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What a waste of a site . . .

by Harvey Segal
12 replies
It has a superb 4-letter domain name which is memorable and meaningful.
It has the potential to be a huge authority site - a bit like ehow.com


But have a look at tips.com

What a shambles and what weird topics.

I'm not clear how the site makes money. It was created in 1991 ! I would have thought the owner could simply sell the domain name for a fortune.

Question: what would you do with such a site ?

Confession: I have an ulterior motive here. I have a site with a very good domain name which includes the word 'tips' which is currently geared to one topic 'Internet Marketing'

I'm considering whether to make it a general site about tips.

The first issue is what range of topics/niches to cover and how high or deep to go. For example 'Health' would be too broad and 'Quit Smoking' too specific.

The next question is how to make money from it.
The usual ways are affiliate programs and adsense.

But I'm sure Warriors may have lots of other ideas so I welcome your feedback


Thanks
Harvey
#site #waste
  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Shambles? It's just a parked site, isn't it?

    Surely "tips.com" is too wide a subject. Obviously I don't know what your domain name is, but wouldn't something like "healthtips.com" or "diytips.com" or whatever, be more focused and make content decisions easier?

    Edit: having typed that I looked (of course). Both healthtips and diytips are parked sites. In my travels looking for domain names I find the majority of registered domain names are simply parked site. Relatively few are ever actually developed.
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    • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      Obviously I don't know what your domain name is
      I deliberately avoided spelling it out purely to avoid accusations of promotion (which is obviously not the case here) but if I said it is a 'super' domain name and has the word 'tips' attached to it I think you'll get it.
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  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    Yeah it looks parked. I nearly bought a parked domain last year for $1800 but GoDaddy stuffed up the auction. Then I had a brainwave and bought the plural version for $10.

    Incidentally, I used to use t1ps.com - it's a shares tipping service that's been going for years but even they must have missed out on tips.com!
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  • Profile picture of the author EnterIn
    I think you can make this site a major authority site about tips on any conceivable subject. That's the obvious one. The content can be created by anyone so long as they meet your qualifications.

    In this case it would be a site of a more serious nature.

    Or it could be a site where users can post content without screening and then vote on the quality of any tips given. If the site has a subscriber base that is growing rapidly, perhaps Yahoo or someone else might splash some serious cash your way!

    It can also be a site that provides tips in one major niche. This way it is easier to build a focused site, one that search engines easily understand and human beings find really helpful due to the fact that they can find information on one major topic all in one place.

    Personally, I reckon this second method instills more trust in your audience and makes you an authority quicker.

    Hope this helps,
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    • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
      Sunil you make some good points.

      Originally Posted by SunilTanna View Post

      You've built a niche recognisable brand with your domain Harvey, don't dilute it, just register another name if you want to build a general site.
      I would not want to register a new general site as I just want to take the opportunity of using my existing domain name and start working on non-IM niches.

      I'm not sure how much my site would be diluted as the home page would effectively say
      1. Click here for Internet Marketing Supertips
      2. Click here for Health SuperTips
      3. etc etc

      with (1) pointing to the current content.


      Originally Posted by SunilTanna View Post

      Alternatively, expand out your niche site to cover the niche it covers better. Surely, even super Harvey hasn't yet made an Im site with every type of Im tips yet?
      That would be a task for Superman
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  • Profile picture of the author eXacta
    An alternative would be to develop the site using sub-domains for each of the areas that you want to explore - that way your exisiting brand authority shouldn't become too diluted.

    I think that developing sub-domains is an opportunity that IM'ers seem to overlook quickly and yet Google utilise it in virtually every aspect of their business i.e:

    Code:
    mail.google.com
translate.google.com
    Just my 2c but best of luck however you decide to proceed
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    • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
      Originally Posted by eXacta View Post

      An alternative would be to develop the site using sub-domains for each of the areas that you want to explore - that way your exisiting brand authority shouldn't become too diluted.
      Well either subdomains or folders. I believe there are pros and cons for both

      But indeed the plan would be to put each niche topic into its own subdomain (or folder)
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  • Profile picture of the author sgyjsyjsyjjytj
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Harvey,

      The very largest supersites can afford to "go wide" in a market because they have the resources to build the brand, attract the traffic, and support lots of content creation. Typically, when a small business tries to follow that model they languish in obscurity and anonymity.

      Many of the supersites monetize their traffic with their own advertising and by selling ad space to smaller businesses. It works for them because they generate constant visitor flow. Such sites have any number of employees that work full time to build the brand and keep the traffic coming.

      In my opinion Harvey, that business model will take time and substantial resources including hiring staff to become a success and the stakes will be fairly high given the amount of time/effort/money that it will take.

      I believe a better, less costly approach for someone without a large staff (and possibly a large bank roll for this project) would be to drill down into a market and carve out a niche, a corner that is unique but that still has substantial interest to "everyday" people.

      One such market that I like and that would be appropriate for "tips" is personal development; but it's still too broad in my opinion. A corner of that market could be directed to an audience made up of a particular demographic (maybe like "baby boomers" or retirees or single parents or recently divorced). Most of these segments have particular pain points that could be addressed with "supertips" that provided solutions to the common problems of the audience. Whether you provided the solutions or they were subscriber generated would depend upon your approach.

      FYI . . . I was a subscriber of yours long ago and it's kind of surrealistic that I'm trying to give you some ideas after all this time.

      The very best to you,

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
        Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

        Typically, when a small business tries to follow that model they languish in obscurity and anonymity.
        Gasp. I'm going to fade into oblivion.

        Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

        FYI . . . I was a subscriber of yours long ago and it's kind of surrealistic that I'm trying to give you some ideas after all this time.
        Well they say a cat can look at a king.
        Not that I'm a king. Or that you are a cat.

        Thanks for your advice.
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