Dictionary Profits
This is an idea I have personally used and it always
- no matter what kind of site you have - it always
produces quality web traffic.
Submitted by several readers, here are the two best
explanations of specifically why this idea works and
exactly how to implement it on your site:
Kelly Monaghan says "Dictionaries Draw Eyeballs":
When I created my site about how to become a Travel
Agent I included my Travel Industry Dictionary as a
small component of the home study course. This was
mainly a way of adding functionality and usability
to the site. I never anticipated it would be the
eyeball magnet it has become. In some months, 40% of
my traffic visits the dictionary.
I let a few dictionary sites know it existed and was
never very aggressive about seeking links. But it
seems to have had a viral effect. Many dictionary
sites started linking to the site, then travel
schools, and even high traffic consumer sites like
Fodor's, which view it (I assume) as a
non-commercial resource for their readers.
When I did seek links, I found the conversion rate
high because I was offering a valuable resource,
rather than a sales letter site.
Another benefit: much of the traffic the dictionary
attracts comes from people searching for specific
words and terms that don't appear elsewhere on the
site, so my log files tell me what people are
interested in, allowing me to create content geared
to newly popular search terms.
I'm not sure how large a dictionary or glossary
you'd need to be taken seriously by the dictionary
guides (mine is over 3,600 terms), but creating a
specialized dictionary or glossary might be worth
considering.
How about a glossary of snowboarding (or even
snowboarder slang)? An audiophile's dictionary? A
New Age Dictionary? My guess is that whatever your
site's topic, there's a glossary to be created.
Another possible application: Turning your glossary
into a paid or freebie ebook that could be widely
distributed (with links back to you, of course.)
Kelly Monaghan
http://www.hometravelagency.com
The Internet's premier home study course
for home-based travel agents.
You can see what dictionaries are already
out there and find places to submit yours at:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Dictionaries/
Keith Sager really breaks it down step-by-step when
he explains how to use a topic specific glossary to
build traffic, build your brand and get paid too!:
Here is an idea that you can use to promote your
website, and get paid to do it. This idea was BORN
for use on topic-specific portals, but should work
well for any niche market website. I do not know of
this EXACT model in use anywhere else on the
Internet.
This concept is a traffic-generating,
brand-building, moneymaker. I'm confident that if
you brain-storm with this for awhile, you will get
quite excited about various ways YOU can implement
it to get paid to promote YOUR website...
Step #1 - Build a Topic-Specific Dictionary/Glossary
for your Niche Market
Build an extensive DICTIONARY and/or TERMINOLOGY
GLOSSARY for your specific niche market. Every page
of your dictionary should be reserved in size to a
maximum of 510 pixels wide. This width will support
a pop-up window that will include a 468 Google
AdSense banner, and a vertical scrollbar.
A basic format would be: The dictionary index page
will consist of nothing but the alphabet, a to z,
arranged neatly in an invisible table. Each letter
is linked to an intermediate page with a list of
words and/or phrases that begins with that letter.
As an example, a dictionary for the jewelry industry
would have the "A" link point to an intermediate
page with words like "amethyst," "aquamarine," and
"amulet," etc. Each of these words will be a link to
a dedicated page for that word's definition. (for a
more polished presentation of your dictionary, try a
JavaScript or a DHTML fly-out menu instead)
At the top of each dedicated definition page, you
will place your code for a 468x60 Google AdSense
banner ad. (Step #2 below) Also, to build traffic
and your brand recognition, the bottom of EVERY PAGE
in the DICTIONARY (not just the definition pages)
should have a small-font hyperlink that reads,
"Dictionary Courtesy of www.your-website.com." (You
may want to consider an additional link for visitors
to suggest new words and their definitions.)
[Side Note]: For usability and convenience, you
would of course want to link every word in your main
website's content to it's definition in your
dictionary-glossary. That will be a huge convenience
for your visitors, and they will more than likely
come to visit you rather than your competitors if
you make their research easy.
Step #2 - Syndicate your dictionary to smaller
websites of similar-content!
PAY other webmasters (with related content), to use
YOUR DICTIONARY on their site as a value-added
service for THEIR visitors. I recommend paying
webmasters 5 cents for each unique visitor to the
Dictionary ALPHABET PAGE ONLY. (Tracking unique
visitors to the "Alphabet" page can easily be
accomplished by using readily available affiliate
software) As an additional incentive, you could
provide an "alphabet page" template to each
webmaster, allowing them to place their logo at the
top of the page. Place this dedicated index page in
a subfolder on your domain.
Now they have a semi-private-branded dictionary that
THEY ARE GIVEN and PAID TO USE (THEY SHOULD BE QUITE
HAPPY WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT!)
Now lets review what we have done...
=>You have YOUR DICTIONARY PAGES accessed on
potentially hundreds of related content websites,
and each access could be worth 50 cents or more! [As
their visitors research terminology, they are
exposed to more and more Google AdSense Ads (or any
other affiliate programs you are an affiliate with)
on your definition pages!]
=> EVERY PAGE has a link back to your website,
either your index page or a dedicated landing page.
+ Every page has potential to drive traffic back to
your main site
+ Every page view helps build your BRAND-AWARENESS
on the Internet
=> Every Dictionary ALPHABET PAGE viewed on another
related website LINKS BACK TO YOUR DOMAIN, THUS
PROVIDING THAT MUCH MORE LINK-POPULARITY and
RELEVANCY, PUSHING YOU HIGHER IN THE MAJOR SEARCH
ENGINES rankings.
=> Additionally, AFFILIATE LINKS you place on your
dictionary definition pages will get much more
mileage than just placing it on your site only!
HERE IS A CONSERVATIVE EXAMPLE:
50 Dictionaries X 10 unique users / day = 500 users
/ day
Payout 5 cents X 500 unique users = $25/day expenses
-----------------
500 users / day
X 20 cents AVERAGE AdSense revenue per user
$100/day
-----------------
$100 Gross
- $25 Expenses
$75 / day NET! ($2250 / month income)
PLUS GREATER RELEVANCY in the SEARCH ENGINES
How much is that worth? Have you priced BUYING a
higher listing in a search-engine lately?
PLUS THOUSANDS OF FREE CLICK-THRUS (FREE TRAFFIC!)
Remember the link on every page: "Dictionary
Courtesy of www.yoursite.com" If 15% in the above
example click-thru to your site, that is 9000
visitors/month FREE!
PLUS BRAND RECOGNITION
Who has 10s of 1000s of Dollars to pay for brand
advertising? Get PAID to do it with your
Dictionary-Glossary!
I'm confident each of you will be able to add minor
refinements to this concept, specific to your needs
and your traffic goals. I hope you can see the
potential here. With very little modification, ANY
website can take this methodology and make it a
profit-generating, traffic-building brand-builder. I
invite you to try it, and I solicit your comments.