closed Links.com

[richrf]

Hi guys,

Since you did such a great job on server.com, I thought I would solicit your opinions about Links.com. Thanks in advance.

Rich

 

[Theo]

Here's a suggestion. Develop into a rudimentary index, then resell to a company such as Yellow Pages etc for a couple of million.

 

[richrf]

Here's a suggestion. Develop into a rudimentary index, then resell to a company such as Yellow Pages etc for a couple of million.

Hi Acro,

Thanks for the reply. Appreciate the advise.

I was thinking about building a directory (I think this is what you mean by an index), but I would probably lose all of my Google juice that I have built up if I do it. Do you think it is worth it? I am working on a couple of other ideas. One idea that I had been working on turned out was done much better by Diigo.com, so I had to stop development.

Rich

 

[Theo]

I think the issue with the current content is that it's simply a blog. You won't max out your ROI by selling this heck of a domain based on current traffic; you need to brand it up by offering a service that can be bought up along with the name.

 

[richrf]

I think the issue with the current content is that it's simply a blog. You won't max out your ROI by selling this heck of a domain based on current traffic; you need to brand it up by offering a service that can be bought up along with the name.

Hi,

Yes, I agree this would be much better than what I have now. I'll give it some more thought and keep trying new ideas that might yield a service and brand. The directory is certainly a natural but I would prefer it if the directory provided some real value and develop some repeat traffic. I'll keep working on it.

Thanks again,

Rich

 

[Theo]

Yep. I'd hate to see this one be sold based on the usual "xTimes traffic" clause. I think it's better than server.com in terms of potential and on a par with "servers.com". Whatever you do, avoid content related to Level3's "Link.com"

 

[richrf]

Yep. I'd hate to see this one be sold based on the usual "xTimes traffic" clause. I think it's better than server.com in terms of potential and on a par with "servers.com". Whatever you do, avoid content related to Level3's "Link.com"

Hi again Acro,

Thanks much for the heads up. Actually, I did not know about this site, so I really appreciate your pointing it out to me. It is a pretty specialized site, so I doubt I would have similar content, but I am glad you pointed it out.

I have registered links.com since 1996. Most of the time it has had some content related to the general topic of links. The issue I have always been facing is how to retain traffic. It is tough.

I am working on a couple of ideas. One, my son who is a college student along with his friend, thinks might be attractive to younger people. So, I may give it a try. The other, is more designed around gathering favorites information about subject matter sites. Both are pretty low-cost entry vehicles, that I may try out to see if I can get some stickiness. I usually can tell if an idea is good within a matter of days.

Thanks much for the very helpful advice.

Rich

 

[Stian]

I want this name, badly. Are you considering selling it?

 

[denny007]

I have registered links.com since 1996

whois links.com

Domain Name: LINKS.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: NS393.HOSTGATOR.COM
Name Server: NS394.HOSTGATOR.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 23-apr-2009
Creation Date: 20-jun-1998
Expiration Date: 19-jun-2010

 

[Gerry]

I would spend more time looking into the GOLF side of things as well.

For directories, there may be less competition (by virtue of numbers) for GOLF and GOLFING directories than those that are directories of links.

Most likely a higher payout for the GOLF side of the trade from a consumers side of things.

The benefit from the b2b side is, of course, SEO.

Just go all in and build your own search engine.

 

[richrf]

I want this name, badly. Are you considering selling it?

Hi there,

Very much appreciate your interest. As I related to Acro, my interest right now is in continuing to develop the domain. I am working on a couple of ideas right now, and Acro has suggested a direction that I will also want to pursue. So, at this time, I am not interested in selling the domain.

Thank you again for your interest.

Regards,
Rich

Hi there denny007,

whois links.com

Domain Name: LINKS.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: NS393.HOSTGATOR.COM
Name Server: NS394.HOSTGATOR.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 23-apr-2009
Creation Date: 20-jun-1998
Expiration Date: 19-jun-2010

I originally registered the domain name to my company and then transferred after the company was dissolved. I could be mistaken in regards to the date, but I thought it was 1996. 1998 might be correct. Thanks.

Rich

 

[Theo]

Rich, I was going to ask what led you to register the domain in 1996 but seeing that the year is actually 1998, I wonder if you picked it up during the early days of the infamous 5am gold rush, when domains dropped and those with the know-how snatched them.

 

[richrf]

I would spend more time looking into the GOLF side of things as well.

For directories, there may be less competition (by virtue of numbers) for GOLF and GOLFING directories than those that are directories of links.

Most likely a higher payout for the GOLF side of the trade from a consumers side of things.

The benefit from the b2b side is, of course, SEO.

Just go all in and build your own search engine.

