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Offline - So the website leasing model is dead?

by easy does it
11 replies
Hey,

I've been thinking of getting into ranking sites for businesstypeCity.com

I gotta admit its a very attractive model, recurring income and all that - I keep the site on page 1 and they keep paying month after month, they stop paying and I lease the site to someone else!

But say I try to rank a site PlumberTampa.com won't I get pushed off the first page by Google Places?

Is the website leasing model a dead duck?

I'd like to hear from people who have been leasing or who are still leasing.

Tom
#dead #leasing #model #offline #website
  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    I do this quite often... But I flip the domain instead of leasing it...
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  • Profile picture of the author truly_gifted
    Originally Posted by easy does it View Post

    Hey,

    I've been thinking of getting into ranking sites for businesstypeCity.com

    I gotta admit its a very attractive model, recurring income and all that - I keep the site on page 1 and they keep paying month after month, they stop paying and I lease the site to someone else!

    But say I try to rank a site PlumberTampa.com won't I get pushed off the first page by Google Places?

    Is the website leasing model a dead duck?

    I'd like to hear from people who have been leasing or who are still leasing.

    Tom
    It's not dead if you know the right keywords to target. Stop looking at the surface and dig a little deeper; that's where you will find the real gold nuggets. Get out of the mind of a marketer, and start thinking like a regular consumer (because you are one). This will make things much easier for you, and a light bulb, at some point, should go off in your head.

    I know I haven't said much in the way of what keywords you should target, but that's beside the point. The point is that you need to stop over-thinking everything. Leasing websites is a very simple business model, and sometimes we, from a marketing mindset, can severely complicate things where they shouldn't be.

    Keep it simple and stop doing what everyone tells you to do. Instead. watch what the competition of your target marketing is doing, and take it from there. It's really easy when you stop trying to follow the "marketer's method" for this model, and others as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author sitefurnace
      @truly_gifted How is the OP overthinking things exactly?

      His question is a very legitimate one and he is right to think before leaping straight in. Things are never as simple as they first seem and you risk monetary loss or even embarrassment with business owners if you just wade in without thinking.

      @easy does it My opinion is that most keywords worth ranking for are dominated by places listings. I think the main thing to bear in mind with this model is how you are going to sell it to the customer.

      Most businesses want to rank for the keyword "business+city" Thats were they see the traffic to be. In reality it may not be the case but unless you can prove otherwise thats the only thing they will want.

      Sure there are longtail keywords that will not trigger a places listing, and you could mop these up with a website that ranks for these multiple terms, but you will need to be able to show them results - either through analytics if they understand that, or by showing them the leads that the site is generating.

      The one thing that would worry me though with this model is the future changes that could happen. OK there may be terms that do not trigger places listings now but that could easily change. Local search seems a very volatile environment at the moment and so to start building a long term business in this way seems to hold a lot of risk for me.

      Why not try it and see how it goes, you've only got your time to loose.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Been there, done that. With success to be frank.

    truly_gifted said it right (you have a real name?). You need to act and stop over analyze what you can do.

    Buy the domain, install script, place 50% of companies there (to tease the other ones to do the same) and promote it offline (flyers/cards).

    In a couple weeks start selling advertising. IF it works, great. If not, you just lost 8$ and 3 hours of your time.

    One of the biggest challenges WF users share is lack of action.

    Don't join that group.

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    People make good money selling to the rich. But the rich got rich selling to the masses.
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    • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Been there, done that. With success to be frank.


      Buy the domain, install script, place 50% of companies there (to tease the other ones to do the same) and promote it offline (flyers/cards).


      Are you saying create a name like anytown US and list 50 percent of the business free. Or are you saying create a domain anytownusplumbers and rent the domain to one of the plumbers ?

      Just need a little clarfication

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
        Originally Posted by DWolfe View Post

        Are you saying create a name like anytown US and list 50 percent of the business free. Or are you saying create a domain anytownusplumbers and rent the domain to one of the plumbers ?

        Just need a little clarfication

        Thanks
        Both. Or any of them.

        Thing is, you need CONTENT to have rankings. Great Unique Content.

        So why not start a directory, bring in 50% of these business for free, ask them a FREE interview by email, place everything online, get rankings, and THEN decide if you sell it, rent or trash it?

        Cause I see many people struggling thinking what would they do WHEN they get it ranked. But to get it ranked, you need good content, otherwise you'll end up way bellow top 3. Now you have to avail IF this work (perhaps $100 for domain + cards/flyers) PLUS your work can be paid by selling/renting the site.

