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Home Legal News 8 Quick Domain Development Tactics: Part I
8 Quick Domain Development Tactics: Part I PDF Print E-mail
Written by Domainer's Magazine Staff   
Friday, 29 August 2008 15:54
The domain industry is relatively new compared to other industries. Nevertheless, no one can say – at least not truthfully – that domaining is still pioneer territory. The word is out: people can and do make money from domaining. Consequently, more and more hopefuls have joined the fold so it is no longer possible to pick up a premium domain name for a song. Now, anyone who wishes to make money in domaining has to do more than hope to buy low and sell high on the basis of the domain name’s potential value alone; he now has to develop his domain property so that money can be made on its actual value instead.
Domain development, simply speaking, is associating a domain name with a fully operational, functional and useful website, instead of a landing page with lines and more lines of ads. In other words, domainers now have to start thinking like webmasters. What kind of website will I put up? How will I earn money from it? How will I get traffic to it? What kind of traffic do I want on it? These are just some of the questions that the new crop of domainers has to consider.
Domain development, as you can readily surmise, is a laborious task requiring a lot of study, planning, time, and energy. Turning yourself into a webmaster is no easy feat – especially if you are a weekend domainer or someone who thinks bits of html code are encrypted messages giving terrorists the go-signal to attack.
Whether you fit in either of the above categories or are someone on the lookout for more efficient web development tips, read on. This is your guide to development tactics that will help you put up a website in no time.

1. Buy a website
This is definitely the easiest way to develop your domain properties. Look around the web for websites that you wish to associate with your domain. Evaluate their profitability – not only current but, more importantly, potential profitability; typically, evaluation is done according to the site’s business model or monetization scheme as well as traffic quantity and quality. You can, in fact, search for websites at Sedo and other domain marketplaces where not only domain names are being traded but also domains that come with fully operational websites.
After making your selection or selections, make your offer to the publisher or owner of that website; if you bought not only the website but also the domain that came with the website, you will have to redirect the traffic from the old domain to your new domain name, although the ultimate destination – the website that you bought – remains the same.
This tactic is, by far, the easiest way to develop a domain. However, this can be rather expensive.
2. Buy an online business
This is similar to the above strategy. In this case, though, you will actually buy an existing online business; this includes not only the site but also the products/services inventory and the back-end support/framework. Alternatively, you can get a franchise of an existing online business and associate it with your domain name.
Like the first strategy, this can also be an expensive undertaking.
3. Hire a web development consultant
If you don’t have the know-how to develop your own domain, ask someone else to develop your domain for you. This is not simple web development, mind you. Your consultant will make all the necessary research as to what kind of website should go with your domain name. Only after that has been decided will the actual website building take place. Since you’re not going to be doing the actual work, this still qualifies as one of the easiest and quickest ways of developing your domain.

4. Use a web template
There are lots of web templates you can use to build your site to start with; some are free and some require a fee. The free web templates are great, but you can’t probably expect support and detailed explanations from their providers. Paid templates are better in this regard, and they are not all that expensive.
Before you choose a web template, though, be sure to have a clear idea about what kind of website you’d like to put up. Web templates differ according to their purpose.
5. Use idiot-friendly web platforms like WordPress
You can start publishing in minutes (hours if you’re a total greenie) with a web platform like WordPress. Simply download the platform, upload it to your web host and customize your site. There are extremely specific guides at WordPress.org that will teach you what to do to set up your site. WordPress and other platforms like it also have modules or plug-ins as well as themes that you can readily and easily integrate into your design to customize your website.
6. Use a web host with an inbuilt WYSIWYG website editor
If you are thinking of putting up an ad site with useful content – nothing fancy – then simply choose a web host that provides a good “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor. This functionality will help you create a simple website for your domain. You won’t even have to know coding language; the way your site looks to you at the editing pane is how your site will look to your visitors.

7. Buy content or hire a content writer
If you are planning to put up a site that earns money through advertising, you will need content that internet users will find useful. For this purpose, you can buy ready-to-post content, buy private label content or hire a content writer.
Ready-to-post content refers to original pieces that you can immediately post on your site. Private label content, on the other hand, refers to articles that require some rewriting so they won’t be tagged as duplicate content by search engines.
Of the two, the latter is the more affordable option; you can get a private label article for a few cents then pay a rewriter a few dollars to make the copy unique. However, the former will give you more credibility. Your site will offer something truly new to your target visitors, not something they have seen countless times, albeit in slightly different words, in other sites. This can, in the long run, win you a regular stream of recurring and referred traffic. It’s up to you which among the two – affordability and credibility – is your priority.
You can also hire a content writer to provide you with original content. This option is not as inexpensive as buying private label content but it is still more affordable than shopping for ready-to-post content.
8. Syndicate content
Another option you have for filling your site with content is to syndicate articles and posts from all over the net. You can set up a site that shows relevant content syndicated from other sites. For instance, you can syndicate content from premiere news providers online or from blogs. However, be sure to respect applicable copyright laws or you’ll find yourself in trouble.
Last Updated on Saturday, 07 July 2007 09:54
 
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