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Rent A Site Model

by Mav91890
21 replies
I have been wanting to hop into the offline sector for awhile but wasn't too sure of which way I should go about it. I was interested in the Rent a Site model where I could pick my own niches and keywords and build traffic to that site, then contact the local businesses.

Is this still a feasible way of earning? I like how you can come at the client from square one with high value but why wouldn't they just resort to Adwords?
#model #rent #site
  • Profile picture of the author zannix
    Because 10% of people click on sponsored results and 90% on organic ones. I know I never click on sponsored results. They care "too much" about me visiting their website (they must be selling me something )

    Anyway, I'm in the same basket as you. Add me on skype, would like to chat with u sometime
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Thank you, I knew there had to be an answer to that but it always randomly came up and bugged me.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Ok man, I added you.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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  • Profile picture of the author veheme
    Rent A Site models are only good if the one can lend it properly and convincingly to his leads. Getting the sites ranked is one thing but convincing people to bit is another thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    True, maybe a directory would be a better idea like John Durham implied.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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    • Profile picture of the author jacquic
      I dithered a bit with some sites I'd optimised to sell on (and other stuff got in the way). What I'm doing now is making them into directory sites, and offering free listings (they must contact me to get their web address added) and three levels of upsell. The top level is a page on the site with all their own branding and the directory's menu, sidebar, etc, not showing.

      Then, of course, is the opportunity to do SEO and all sorts of other stuff for them.

      Does this approach work? I have no idea - I'm just building them now and will be approaching businesses very soon. I'm confident enough it will work for me to put these initial hours in.
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      • Profile picture of the author AussieT
        jacquic What script/platform are you using for your directories?
        Does it come with the 4 packages built in?
        How to the paid packages differ from each other?

        Tom

        Originally Posted by jacquic View Post

        I dithered a bit with some sites I'd optimised to sell on (and other stuff got in the way). What I'm doing now is making them into directory sites, and offering free listings (they must contact me to get their web address added) and three levels of upsell. The top level is a page on the site with all their own branding and the directory's menu, sidebar, etc, not showing.

        Then, of course, is the opportunity to do SEO and all sorts of other stuff for them.

        Does this approach work? I have no idea - I'm just building them now and will be approaching businesses very soon. I'm confident enough it will work for me to put these initial hours in.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Sounds good jacquic. For me though, I think I'd at least try to have a minimum low price for a basic listing, but that's just me. I may try and incorporate it into my local social network.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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    • Profile picture of the author jacquic
      Originally Posted by Mav91890 View Post

      Sounds good jacquic. For me though, I think I'd at least try to have a minimum low price for a basic listing, but that's just me. I may try and incorporate it into my local social network.
      I think you're right, Mav91890 - lack of confidence on my part...it's a small town with plenty of directories already. However, I WILL outrank them all and then start charging a fee for the free listing. ;-)

      Another reason is, I know most of these people (through the Chamber), so it will be just another way to get talking to them more about SEO, etc.
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      See our great value publications - business, SEO, etc. Being added to weekly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hugh
    People who do rent-a-site wrong will tell you it doesn't work. Of course.
    People who do it right get paid every month - residual income.
    The key is value. Your customer must show a return on investment.
    If he gets $3 back for each $1 he pays you, he will love you forever.

    Hugh
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    "Never make someone a priority in your life who makes you an option in theirs." Anon.
    "Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon." -- Winston Churchill

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  • Profile picture of the author Aussieguy
    Rent a site model was one of the first "offline" ideas I came across. One of the lads from Wealthy Affiliate put me onto it, and I moved away from affiliate marketing right then and there. But, after quite some time (lots of reading & research) I moved away from doing anything with that model. Nothing wrong with it in my opinion, just not the direction I ended up wanting to go. They're advertising sites, and sold like that (with good seo), there's nothing wrong with that. I don't know why not many talk about bundling ongoing adwords into the package price. If you can show a client that they could have an "advertising site" that's all over google (so to speak), wouldn't you want to do everything you can to "get it all over google?" Building in adwords to the price makes sense to me.

