SF News: Blogrolling Peter Davis, Ongoing Case Study this Winter Break

Some Site Flip news to let you guys know this blog is alive and well. If you enjoy the read, consider my free newsletter.

First, a mentor of mine and internet Guru (yes, capital G) is being added to the blogroll. Peter Davis is the author of the very useful Rules for Protecting Yourself When Buying a Website as well as being a Sitepoint and Earners' Forum moderator. In fact, he's started his own blog forum, for those of you looking to talk with and learn from other bloggers.

Second, I'd like to announce an upcoming site flipping project that will begin over winter break. A longtime friend and I have identified a niche with little SEO competition and keywords with good bids. Starting around Christmas, we'll be launching an informative site around the theme. The plan is to implement Adsense and affiliate programs, SEO the hell out of it, and then watch the money roll in in a couple of months when it owns the SERPs and gets plenty of eager-to-click search traffic. (Search traffic clicks on Adsense ads much more frequently than traffic coming to a website from another referring source, such as a link from a blog.)

For the design, we'll be buying a template, and my buddy will work on the coding aspect of things to modify it and install plugins etc. (We'll probably be using Wordpress as a content management system, though it remains to be seen if it will be a blog.) For the content, we're looking at hiring it out, with a focus on tying in the articles to related blog carnivals to gain links.

Then with a little luck and good revenue stats, we sell out. I've got some buyers in mind and an estimated price tag that should hopefully let my friend and I start other sites and businesses...

So Stay Tuned for late December when I'll name the site and show you the actual techniques we're using, the nitty gritty that gets the site ranking and earning money.

Related articles are archived in the topical categories site flipping case studies, Site Flip News.

Don't get Burned When You Buy a Site

A key concern in buying a website is the transaction itself and ensuring the quality of what you're buying. The impersonal and international nature of the internet makes warranties of quality near impossible to enforce, even if law makes them an implicit part part of contracts If you enjoy the read, consider my free newsletter.

A friend and mentor of mine, Peter Davis, has addressed these concerns with a little guide to avoid getting burned in buying websites (or other online property for that matter). As an active trader and a moderator at one of the web's most popular marketplaces for buying and selling websites, domains and other online products, Peter definitely knows what he's talking about.
Among the advice he shares:
Do a background check on who you're buying from. Plug their name and online nickname into the search engines. Ask other forum members about them.
Don't count on paypal to bail you out if you get scammed. Their first interest is their own bottom line.
Harassing forum mods will get you nowhere. The most they can do is ban the account/IP, and while that may be satisfying for those seeking retribution, it won't get your money back.

There are more rules and ideas Peter that shares that I haven't mentioned here. Generally, it's excellent advice for newbies to moderately advanced site flippers, so go check it out!.

Related articles are archived in the topical categories buying a site, flipping tips, and website markets.