Would this be a bad idea?

[eli4407]

I bought and built the domain name SalesIndustry.net a few months ago. The website is targeted towards my industry, Freight/Transportation.

The website is now ranked number one for the search term "Sales Industry" and "Freight Sales", both of which have started bringing me 100+ hits a day and over $11 adsense in less than a month. The rank for these terms has rotated between first place and third place for a few weeks. I was shocked to see it ranked right above business.com! Am I doing something right or is this a fluke?

I was about to sell this domain the other day for $100.

Should I sell or keep monetizing the site? Should I make the site into a blog, keeping the pages that are indexed, and keep fresh content on the site? Or should I sell?

 

[shockie]

if you are bringing in $ with other sites using adsense then i'd keep the site and possibly adding more content periodically. if you're in need of money right now or don't make any $ with other sites, then i'd be more active with looking for a seller.

 

[BitcoinDK]

if you make $11 a month and is ranked numero uno to 3, then keep it, it will only get better.

But most importantly... do what shockie says and add more contents.

Good luck.

 

[eli4407]

Thanks. Will it affect it in any way to change from a static site to a blog? That way I can post new articles daily for fresh content?

 

[Ross]

Optimize the site more and add new content. The site itself has a TON of room for improvement. If you are making $11 with that set-up you could easily make more if you put the ads in an optimized position. Good Luck! Freight transportation is huge, deal with freight people all the time !

 

[eli4407]

How would you suggest "optimizing" the positioning of the ads?

 

[BitcoinDK]

As a start you can instead of white background in the ad-box, make it yellow like the background the ad-box is in.

 

[Ross]

How would you suggest "optimizing" the positioning of the ads?

People don't read a site like they do a book. They generally look at a site from top left corner to bottom right corner. So obviously your best positioning of your ads should be in a diagonal pattern from top left corner to bottom right corner. So by adding a 468x60 right above you content you would be putting an ad right in the view of the prospective visitor.

Other tips using this method. If you want someone to read something or get someone interested use video ads in these positions. This also works for bold lettering in articles and youtube videos embedded in the page.

Just remember if you do not want to keep the person on the page, you WANT them to leave through your ad. Put it in their general view and only link to your page, ad, or relevant site. This will help you convert better because one if they click on another link within your site you get another chance for that person to click an ad. Think of it as an extra spin on a slot machine. If they click a relevant site they will now know that your site adds some value to their insites on what they are looking for and may remember your site to return to this one and use yours as an informational site. Last but not least if they click the ad, ultimate goal, you have just earned money !

EDIT: Ad at bottom of content (468x60) and make your ads blend with the background. Makes them look like they are part of the site itself.

 

[Fka200]

Word of advice: A site making $11/month should NOT be sold for $100. If you really think about it, you can make it in 10 months time, which isn't really THAT long. If you don't desperately need that $100, heck no!

What I'd do is setup Wordpress on that site, BUT... you might lose your rankings. I'm not 100% familiar with SEO in the way I should be, but weigh your options first and see what happens. You might have a temporary loss of search engine results placement, but it should come back... and with a CMS, you should be great. Definitely keep going with the site, IMO. $100 is peanuts if it's making $11 the way it is.

 

[Ross]

Word of advice: A site making $11/month should NOT be sold for $100. If you really think about it, you can make it in 10 months time, which isn't really THAT long. If you don't desperately need that $100, heck no!

What I'd do is setup Wordpress on that site, BUT... you might lose your rankings. I'm not 100% familiar with SEO in the way I should be, but weigh your options first and see what happens. You might have a temporary loss of search engine results placement, but it should come back... and with a CMS, you should be great. Definitely keep going with the site, IMO. $100 is peanuts if it's making $11 the way it is.

My exact thoughts about the site ! Glad other people love wordpress or moving to some other types of CMS instead of good ol' hard written code.