    Where I tend to move away from it is this....by the time you factor in what you want to charge to make a profit and perform a really good service.....that money (that the business is spending) in my opinion would be better spent (by them I mean) on building their own brand. Their own website is their asset. I'd rather see them build their own asset into something bigger and better.

    I see that as a better deal for them, and as my philosophy is to think of what is the best deal for them, I've thus moved away from the site lease model. But it is what it is.
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    • Profile picture of the author James.N
      Originally Posted by Aussieguy View Post

      Where I tend to move away from it is this....by the time you factor in what you want to charge to make a profit and perform a really good service.....that money (that the business is spending) in my opinion would be better spent (by them I mean) on building their own brand. Their own website is their asset. I'd rather see them build their own asset into something bigger and better.

      I see that as a better deal for them, and as my philosophy is to think of what is the best deal for them, I've thus moved away from the site lease model. But it is what it is.
      I'm getting started into website rental myself and I would agree with your thinking here. What if you offer them a full package, their own site and brand etc for a higher price than your website rentals?

      I guess I think of it as online real estate. There's a lot of people that rent apartments and you have plenty of people that say it's much smarter to buy a home and build equity if you can afford it.

      Some people rent until they can afford a house, others just prefer to rent. I don't see why you can't offer both?
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    • Profile picture of the author AussieT
      I agree to a point. However isn't that like saying that instead of advertising in a major targetted print publication (ege trade journal) they would be be better off starting their own magazine or journal and brand it as their own.

      Most larger businesses still see the value in advertising in a variety of publications even though they do not own them.

      Originally Posted by Aussieguy View Post

      Rent a site model was one of the first "offline" ideas I came across. One of the lads from Wealthy Affiliate put me onto it, and I moved away from affiliate marketing right then and there. But, after quite some time (lots of reading & research) I moved away from doing anything with that model. Nothing wrong with it in my opinion, just not the direction I ended up wanting to go. They're advertising sites, and sold like that (with good seo), there's nothing wrong with that. I don't know why not many talk about bundling ongoing adwords into the package price. If you can show a client that they could have an "advertising site" that's all over google (so to speak), wouldn't you want to do everything you can to "get it all over google?" Building in adwords to the price makes sense to me.

      Where I tend to move away from it is this....by the time you factor in what you want to charge to make a profit and perform a really good service.....that money (that the business is spending) in my opinion would be better spent (by them I mean) on building their own brand. Their own website is their asset. I'd rather see them build their own asset into something bigger and better.

      I see that as a better deal for them, and as my philosophy is to think of what is the best deal for them, I've thus moved away from the site lease model. But it is what it is.
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      • Profile picture of the author Aussieguy
        Absolutely. That's why I wasn't knocking the model from that kind of advertising point of view. But if that's the case....just make sure that the site is really getting good / targetted traffic. That's why I said if I was doing it, I'd be building in the cost of adwords and all sorts, because just like a newspaper or magazine, you want as much traffic as possible (to boost your advertising rates). I'd also stick with industries that appreciated targetted traffic rather than mass traffic.

        My move away from the concept is a personal preference and I was more posting from that point of view: I don't particularly feel like setting up an advertising publication. But it can certainly be legitimate.

        Personal opinion: unless the "advertising site" is offering something separate of value (much as a newspaper or magazine does), I personally come back to: I'd rather build the business' presence if I'm building a website that does nothing else anyway. Set up a site for an area of interest that gains traffic, and sure - monetise through advertising.

        Originally Posted by AussieT View Post

        I agree to a point. However isn't that like saying that instead of advertising in a major targetted print publication (ege trade journal) they would be be better off starting their own magazine or journal and brand it as their own.

        Most larger businesses still see the value in advertising in a variety of publications even though they do not own them.
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        • Profile picture of the author TheShark
          Rent of Site Works.

