Thank You, David Castello

If you read my blog frequently, you are probably well aware that David Castello from CCIN has given me great geodomain development advice on Lowell.com and Burbank.com. As I mentioned in a previous article, David’s advice led me to add banners across the top row of the home page on my geodomains, whereas before I only had the 6 spots on the bottom right.

Not only did one advertiser just renew a six month advertising deal adter nearly backing out after 3 months, but I analyzed my hotel affiliate revenue, and much of it is coming from clicks on the rotating banners on the top row. In addition, I have been receiving many inquiries for advertising from people clicking on the “Advertise on Burbank/Lowell.com” banner in the top row. This is a marked improvement from the side rotating banners.

Without David’s advice, I don’t think the results would be as good. As revenue begins to ramp up, I am realizing that all of the effort I’ve put in is beginning to pay off, and by treating my advertisers well, they are happy to continue advertising on the site.

One thing you can take away from this is that when you develop, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Look at successful websites and see how they monetize. For geodomain names, you can look at other Associated Cities member websites and adapt some of the commonly seen strategies. You can also look at the local news and newspaper websites, too. Not only can you gleen strategy, but you can also see who is advertising locally!