        I sold a similar site for 5K. Why? Cause business owners pay 2K to get a normal new site with no rankings at all. So 5K was a damn good business for them.

        Obviously had to explain them WHY they needed to keep their competitors data inside their site - cause thats what brings great rankings for long term. But as soon as one company understood what was going on, the sale was fast and smooth. Besides, visitors see what a developer whats them to see, as you know. So all the competitors data is there, but somewhat difficult to see. Everything above the fold (and till the footer) is just one company image/text/call to action - sitewide.

        Let me say this too: this 5K sale was one hit wonder. Never had another for that value. Sold one a couple weeks ago for 2K, but the work was similar. So... my time was not paid that well.

        Cause this takes time and pocket money. But my time is precious.

        There are so many things we can do with the internetzzzz and local business...Think outside the box.
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    • Profile picture of the author truly_gifted
      Originally Posted by sitefurnace View Post

      @truly_gifted How is the OP overthinking things exactly?

      His question is a very legitimate one and he is right to think before leaping straight in. Things are never as simple as they first seem and you risk monetary loss or even embarrassment with business owners if you just wade in without thinking.
      I'm not saying that the OP shouldn't take the time to map out a plan. But, what I am saying is that he shouldn't spend so much time "thinking" about which keywords to target. It's not that hard to figure out, really. Let me put things into perspective for you.

      Businesses don't care about keywords. They care about RESULTS. Have you ever sat down and had a real conversation with an "offline" business owner? If you have, you would know that regardless of what marketing strategies you can offer, the only ones that make a difference are the ones that will bring them more customers and more money. Now, let's look at the website leasing business model.

      You find a keyword, get it ranked, and lease it to a business. That's great for you, but what will be the real benefit to the business owner who leases that website?

      It seems like you are forgetting that the success of this business model is contingent on the amount of people who are actually searching for the associated keywords. And even more so, it depends on how many of those people actually become customers, thus bringing more profit to the business.

      Unless you are ranking the sites specifically for Google Places, then you shouldn't target such broad keywords. Think about when you need something and the kinds of searches you make. I'm sure that many of them don't bring up Google Places results.

      That is my point. When you're looking to actually buy something, your searches tend to get a lot more specific. Hence, the term "buyer's keywords, and these should be your target.

      Buyers don't look for keywords. They look for solutions to their problems. When you STOP thinking like a marketer, you will see exactly what I mean. And it will make your business endeavor that much easier.


      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      truly_gifted said it right (you have a real name?).
      Yes I do. It's right below my username.
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  • Profile picture of the author sitefurnace
    Businesses don't care about keywords. They care about RESULTS. Have you ever sat down and had a real conversation with an "offline" business owner? If you have, you would know that regardless of what marketing strategies you can offer, the only ones that make a difference are the ones that will bring them more customers and more money. Now, let's look at the website leasing business model.
    This is exactly what i just said in my post?
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    If you follow the model as you are describing it above, then yes it is dead.

    You don't lease the site based on its ranking in Google.

    You do lease the site based on how many leads the site is generating in an average month.

    You can use Google's results to show your clients how your site is generating traffic, but in the end, the value is in the number of leads a site is generating every month.
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    • Profile picture of the author gekko2.0
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      If you follow the model as you are describing it above, then yes it is dead.

      You don't lease the site based on its ranking in Google.

      You do lease the site based on how many leads the site is generating in an average month.

      You can use Google's results to show your clients how your site is generating traffic, but in the end, the value is in the number of leads a site is generating every month.
      I agree 100%, there is still plenty of money to be made leasing websites but the trick is to build it and then market it as a lead generating site.

      Business owners get a million offers for various web services and more likely then not have been burned by shady "web gurus" in the past. You need to approach them as somebody who is going to help them generate new business and if you are able to generate leads for them you will have a customer for life.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
        Originally Posted by gekko2.0 View Post

        I agree 100%, there is still plenty of money to be made leasing websites but the trick is to build it and then market it as a lead generating site.

        Business owners get a million offers for various web services and more likely then not have been burned by shady "web gurus" in the past. You need to approach them as somebody who is going to help them generate new business and if you are able to generate leads for them you will have a customer for life.
        This is so true! So many people think that if they just send out 10 emails to business owners saying I have a site on the first page of Google for you, that they will make a sale right away!

        You have to earn their trust and stand out from the rest of the wannabe SEO'rs trying to suck money out of them.. lol

        I built my entire current business model around the lease site strategy. My full time income is all from this model. Its pretty awesome to get monthly checks coming in every single month automatically.

        You just need to use the right strategy.


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