          One of the simple ways for people with patience...get a site up, let it age, get it to #1 casually, then rent it.

          Keys I've found.

          1) Generic Service businesses (no retail)
          2) Higher dollar
          3) Transfer phones for a while to show potential renter it works (risk reversal).

          Make sure to have contract that you own the site, not them, keep the contract simple, but cover all the basics.

          TheShark
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          • Profile picture of the author AussieT
            Originally Posted by TheShark View Post

            Rent of Site Works.

            One of the simple ways for people with patience...get a site up, let it age, get it to #1 casually, then rent it.

            Keys I've found.

            1) Generic Service businesses (no retail)
            2) Higher dollar
            3) Transfer phones for a while to show potential renter it works (risk reversal).

            Make sure to have contract that you own the site, not them, keep the contract simple, but cover all the basics.

            TheShark
            an you explain how you set up the phones please. Do you buy a phone number for each site? How do you tranfer the number during the trial?
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  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    Many businesses pay more each month for a billboard spot than what is being charged for a site rental - which is ridiculous if you think about it.

    For instance, a billboard is not targeted at all. The majority of the traffic is not unique (i.e. the same people driving by each day during their commute). Most people won't even look at the billboard as they're too busy paying attention to the road etc.

    With a site that has been optimized correctly, you're going to be bringing in extremely targeted leads - people that are actually looking for your services. They can browse your site, phone you and/or email you with any questions etc. They are generally going to be unique visitors - each and every month...buying customers with credit card in hand.

    It blows my mind.

    Now, some billboards make sense - such as restaurant ads and hotels...but I've seen everything from insurance to dentistry, which doesn't seem very pragmatic.
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  • Profile picture of the author redcell1
    Rent a Site Model does work. However it is not for everyone. Picking the right niche as well as having some time/money to get the work done.
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    Just here to see the shenanigans.

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  • Profile picture of the author EmmaPowell
    Originally Posted by Mav91890 View Post

    I have been wanting to hop into the offline sector for awhile but wasn't too sure of which way I should go about it. I was interested in the Rent a Site model where I could pick my own niches and keywords and build traffic to that site, then contact the local businesses.

    Is this still a feasible way of earning? I like how you can come at the client from square one with high value but why wouldn't they just resort to Adwords?

    You must have an incredible offer for your client

    I use the rent-a-site model for my everyday business and it works a treat

    I focus on lead generation and when my site is new I do on occasion use adwords to get the leads started.

    SEO is the long term strategy and yields far better results even with low searches according to google adwords

    Emma
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    • Profile picture of the author TheShark
      In response to Aussie T...

      Yes - I get a phone number for each site - many places to do thing - ring central, google voice, skype, etc.

      All you do is forward the number to their number - keep track and show them the print out of number of calls or other options. I currently have a LOT of phones numbers all over the U.S.

      Hope that helps.

      TheShark
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  • Profile picture of the author asred
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author AussieT
      Originally Posted by asred View Post

      I was one of the original companies to start renting websites and have found over the last 4 years this model is very successful. I have however changed the concept a few times and tweaked it here and there but I have a few hundred satisfied clients and about 60% of sites now organically self sufficient....even through the Google updates.

      What this means is I have a very good (almost) passive income.

      It doesn't matter if you buy or rent, if the website is not up to much it's not going to work. The key to this model is to offer yourself and expertise as the rentable part and with that comes a 'top notch' website. Offer all the trimmings from a single source so you build in the value.

      My sites start at £19.99 a month but rarely rent at this level as most people soon realise they need many pages of unique content to get the best start possible. This is where I employ the services of an article writer because most of my clients cannot write about their own businesses....strangely enough.

      90% of my sites are around the £50 a month and some at £75 and a few above £100.

      It's a great business but I have seen a few people fall by the wayside and many of those missing the point about renting websites.
      19.99 seems to be very cheap even 50.per month seems on th low side? Any reason you have selected such a low price point? Many businesses pay more than that for just hosting. Who is your target market?
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