A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Rob Grant who has been following the development of Lowell.com on my blog. Having read about Rob and his accomplishments, I was excited to speak with him. After a brief email exchange, Rob and I spoke via telephone and had a great discussion about geodomain strategy. One strategic initiative I learned about was using targeted keyword domain names to build a Lowell.com network, all of which would support the main Lowell.com site.

An example of this can be seen in Rob’s network of websites. In addition to Adirondacks.com, Rob and his team have built a huge network of supporting sites such as AdirondackHotels.com and AdirondackSkiing.com. This network of sites helps expand the reach of the main brand and can also help the search engine optimization of the main site, since each site has its own unique content. Needless to say, I purchased many Lowell-related keyword domain names, and am in the process of slowly building each. An example of a mini-site I just started can be found at LowellPharmacies.com. It’s going to take me a while to build each site, but Rome wasn’t built over night!

During my conversation with Rob, I mentioned that a well-known Lowell resident contacted me via the Lowell.com contact form asking me if I needed a sales representative on the ground in Lowell. While I declined this offer at first, after speaking with Rob, I will get back in touch with him later this week. Not only does he have many business contacts in the city of Lowell, he will also be able to give me invaluable information about the city. While I wanted to do all of the sales myself, it doesn’t necessarily make sense since I am in New York, and I don’t have a ton of local contacts yet (although I am a member of the Chamber of Commerce!)

As I learned in my 2 years as a Direct Marketing Manager at AIG, when you might not have the ability to do something as professionally as it needs to be done (or should spend the time focusing on other things), you should hire the best of breed to do it for you. In this case, it would make sense to work with someone who is known in the city and can close deals. I can worry about the development of the site (and my other business interests), and he can worry about generating revenue. Even though it will cost me a % of each sale, I would rather pay a percentage of a large number than no percentage of a smaller number. The sales rep will also be able to give me feedback about what improvements are needed on the site to make it more beneficial for the advertisers.

This post was going to be entirely about building the Lowell.com network of sites, and as I was writing it and thinking it out, the post began to change shape, and there is a double meaning to “building a network.” Having a support network is advantageous in both the literal and figurative senses. Just as the main website can benefit from well-built supporting websites, I have been building a network of friends and colleagues in all areas of development.

I have been lucky enough to receive great advice from people like Rob Grant, David and Michael Castello, Jessica Bookstaff, Brad Epstein, Richard Douglas, Dan Pulcrano, Owen Frager, Gordon Brott, and many others who have been down the path of development, marketing, hosting, and search engine optimization, and they know how difficult it is. There are literally thousands of ways to build a successful business on a website, and I have been lucky enough to receive advice from many people who have already been down the path I am traveling.

While Lowell.com is taking a while to build, I am not in any rush to generate revenue. I am fortunate to have done well enough in the domain industry over the past few years to slowly build Lowell.com and it’s supporting network without having to worry about the small revenue it is currently generating in its infancy. When I start selling the Lowell.com product to potential advertisers, I want to make sure everything works as I vision it to work. Lowell.com and it’s supporting network of websites are going to be as strong as possible.  Along the way to developing Lowell.com, I have been building an even stronger network of friends and colleagues, all of whom are supporting me.

People often say you shouldn’t develop a domain name just to develop it. You should either have a passion for the topic or have knowledge about the industry, as a development project is difficult, and if you don’t enjoy that business, you are going to have regrets. While that advice may be 100% accurate, I think high value domain names need to be secured, and it appears that development may be the best way to secure them. After the recent LH.com UDRP decision, I would advise people to develop the domain names they can’t afford to lose via UDRP.

Yes, the chances of losing a name via UDRP are still arguably slim, but with each decision like the LH.com decision, it becomes easier and easier for companies to cite other similar cases when they file a UDRP for a generic domain name. I do understand the difficulty of developing all of your domain names if you have hundreds of names. I would argue that if you do have hundreds of domain names, you are probably at the greatest risk of losing your names - even if they are generic. In fact, the LH.com decision cited:

“…Respondent’s business model involves the indiscriminate acquisition and use of as many such domain names as possible. The traditional analyses of the rights to or legitimate interests element should not apply in gross when a registrant is not seeking to use any particular domain name to conduct business, is not otherwise known by that name, and has no interest in the nature of the transferor’s rights there from.“

Trust me, I know how hard it is to develop domain names. I haven’t started soliciting advertisers for Lowell.com, and as such, I am only making a few dollars from the hotel and job boards at the moment, but I know with optimization will come advertising dollars. This is a full scale business I have developed, rather than just a developed domain name. There are plenty of options out there to develop where you don’t need to spend a ton of time or money. If I had more high value domain names, I would be developing all of them quickly.

Incidentally, check out Salinas.com to see a site that was fairly quickly put together.  Maybe I could generate a little more revenue if it was parked, but as it is, I have closed close to 25 hotel reservations in less than 2 months, have generated good revenue from the job board, and have a nice deal with the photographer. Once I develop the domain name more fully (in a couple of months), it will look even better.

