a site that auto suggests other submitted links for you to exchange with. You could also use the site as a category based search engine. Like a facebook for people looking for link exchange.

Hi there Lithium,

Very interesting. Can you amplify a bit on how you see the site would behaving? Would it be similar to StumbleUpon or somewhat different? There is a site Diigo.com. I was actually developing something along the lines of Diigo but I saw that they had resources that I could not match.

Rich

 

[wowrvm]

great! another classifieds site...maybe it should be more like dating.. link people?

 

[richrf]

great! another classifieds site...maybe it should be more like dating.. link people?

Hi there wowrvm,

I looked into possibly white labeling a dating site. It is a really tough area to crack with critical mass. There are only a handful of successful ones out there. Most are pretty dead at this point. But I am always looking for a niche that would give me a gateway into it. It would be a Perfect Match.

Rich

 

[davidpotts77]

Hi,
I also want to ask you that do you think that is a need for a centralized classified site for link exchanges?
Please reply.

 

[bbosh]

I think link-exchanges are becoming less popular. I think that a bookmarking or link-rating kind of service would be great, but there's probably not room for another one.

 

[richrf]

I think link-exchanges are becoming less popular. I think that a bookmarking or link-rating kind of service would be great, but there's probably not room for another one.

Hi bbosh,

After doing some research, I would say that I tend to agree with you.

Rich

 

[Lithium]

My problem when I visited the Diigo.com site, was that I felt overwhelmed with information. I still can't really give a one sentence answer of what in the hell people use Diigo for. That would be the opening in their defenses that would allow you to rise as a competitor.
Start something simpler and easier than your competition, and you'll snatch up more users with less resources.

As far as overcoming stumbleupon, I would say keep your link submission to an index page only. I can't how many times I've gotten tons of different pages from one site on stumbleupon. Yes I am interested in that topic, but if I wanted that site again, I would bookmark it.

Your problem I believe, is that with a domain like Links.com, you have the power to become a major web app, you just need a cutting edge idea to go with it.

Give me a PM or something if you want to talk development philosophy for your site, or discuss ideas further, or need help in any way.

 

[richrf]

Hi there Lithium,

My problem when I visited the Diigo.com site, was that I felt overwhelmed with information. I still can't really give a one sentence answer of what in the hell people use Diigo for. That would be the opening in their defenses that would allow you to rise as a competitor.

Yes, it is complicated if you don't know what they are after. I was able to figure it out because I was developing something similar. However, if you thought Diggo was tough to figure out, you should have seen what the developer I hired came up in a vacuum. I couldn't figure out my own site! He just went to Serbia, out of site of my watchful eyes, and came up with something totally unusable, but something that he loved. C'est la vie.

Start something simpler and easier than your competition, and you'll snatch up more users with less resources.

I am working on two ideas right now. One is being developed by my son and his friends, who swear that I have it all wrong and they know exactly what the target audience is looking for. I offered them a big bonus if they can get sticky traffic.

As far as overcoming stumbleupon, I would say keep your link submission to an index page only. I can't how many times I've gotten tons of different pages from one site on stumbleupon. Yes I am interested in that topic, but if I wanted that site again, I would bookmark it.

Yes. My son and his friends are working on something very simple that they think will attract some traffic and keep them there. I hope they are successful.

Your problem I believe, is that with a domain like Links.com, you have the power to become a major web app, you just need a cutting edge idea to go with it.

I hope you are right. I need something sticky that I can build on.

Give me a PM or something if you want to talk development philosophy for your site, or discuss ideas further, or need help in any way.

Will do, and thanks!

Rich

 

[barefoottech]

you have a name like Links.com and not know what to do with it?
paidlink broker sites like tla or linkworth would pay HEAPS for that name.
A Link exchange site would be a WASTE amd so old school.