TiaWood.com

Mini site controversy. It's the talk lately. It started with Rick Schwartz and spawned a few self serving articles in addition to some actual intelligent responses. This article is about why your mini site failed (nothing to do with Rick Schwartz. Here is why.) for most of the domainer population.

Your Mini Site Failed Because....

It Lacked Focus

I have worked with a few domainers whose project focus flipped on a weekly basis. We would be in the middle of one project and they would get excited about another. They would have me focus on the new project because they believed their new one would be "the domain" that would cause them to find riches. We need to get our Development ADD under control. I know, I have been there, too. It is okay to be excited about a project. But when the euphoria dies: what plans and execution do you have to make it successful?

It Had Too Little Content

Five articles is barely enough to capture a good array of keywords. One of my pet peeves is to see one of these mini site developers brag about how they were able to push a domain to the top of the search engine for the domain's own keyword! It's one of the EASIEST things to do in SEO. Truth is, five articles is just not enough. Not enough to have good staying power of any kind.

It Was Never Updated

A small site cannot sit for too long without needing updated in some way, unless you execute a marketing strategy and unless the domain initially receives type-in traffic. These sites disappear in a matter of months, sometimes in a matter of weeks. There is no stickiness to keep a good SEO rank.

It Was Never Marketed

Small sites can be marketed if they are properly developed. But a site with empty development loses tons of potential. Most mini sites lack the simple basics of information collection and upselling. Not only that, most domainers never promote their site beyond what the mini site provider does for SEO.

The Concept Has Already Failed

One word: MFA. This is the "Made For Adsense" type of development that has already failed. One size development DOES NOT fit all. One size marketing DOES NOT fit all. One size scalability DOES NOT fit all. Development is a logical thought process that has to be done on a case by case basis. Real web developers are the ones who have been trained to think in these logical processes, not push a few simple buttons and label it development.

The Real Problem Hasn't Been Talked About

Lately, mini site development has been a service in the domain industry largely provided by individuals or companies who discovered how to push a few simple buttons. If you are going to go with a service like this, don't take me wrong: they can provide some benefits versus full scale development.

The real problem lies with the domainer who was made to believe mini sites or mass domain development was THE gold mine alternative to failing PPC revenue. It is up to YOU to focus more on your domains and demand that they NOT fail. And it begins by educating yourself on what development is really for, what the components of success are and using mini sites as a fraction of your plan, not THE plan.

Domainers need to develop a keen sense of business. Some of our minds are too far stuck in the gold miner days of the late 1990's with domain names. This isn't the same internet anymore. You have to compete now and it's not easy.

Comments (5)

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written by Acro, September 20, 2009

That's the ultimate guide - well-presented. But please, make the headlines LARGER so that there's no excuse for domainers to read and UNDERSTAND

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Competition is the name of the game.
written by Anthony, September 20, 2009

Tia you hit the nail on the head ... competition is NOT easy and will only get MORE difficult ... the question is
then ... How can you flip this www negative to a personal positive ?

Anthony

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written by Chef Patrick, September 22, 2009

Well said girl!

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How To Measure?
written by John Humphrey, December 24, 2009

But what IS a successful mini-site? Is it successful if it pays for the renewal? If it makes $10 a month, $20? My mini-sites took a long time to build and barely pay for their renewals (even though they do quite well in the search engines for their keywords). Your article certainly points to areas I could improve on, but I just wonder at this point if building mini-sites is the best use of my time.
My question is: When a multiple mini-site approach to building a business works, what does it look like?
Thanks,
JohnH

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written by TiaWood, December 24, 2009

"My question is: When a multiple mini-site approach to building a business works, what does it look like? "

John, What does it look like? I don't believe it would look like a mini site anymore. "Mini site" is more of a concept rather than the size of a website. Continue to build on them.

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