In the past couple of months, I have seen several domain forum threads and domain blog posts discussing development versus parking, and debating whether there has been a shift in thinking among domain investors. As I read up on this “debate,” I have to say that I believe this train left the station long ago. Perhaps this would have been a good discussion at least a year ago, because if you look around at the top domain owners, almost everyone is developing at least one of their prime domain names into revenue generating businesses, and most are working on many more than a single domain name.

Domain development comes in all forms - be it blogs, affiliate websites, hybrid affiliate websites, full e-commerce sites, directories, mashed-up sites using Google tools…etc, etc, etc. I consider anything that doesn’t involve simply changing the nameservers and showing advertising links to be considered development. If you look around, there really is no debate - just about every major domain investor is developing at this very moment.

To give you an idea of where I am coming from and to prove that this is the greatest non-debate of all time, here are a few of the brightest and most prolific domain owners along with at least one public development project (several of these domain investors (or their companies) have many developed websites):

Sahar Sarid - FuneralHomes.com / Assista.com
Michael Berkens - HomeFashions.com
Scott Day - Chairs.com / Shops.com
Rick Latona - SanJuan.com / Trusts.com
Rick Schwartz - Property.com / Widgets.com
Castello Brothers - Daycare.com / PalmSprings.com
Kevin Ham - Vancouver.com
Ron Jackson - DNJournal.com / NameNewbie.com
Lonnie Borck - netRocket.com
Nat Cohen - Maryland.com / OceanCity.com
BuyDomains/NameMedia - Photography.com

Most of the people listed above have more than just the single domain name developed, and many have several developed websites and full businesses with their ventures. Many of these people (and others) have been developing their domain names for a while, but a few have just recently started developing their domain names, as have I. Market conditions, legal risk, declining PPC values, and other factors have contributed to this movement to develop.

At least in my opinion, the question should not be about whether you should develop or park your names, but rather it should be about which of your domain names you will develop. PPC does still play a major roll in many domain portfolios, but I think development will be important for long term profitability. As most people will admit, development is very difficult and time consuming, and if you don’t do it right, you will spend quite a bit of time spinning your wheels.

I think the real question and debate should be about “what domain name(s) should I develop first, and what development model should I use?”

Since the Widgets.com auction on Ebay didn’t reach its reserve, Rick Schwartz opted to develop the name, and Widgets.com has softly launched. The site is currently seeking widget submissions in exchange for cash prizes:

“Starting In May! Widget Contests! Exciting CASH Prizes!!Widgets.com Presents Weekly Contests For College Students
To Develop The Most Innovative Widgets!
E-Mail Contests@Widgets.com For Details!”

I think this is a cool idea, and I think they could even take it a step further. Yesterday afternoon, I spent a few minutes searching for a flight tracking widget. When I develop Burbank.com, I am going to devote a page to Burbank’s growing airport, and I thought it would be neat and helpful to include a flight tracking widget. Well… no dice. It doesn’t look like anyone has made a flight tracking widget for use on another website.

I would like to suggest that Widgets.com allow people to post requests for widgets. They could create a contest forum where website owners (like myself) could post a request for a widget in exchange for a fee. The buyer could choose to pay extra to keep it as an exclusive widget, or they can pay a reduced fee and allow others to use that widget.  I think this could create stickiness to the site.

Based on my recent acquisition of Burbank.com, mini-development of Salinas.com, and recent launch of Lowell.com, you can probably guess that I like geographic domain names. I do have several other non-geographic domain names, so I am not just a geodomain buyer/developer, but I happen to really like these names. There are a number of reasons for this, and if I haven’t stated my reasoning before, I am happy to do so here:

1) People are always looking for information about large cities or tourist hotspots. Judging by the type-in traffic my geographic domain names receive, I can say for certain that people look for city information simply by typing the city .com domain name into their url browsers. Whether they are looking to move to the city, looking to visit the city or looking for information, the goal of my development projects is to offer all of this and make it easy for them to make travel plans for find a place to move. I am sure good PPC could be made, but that limits the growth of the domain name. While developed geodomains may take some time to develop and generate revenue, the upside is much greater than with PPC.

2) There are no products that I need to sell with a geographic domain name. Geodomains are almost always informational, so there is no inventory, fulfillment, or customer service to worry about. Sure there is client management, but I will get to that in a minute. Geodomains can be a great source of information, and if it is presented in an easy to read format, visitors should return.

3) To generate the maximum amount of revenue, relationships need to be established with local businesses. Unlike other types of product/service related websites where potential clients are located around the country (or world), all of the businesses I will be reaching out to are located in the same general vicinity. I can and will meet with local business owners and managers, explain why they need to advertise in the local directory, show them that their neighbors are advertising and try to convince them to advertise as well. Maybe it sounds easier said than done, but if the pricing is competitive and the businesses receive a return on their advertising dollar, the advertising will sell.

4.) Once a geodomain business model is successful, the model can be replicated in other city .com domain names fairly easily.

