GoldBullion.com.au

[snoopy]

Oh please... Ebay makes it's money through listings & item sales, I'm sure you know that.

Carsguide and gumtree make their money through Adsense. They create content (through car reviews, how-to articles, user listings, shopping.com.au feeds etc) and then plaster ads all around it hoping some people click on them.

Just like Ned is doing with his site but obviously on a much bigger scale.

I'm sorry that these latter two don't fit in nicely to your own personal twisted definition of a MFA site but, I'm afraid to tell you, they precisely fit the literal definition.

Carguide.com.au has has got a similar number of PPC ads to ebay from what I can see of it, need to dig around to even find them, the rest of it is banner ads which wouldn't have a great CTR.

Their business model is try to sell classifieds, there is a giant classifieds box right in the middle of the front page so it is pretty obvious. Gumtree I'd describe as a very similar model to ebay accepts a lot of the listings are free, the money comes from paying extra to promote. I don't think gumtree was making a profit until they starting charging fees, from what I have read of it.

 

[DavidL]

Carguide.com.au has has got a similar number of PPC ads to ebay from what I can see of it, need to dig around to even find them, the rest of it is banner ads which wouldn't have a great CTR.

What on earth has CTR got to do with it? It's still Adsense?

99% of their traffic would be people looking to buy new or used cars. Mostly longtail traffic that lands on a page like this : http://www.carsguide.com.au/cars-fo...-4-SP-MANUAL-Leaded-Commercial-in-Sydney.html which has 4 blocks of Adsense ads on it.

Their business model is try to sell classifieds, there is a giant classifieds box right in the middle of the front page so it is pretty obvious.

Yes in amongst the 6 Adsense blocks, I see it.

Thing is, it's free to list your car. So that's not much of a business model in itself is it? However what it does is it gets visitors to create content which builds the site. Which generates more traffic for their Adsense revenue.

Gumtree I'd describe as a very similar model to ebay accepts a lot of the listings are free, the money comes from paying extra to promote. I don't think gumtree was making a profit until they starting charging fees, from what I have read of it.

Maybe so maybe not. I never said it was profitable. I didn't even realise they charged fees - I'm sure 99% of users still go the FREE option.

But if, as you suggested, they recently bought in fees, can you guess what the purpose of the site was for the many years before?

Was it made for a reason other than earning money through Adsense?

 

[geodomains]

Hey Ned,
I noticed your website http://www.boutiquehotels.com.au on your signature is ranking #1 for the term.
Looks like it's been built by the same guy who built your goldbullion website, well done mate.

For a MFA site that's amazing

Don

 

[snoopy]

What on earth has CTR got to do with it? It's still Adsense?

Its banner ads and no I don't think it is adsense, if that was a MFA site they'd run Adsense text links because that would maximise revenue. They are doing quite passive advertising in those spots because it isn't an MFA site, they clearly want to put the focus on classifieds. They run adsense elsewhere in a similar fashion to ebay from what I can see of it.

Thing is, it's free to list your car. So that's not much of a business model in itself is it? However what it does is it gets visitors to create content which builds the site. Which generates more traffic for their Adsense revenue.

I don't know what they are charging, but lots of companies do things at a loss to try and get market share, it also mentions listing in papers, maybe that is game, I don't know, but having a weak business model isn't the same as a site being MFA.

Maybe so maybe not. I never said it was profitable. I didn't even realise they charged fees - I'm sure 99% of users still go the FREE option.

So in other words you've brought up an example whilst having no actual clue about the site or how they make money......great.

But if, as you suggested, they recently bought in fees, can you guess what the purpose of the site was for the many years before?

Was it made for a reason other than earning money through Adsense?

This is the point where you should just admit you cited an example having no idea what you were talking about, instead you just dig further,

Here is some excepts of an interview. I it is obvious to most people I think that it is not an MFA site,

Soon it was time to monetize the website. The pair decided to start charging employers to place job adverts on the site, but kept the site free for other people to post ads…..

Crookall says: “In 2005, the online classifieds field wasn’t proven a good business model. So, we were still shooting a little bit in the dark. We obviously knew it was generating a fair amount of cash but after rounds of negotiations we decided that it was more worthwhile to finally part ways with what we’d created……

Much like Gumtree, Slando’s revenue model was based on advertisers paying more to make their adverts more visible than the others……

http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/...ysterious-founders-of-gumtreecom/2210.article

 

[neddy]

Hey Ned,
I noticed your website http://www.boutiquehotels.com.au on your signature is ranking #1 for the term.
Looks like it's been built by the same guy who built your goldbullion website, well done mate.

For a MFA site that's amazing

Don

Ha ha! Thanks Don. But nothing to do with my skill sets I'm afraid. Tom in Canada is the smart guy.

But you're the master of getting sites to rank. I reckon you could write an eBook and make another fortune. Seriously.

Cheers, Ned

 

[findtim]

BTW what's your development strategy? What have YOU employed that works? Would be great if you could share your tips on what works not just what doesnt. Thanks

geez, a lot of reading so far ! i'm still waiting on the answer to this question .

snoopy are you going to answer it? easy answer ! yes or no ?

or have i missed something during the massive amounts of banter?

tim

 

[DavidL]

Its banner ads and no I don't think it is adsense, if that was a MFA site they'd run Adsense text links because that would maximise revenue.

