In my opinion, one of the 'Golden Rules' of Internet marketing has to be the following:
'Once you have uploaded a website, you should leave it online forever - even if it is only making you a couple of dollars a month.'
As long as you are covering the hosting and domain registration fees each year (maximum of a couple of dollars a month), then why take the site offline? Admittedly if the site is causing you hours of work every week and still only making you a couple of dollars income each month, then yes, remove it. But if the site involves you in no work (for example if it sells an eBook or you generate Adsense income etc from it, then why remove it?)
The point is that whilst the site in question may only be generating a small amount today, you never know what might happen tomorrow?..
This principle has been illustrated to me in a pretty big way during the past week and this is the sole reason that it is fresh in my mind and I want to share the experience with you so that you don't make the mistake that I very nearly made.
I have a site which I built about three years ago. It was a bit of an experiment and not connected to my main income-earning sites in any way. The site covered a topic that was pretty competitive online - an industry for which top search engine rankings were exceptionally hard to get. As I say, it was an experiment and I didn't really expect the site to make me much money - which was a good thing as it meant that I wasn't too disappointed when it didn't! :-)
After a few months of receiving no traffic, the site was eventually picked up by a couple of the major search engines and it started to receive a handful of visitors each day. I guess on a very good day I would get 45 referrals. Needless to say, the site wasn't making a fortune in income but something is always better than nothing.
Anyway at the beginning of this year I undertook a review of all of my websites and made the decision to ditch a few of the under-performing sites. This is where I nearly made a big mistake by deleting my little site but for whatever reason, the site in question managed to survive my 'cull'. It was a close call but in the end I decided that even though the site was only making $20 or $30 a month, it wasn't involving me in any work so it would be stupid to turn it off just for the sake of it.
So the site remained online and up until last week, it continued to tick over as it has done for the past three years, earning a minimal income every month from the few visitors that manage to find it.
That all changed last Thursday however when Google suddenly decided that my little experiment site was far more valuable than it had previously thought. Yup, Google decided that instead of listing my site way down the rankings for one or two low-level keywords, it would index the site at the top of the rankings (quite literally in first place in many instances) for numerous high-level keywords! :-)
Result? The site has gone from receiving an average of 35 visitors a day from Google to receiving over 500 visitors per day. On the busiest day this week, Google kindly sent the site just under 800 visitors.
Of course, this is great news and the site is already making considerably more profit than it has ever done but just look at how I would have missed out if I had taken the site offline. Remember, this is a site that I have barely touched in three years and I certainly haven't spent any time optimizing the site for the search engines. It is just a simple case of Google changing their algorithm in a way that favours my site considerably. This is one of those situations which could happen to any website at any time and this is the main reason why I say, once you have a site online, leave it there.
Clearly there is no guarantee that my site is going to stay at the top of Google for any length of time and given my experience of how search engines work, I am prepared for it to drop back down the index at any time but I am certainly enjoying the extra traffic while it lasts.
The above situation also illustrates how fickle search engines can be. Longer term readers will remember that I took the decision not to bother chasing search engine rankings some time ago. This decision was taken after Google decided to move one of my highly optimized sites from top position for countless keywords to about 20th position. This was a site which I had spent weeks optimizing and a site which had held top positions for over two years. Traffic to this site dropped away in hours and that was the point at which I vowed not to waste my time chasing search engine rankings and instead, would just let the search engines sort themselves out and rank my sites as they saw fit.
Sometimes this approach works and sometimes it doesn't - I try not to let it worry me either way...
Copyright 2005 Richard Grady
Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html
Freebies. Freebies. Everyone loves getting things for free.You can increase... Read More
It never ceases to amaze me how many otherwise intelligent... Read More
According to many market forecasts, 2004 is likely to be... Read More
The web and ways to market on the web continue... Read More
Actually I love the techniques I will explain below. These... Read More
Establishing & maintaining rapport with your online audience is perhaps... Read More
With each new Internet Marketing (IM) Guru, there comes a... Read More
One of the best ways to increase your sales is... Read More
Are you having a tough time selling that ebook or... Read More
When you start your online business, you will go through... Read More
"There is difference between knowing the path and walking the... Read More
Still marketing through press releases, networking groups, and talks to... Read More
Finding the right Internet marketing technique that works best for... Read More
An effective logo/tagline combination can be one of the best... Read More
I've recently begun working with individuals one-on-one who are truly... Read More
For large corporations, a marketing plan is a huge document... Read More
Internet marketing promotion & advertising are crucial for your website's... Read More
Do you remember the first time you got on the... Read More
Creating and building your home internet business does not need... Read More
Many people fail to realize how they can really make... Read More
The current climate on the internet is very unfavourable to... Read More
Try to run a search for the name Edward Gilbert.... Read More
I started as an internet marketer, like I am sure... Read More
People ask me this question all the time! The "Now... Read More
1. Offer to write exclusive articles (that means you only... Read More
The Internet has grown from a small network of academics... Read More
If you are new to the Internet Marketing arena, or... Read More
The internet boom hit a high mark in 2004. With... Read More
Major marketers in the United States have recognized the importance... Read More
In today's world, online advertising is KEY to the success... Read More
It is important that anybody with a significant online presence... Read More
Product creation is usually one of the first concerns of... Read More
The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" meaning "Swifter, Higher,... Read More
You know that using testimonials can help persuade your website... Read More
Whether you are a small company or a larger corporation... Read More
Your prospects want one thing and one thing only! They... Read More
Since I own my own business web site and have... Read More
There are so many business opportunities these days that promise... Read More
You've probably heard by now that article marketing can help... Read More
Question: How to deal with ultra skeptical offline or be... Read More
- Are you tired of chasing down publishers just to... Read More
A lot of people and companies have websites. They also... Read More
Believe it or not, viral marketing did not originate from... Read More
More and more people are considering the World Wide Web... Read More
What I'm about to explain to you will change to... Read More
Hello, do you feel low because sales at your website... Read More
One of the greatest challenges businesses face is how to... Read More
"FREE" what a great word.We all like getting something for... Read More
If you are considering launching a website for your business... Read More
Congratulations, all you Internet marketing people you. You now command... Read More
Analyzing your web traffic statistics can be an invaluable tool... Read More
The days when you could just slap up a Website... Read More
If you read my first article titled BUILDING A BUSINESS... Read More
Master copywriter Robert Collier often used a technique to get... Read More
They hang around your web site. Not buying, just lurking.... Read More
Simply put article marketing is advertising your web site through... Read More
That is a great question!We all know by now that... Read More
Rather than thinking about the web as technology, let's consider... Read More
Cold calling doesn't work, it's no fun and often you... Read More
How low can one get? The number of encounters I... Read More
The public domain is full of books, journals, literary works,... Read More
Your Enterprise Won't Survive Unless People Find ItWhether you're a... Read More
After spending a lot of time and effort on building... Read More
Did it seem like as the Fourth of July fireworks... Read More
Why is profiting on the Internet so hard for most... Read More
Had I known in 1985 what I know now about... Read More
Internet Marketing |