Hi Doc Com,

I did try Golf for a while, but there was no traction at all. I found it impossible to compete against the well known golf sites that have all the great content. The difference between parking it and creating meager golf content was infinitesimal and I thought not worth the effort. That is why I decided to move on to try out other ideas - none of which have panned out.

I also looked into building a search engine, but I have been unable to put together an appropriate team to build it. I think you can imagine what the out-of-the-pocket costs might be, plus there is the risk that no one will use it. But it is idea that I am always on the lookout for.

Thanks for your suggestions. I will definitely continue to look into all of them.

Rich

 

[hugegrowth]

It's a nice domain, super premium and the internet is all about links.

I would consider a social networking type site where people submit their favorite links and people can vote on them. You can rank the hottest links by the hour, day, week, month and year, or by country, category, etc. Let people comment on a link, and show the comments. It would be like a mixture of twitter and digg. A lot of work to do though.

For example, when Michael Jackson died, you could visit links.com, type in his name, and get the most popular links to this news.

 

[richrf]

Rich, I was going to ask what led you to register the domain in 1996 but seeing that the year is actually 1998, I wonder if you picked it up during the early days of the infamous 5am gold rush, when domains dropped and those with the know-how snatched them.

Hi there Acro,

No, I was the first the register it when I formed a company.

Rich

 

[Theo]

Ok, I still think there is something odd with the registration date; I recall Network Solutions screwing up with the creation date - maybe via a transfer? I just can't imagine the domain being available in 1998. In 1996, most likely.

 

[Gerry]

For example, when Michael Jackson died, you could visit links.com, type in his name, and get the most popular links to this news.

That is kind of what I was thinking with the search engine take on things.

Google and Twitter have a list of the most popular topics at the moment, and this shows up in real time.

Good SEO would include fresh and updated content, at least for the rankings. An RSS feed would ensure freshness.

This would involve a script that would parse all the news from many sources. I am not a programmer but I am sure it would be more involved than my simple solution.

 

[richrf]

It's a nice domain, super premium and the internet is all about links.

I would consider a social networking type site where people submit their favorite links and people can vote on them. You can rank the hottest links by the hour, day, week, month and year, or by country, category, etc. Let people comment on a link, and show the comments. It would be like a mixture of twitter and digg. A lot of work to do though.

For example, when Michael Jackson died, you could visit links.com, type in his name, and get the most popular links to this news.

Hi there hugegrowth,

This was almost exactly the idea that I was working on, and I do have a raw prototype built. I was designing the system to minimize spam and to ensure security and privacy of data when requested. However, the developer went back to Serbia, and delivered an unusable user interface. I couldn't figure out how to use it, and I designed it!

While I was looking for a new developer, one of the developers I talked to pointed out Diiggo to me, which was very much like the site I wanted to develop but MUCH, MUCH better. They apparently have a great amount of resources available to them. While my domain name would be better, I don't think that there was anyway that I could ever hope to compete -and the cost of development was substantial. So I deemed the project to big of a risk and shut it down, taking my losses.

Maybe I will be able to resurrect the idea if opportunities arise.

Thanks very much for your suggestion.

Rich

Ok, I still think there is something odd with the registration date; I recall Network Solutions screwing up with the creation date - maybe via a transfer? I just can't imagine the domain being available in 1998. In 1996, most likely.

Hi Acro,

Could be. I never paid close attention to it. It was originally with Network Solutions and then I moved it to another registrar and now it is back with Network Solutions.

Rich

That is kind of what I was thinking with the search engine take on things.

Google and Twitter have a list of the most popular topics at the moment, and this shows up in real time.

Good SEO would include fresh and updated content, at least for the rankings. An RSS feed would ensure freshness.

This would involve a script that would parse all the news from many sources. I am not a programmer but I am sure it would be more involved than my simple solution.

Hi there Doc Com,

I was thinking of something similar a while ago. I was going to doing something with the content from the popular social networking sites like Digg, Reddit, Technorati, etc., but I was basically told by people who use these sites that a metasearch of these sites does not have much use and would not be sticky. So I pushed the idea to the side, since as you have indicated, it would require a relatively large amount of money to develop.

Thanks for the idea. I will continue to ponder it and see if I can come up with some unique point-of-view that might be attractive and worth the development costs.

Rich

 

[Domainx09]

I would make it a links directory, something like dmoz.org but better

 

[richrf]

I would make it a links directory, something like dmoz.org but better

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have any idea how I can make such a directory relevant? I have been tossing the idea around for a couple of years, but never could figure out a distinguishing concept. What I am trying to demonstrate is the ability for links.com to develop sticky traffic.

Thanks again for the reply.

Rich