5.) Travel, Job, Ticket and other similar affiliate sites were practically made for geodomains. Most will actually help you create a white label solution so the affiliate site is fully integrated into your geodomain. While jobs.lowell.com might not look exactly like Lowell.com, it is pretty close.

6.) There are always people who are fully committed to their city. If the domain name is beneficial to the city, others will be very willing to help. With Lowell.com, I worked with a top photographer who not only provided images, he also gave me some great advice about things that should be included in the website. He is also going to introduce me to some of the city decision makers so I can introduce myself and let them know I want to help the city.

I don’t think geodomains are any easier to develop than any other type of domain name. I do recommend that the owner have a tie to the city he wants to develop and that the city is large enough that it can be fully developed. With smaller, non-tourist towns, it can be more difficult to get enough advertisers to generate revenue. One of the most important things to remember is that the website should not only reflect the personal tastes of the owner, but it should also be reflective of the city.

For now, I have enough geodomain names in my portfolio to keep me very busy with development.

There is still some work to be done, but I am happy to announce that I have launched Lowell.com! While my developer and I are still working out some of the kinks, we are at a point where we are able to release the first version of the Lowell.com website. I know it’s not perfect and many tweaks will need to be made in the coming days, but this is all a learning process for me, and I hope the launch of the site encourages others to develop some of their domain names.

There are still some grammatical, SEO, linking and other various issues, but I am comfortable enough with the presentation to launch it. If you notice anything funky - be it grammar, punctuation, spelling, links…etc, please be kind and drop me a note. This is my first “real” website aside from my blog and corporate site, so the learning curve is still pretty steep.

I would like to thank everyone who helped me by giving fantastic advice and recommendations. I really appreciate it. And to those people whose emails I haven’t responded to in the last couple of weeks, I apologize. Feel free to send them again and I will try to respond more quickly.

Some solid advice on DomainingTips.com on how to turn average domain names into valuable revenue-producing domain names. People often complain that they were too late in the game to get the “good names,” but this proves there is no such thing as being late in the domain industry. The successful entrepreneur will learn how he can make his domain names profitable rather than lamenting about what could have been had he only known about domain names years earlier.

Timing is important, but it isn’t everything. There is no easy money in the domain industry, but the article gives a step-by-step guide to one way to make money - even if you started today. If you want longevity in the industry, you need to find a niche that works for you, and there is some good advice in the article.

On the Lowell.com Blog, I discuss how I am using affiliate websites to generate passive incremental revenue for Lowell.com. I am using affiliates for hotels, tickets, and jobs, although there were other verticals I chose not to use for various reasons. With the three affiliate companies, I am able to create customizable pages within my site, and then the traffic is forwarded to the affiliate sites to close the sale. I can basically set the sites up and almost forget about them (except for minor updates).

By using affiliates, I am able to create brand stickiness at Lowell.com, as visitors will presumably find what they are looking for, and they will return to find it again. The transition to the affiliate site for the purchase is fairly seamless, and since the site has the look and feel of Lowell.com, it will make visitors more confident tha they aren’t being taken to a shady website.

One of the most important things to remember is to choose trustworthy partners. By working with well known and respected brands, I am confident they will give visitors a good experience, helping to promote the Lowell.com brand. The affiliates need to have great customer services, be reliable and give exactly what they promise their customers.

On the Lowell.com blog, I discuss which affiliate companies I chose and why. Hope this helps you in your development projects.

Finding advertisers will probably be the most difficult task for me once Lowell.com is softly launched sometime next week. It is difficult to convince someone to spend money advertising with an unproven business, especially considering the current economic situation. As bad as it is around the country, Lowell, Massachusetts has a fairly high unemployment rate and business is suffering in the city. However, because of rejuvenation efforts taken on by the city, there are some positive signs, and I want to do what I can to improve the economy and drive tourism (as much as a website can).

Because I changed my revenue generation strategy for Lowell.com from the directory model to a guide model, there is going to be a greater emphasis on acquiring individual business clients to advertise. On the Lowell.com blog, I discuss my strategy for acquiring advertisers. I am planning to get in touch with businesses in several less invasive ways. Based on my experience working in my father’s retail store, I am going to avoid the most common (and easiest) way to communicate with a business.

If you have time today, check out the Lowell.com blog for more information about my strategy to acquire customers.

The Lowell.com site is currently going through a thorough search engine optimization analysis. I wanted to catch all the low hanging fruit before I officially launch the site, and everything hould still be on target for a launch in a couple of weeks. I blogged about the SEO analysis on the Lowell.com blog, although I didn’t really get into too many details on the topic.  I am far from an expert, and it would only be humorous for me to write or preach like I was one.

I do think that search engine optimization is almost as important as the unique content I had written. I used the example of my website being like a home in the forest that needs a road and electricity. It could be the most beautiful home in the world, but if you can’t get to it, the home won’t be enjoyed by others. Search engines need a way to find Lowell.com (and other websites), and optimizing it for the search engines is the best way to get noticed.

If you have some time and interest in developing, feel free to check out the Lowell.com development blog for more details. I also added a few resources I used in addition to my friend.