Yes I think it is Adsense. When you run 6 ad blocks on the one page like Carsguide homepage, you can't just use text ads.

So in other words you've brought up an example whilst having no actual clue about the site or how they make money......great.

You're right, in the 30 seconds it took to find those two sites, I made an educated guess that the primary revenue was Adsense. In light of the widespread use of Adsense ad blocks all over the sites and the listings on each sites being free, I still think this is the case.

Respect your right to think otherwise but i just can't see any other substantial revenue streams.

PS I found these guys looking at my Adwords display reports. I pay them a lot of money through Adwords just myself. And I'm just one business.

geez, a lot of reading so far ! i'm still waiting on the answer to this question .

snoopy are you going to answer it? easy answer ! yes or no ?

or have i missed something during the massive amounts of banter?

tim

Yes, Tim, he is going to later....

I'll be posting a couple of sites up for critical review today.

Anyway I'm tired of this discussion. I still feel that there's nothing inherently wrong with making a site with the strategy to profit from related advertising such as Adsense.

I don't think Google discriminates against such sites on that basis but instead would do so to any site that was thin on content, too small, weak authority etc. (PS a lot of MFA sites do fall into this category so I do recognise your confusion, snoopy)

 

[Shane]

I still feel that there's nothing inherently wrong with making a site with the strategy to profit from related advertising such as Adsense.

I don't think it's a bad strategy either, and I have dozens of MFA sites of varying qualities than bring in anywhere from $1 to $100 per month.

But I think what Snoopy is saying (and I agree with it) is that it's not a good long term business strategy. Any business (MFA websites or otherwise) that relies predominantly on organic rankings and free traffic is not a good long term bet in my opinion.

Google keeps changing the rules, and eventually there will be no free traffic. It could be another 2 years, 5 years, 10 years maybe....

By all means make hay whilst the Google sun is still shining, but don't rely on MFA websites to keep paying your mortgage for the next 20 years.

 

[Ashman]

I agree with Snoopy.

Buying a great domain like goldbullion.com.au and putting up a mini-site is like buying a beachfront property and living in a tent.

You need to sell an actual product or offer a service related to gold.

So in my view Neddy your probably better off with your business model of buying and selling domains.

Anyone in this tread who said the website creates trust and is well designed is full of crap, even the adsense integration looks amateur.

Neddy if your going to spend $5000 on a domain at least invest a bit of money in creating a good site !!

 

[djuqa]

.

Neddy if your going to spend $5000 on a domain at least invest a bit of money in creating a good site !!

Or at least get an Aussie Based Minisite expert to fix/improve it.
That http://goldbullion.com.au site doesn't even comply with current google adsense guidelines.


The following do comply and were VERY reasonably priced.
http://liquorlicensing.net.au/
http://soils.net.au/
http://skyrisegreenery.com.au/

 

[snoopy]

geez, a lot of reading so far ! i'm still waiting on the answer to this question .

snoopy are you going to answer it? easy answer ! yes or no ?

or have i missed something during the massive amounts of banter?

tim

http://www.dntrade.com.au/showpost.php?p=46209&postcount=53

 

[snoopy]

Yes I think it is Adsense. When you run 6 ad blocks on the one page like Carsguide homepage, you can't just use text ads.

What makes you think it is adsense, are you guessing again or have you actually looked at it? I can't see any evidence of it being adsense. I think these are standard banners and the reason they wouldn't run adsense is because they are pushing classifieds.

Respect your right to think otherwise but i just can't see any other substantial revenue streams.

I think the issue is you did no research on their business, just made a hopeful guess which is pretty obviously wrong.

I pay them a lot of money through Adwords just myself. And I'm just one business.

That is probably because it is one of the largest sites in the country. You probably pay ebay & amazon as well.

I don't think Google discriminates against such sites on that basis but instead would do so to any site that was thin on content, too small, weak authority etc. (PS a lot of MFA sites do fall into this category so I do recognise your confusion, snoopy)

That is what the the site is though, thin, weak content, written for $99 by someone is Canada with no clue on the topic. I think Google does discriminate against sites like that, and the level of discrimination is building.

 

[snoopy]

Or at least get an Aussie Based Minisite expert to fix/improve it.
That http://goldbullion.com.au site doesn't even comply with current google adsense guidelines.


The following do comply and were VERY reasonably priced.
http://liquorlicensing.net.au/
http://soils.net.au/
http://skyrisegreenery.com.au/

Despite me thinking Ned's site isn't likely to fair well other than the short term at least it ranks. What a sad & sorry sales pitch the above is. Couldn't find the first two in google for the term and the third has no search volume.

 

[djuqa]

Despite me thinking Ned's site isn't likely to fair well other than the short term at least it ranks. What a sad & sorry sales pitch the above is. Couldn't find the first two in google for the term and the third has no search volume.

Never said the sites RANKED well. all 3 only recently created for the client.
THEY were examples of sites that meet the guidelines for the ADSENSE AD Placements.
Most sites and the developer only focus on the SEO aspects, but google has rules on ad positioning as well.
Sites can still have effective SEO, original articles, attractive looks & GOOGLE can still pull the Google ads for poor ad placement.

I have started a thread in web development for ad placement based on my 8 years experience of dealing directly with Adsense Monetised Minisites
http://www.dntrade.com.au/google-adsense-placements-t6452.html?p=46372#post46372