I came across Information.com today, which uses the default Domain Sponsor landing page. There are some domain names that resolve to http://searchportal.information.com/?domainname=XYZDomain, and many of them seem to use the default landing page. I am not exactly sure why domain names are forwarded there, but I know Oversee.net is the registrant of Information.com.

Judging by the Compete stats for Information.com, they are getting a ton of traffic, although the trend seems to be dropping for the past few months. In November, Compete reported that Information.com saw 20,667,014 unique visitors, which is down from 27,335,582 unique visitors in January of 2009.

Alexa ranks Information.com #667 out of millions of websites, and Compete ranks it #47. As a comparison, Google is the #1 ranked website for both. There are also 50,000+ Information.com pages indexed in Google, so you can get a glimpse of what domain names appear to be associated to Information.com.

I think about 50% of my websites are built on the WordPress platform, while I use Dreamweaver for the others. I am not a programmer, and at best, I am a novice developer, so I like WordPress because it’s easy to operate. One of the best aspects of WordPress can also be one of the most frustrating. Whenever WordPress rolls out a new version, or a plugin is upgraded, WordPress lets the publisher know that the newest version is available.

The notice is in a spot to ensure that people upgrade, since security patches are generally a big component of upgrades. It isn’t distracting, but positioning of the notice makes you feel like it’s very important to install the new version, whether it actually is critical or not. All you need to do is click the “Please upgrade now” notice, and you are taken to a page where you can easily upgrade to the newest version with the click of the mouse. Sounds simple, but it can cause major headaches for you.

With a custom designed website residing on the platform, an upgrade that goes wrong can lead to problems, which aren’t always obvious. Despite having an issue a few months ago that was the result of an upgrade gone wrong, I decided to take a chance and upgrade to WP 2.9. I had recently backed-up the entire site, so I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if things went haywire.

The day after upgrading, I found that a post missed the schedule, which was an issue that happened last time. I did some testing (changing to the default theme and turning off the plugins), and I had the same issue. I got in touch with my designer, and he did a bit of research on the issue. Luckily for me, he found a thread on the WordPress Support Forums, where several people complained of the same issue. In a few minutes, my designer found the potential solution, which worked for my site.

The same type of WordPress problems can exist with a plugin upgrade, patch installation, or other WordPress upgrade. Before you are tempted to upgrade, make sure you back-up your full website. If you do run into a problem, do a Google search to find others with the same problem so you can either diagnose it or find someone who can diagnose it and remedy it for you. It’s great that WordPress makes it easy to upgrade, but it can cause you problems if things don’t work out as expected.

As you know, getting companies to place advertisements directly on your website without using a middleman is the most advantageous for you. You can earn more money and establish a personal relationship with your advertisers, something both parties will benefit from. It’s often tedious to get advertisers for your website, especially if its not your primary focus, but if you are building a directory in a vertical where you don’t have much knowledge or contacts, here’s a quick suggestion.

Do some research and find the biggest franchisers and largest organizations in your industry. Many companies in the industry will proudly display their memberships on their website, and you can easily see what companies are part of a franchisee.  Instead of contacting smaller companies individually, contact the CEO or Director of Marketing for the franchise or organization, and try to get all of its members to sign up for advertising.

Offer the company or organization a considerable discount for its individual franchisees or members if the company or organization offers an endorsement of your website. Ask to be included in the marketing materials as well, since many provide a guide to marketing for members.

Some organizations won’t do endorsements, but you can ask for their rates to market to their members. Most have newsletters and other types of sponsorships available for your company. If you can’t afford to pay for the marketing costs, offer to do a marketing exchange by adding banners, special offers, and/or other special marketing exchange.

Working with the largest groups can help ramp up your revenue quickly.

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