When I was evaluating my geo-websites, I realized that I could have great traffic and content, but based on my advertising placements and opportunities, unless my prices were sky-high, I would never be able to turn them into self-sustaining businesses. I have 6 banners on the top bar of home page, and they rotate throughout the site. Additionally, I charge for job listings and I use a hotel affiliate for reservations. Although I have signed-on a few local advertisers in the last few weeks, the revenue is still fairly small compared to my other ventures.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve looked at each section of my website with an eye on increasing the revenue. After comparing some of my sections (such as the restaurant section), I realized I need to look at each area as a completely separate revenue generating opportunity. By doing this, I created the first iteration of the Lowell Restaurants Guide, and I am rapidly working on iteration #2 (well, my designer is).

Comparing my website to a garden, I had been tending to it as a whole – just watering the entire garden to make sure everything received enough hydration. Instead of doing this, I am now tending to each individual plant, making sure each gets specific nutrients to stay healthy and grow as large as possible.

I am not looking to maximize the revenue on my geo websites yet. I am looking to create opportunities for the future. I am building the brands locally and I am opening up advertising opportunities. Watching Shaun in Kelowna has really inspired me to look at ways to build these into bigger businesses. Each day, I am working towards achieving this goal, and I will soon share more of my business vision for my geodomain holdings.

Another geodomain owner has made the transition from a travel and tourism guide to a full-blown journalistic publication. Shaun Pilfold and his team have transitioned their website about Kelowna, British Columbia into the website about Kelowna. The Kelowna.com executive team hired some of Kelowna’s top journalists and photographers, as well as some of the best-known local personalities, which is going to drive continued growth at the company.

In addition to advertising online, Kelowna.com is also advertising the new website on the local radio, including a great line about how newspapers and television stations can’t do what they are going to do online. With a great domain name, they are able to grab the attention of radio listeners who will certainly remember how to find them online.

Sure, they didn’t need to have the Kelowna.com domain name, but it certainly gives them much more instant credibility within the community who will see the website and feel as if they’ve known about the site forever. I know the team is working hard to make the site better, and they will succeed.

As I’ve learned, there are always minor glitches that can happen right at launch. If you happen to see something funky on the site, please make a comment here, and I will let Shaun know about it. Congrats to the Kelowna.com team – and here’s to much more success.