<![CDATA["Discussion Around The Buying And Selling Of Internet Businesses And Websites" - General & Miscellaneous]]> http://experienced-people.net/forums/ en Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:32:31 GMT vBulletin 60 http://experienced-people.net/forums/images/misc/rss.png <![CDATA["Discussion Around The Buying And Selling Of Internet Businesses And Websites" - General & Miscellaneous]]> http://experienced-people.net/forums/ Is Google Abusing its Power? http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1517-Is-Google-Abusing-its-Power?goto=newpost Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:13:08 GMT The state of Texas thinks that it might be. Their attorney general has launched an investigation into whether Google is manipulating their search... The state of Texas thinks that it might be. Their attorney general has launched an investigation into whether Google is manipulating their search engine rankings to hurt their competition.

The full article is here.

Unless they are talking about Google sticking YouTube results at the top of the page and other similar changes that were made over the years, I'm not sure I buy into this accusation. ]]> benitez17 http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1517-Is-Google-Abusing-its-Power Escrow.com - Run Away ! http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1472-Escrow-com-Run-Away-%21?goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:55:56 GMT Clinton, I know (and have read them) that there are plenty of threads on this subject and that I'm not
particularly adding new insight here, so if you want to delete this, no problem.

That being said, because I'm new at this and have basically taken from this forum because I really
had nothing to offer - this is meant for 1st time site buyers, like I was.

First, here's how escrow.com nearly screwed up my deal.
Escrow.com closes their business day at 4:00p.m. P.S.T. - they're closed on the week-ends.
I'm in Texas - the seller is in Australia - our days & night are flipped. It's our 1st time at escrow.

To keep it short, the seller had technical problems transferring, and I requested an extension
of the inspection period - but he never agreed - then because things started moving along well,
I was O.K. with that.

I paid the seller late at night for the site I bought , exchanged a couple of emails, and
went to bed.
The next day Ive got 10 emails - the seller was having a panic attack that I'd lied, not paid, and robbed him.
But I only had domain names transferred, and he still had the password in order to transfer
the site files to my host - he could have snatched them back !
When I looked on escrow.com, he was right - there was no indication that I'd paid.

My take on what happened:
Some lame brained lackey stumbled into work at escrow.com, scanned some emails about
extending the inspection period, clicked the equivalent of a Reset button, and negated the fund transfer.

It's worked out, but what a nightmare for both of us !
In short, we agreed on escrow.com because we didn't know of anything better.
But in the 11th hour, there is no protection for either the buyer or seller.

In threads here about escrow, Clinton advises using a lawyer to make payment through
and I think this is one fine idea if your spending a big sum - but if you're dealing with
someone in another country, can they really protect you - or will they just muck up
the deal as is their tendency ?

I'll be buying other sites and I will find another way to go about it (I hope), and report.

In the mean time, if you're just starting, read the threads here and see if you can come up
with an idea for a more secure transaction, and convince the seller of it - I can't express how much this experience sucked. ]]> james http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1472-Escrow-com-Run-Away-%21 SEO trick: How do they do this? http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1461-SEO-trick-How-do-they-do-this?goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:56:51 GMT I'm increasingly finding that sites are ranking for terms that they have no content on whatsoever. And they rank only because they dynamically insert into the page every term that leads to their site.

For example, I was searching for a flash player for the Sony Xperia X10 and this page came up. The only reason they seem to be ranking is because they have this "incoming search terms for this article" section into which they insert every term anyone has ever found them on. They've also made each of those terms a link back to the page itself.

It's dumb of Google to be fooled by this, in my opinion, and pretty frustrating for searchers, but ...

How do these sites do it? ]]> Clinton http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1461-SEO-trick-How-do-they-do-this Stricter advertising rules online. FTC type rules now come to the UK http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1453-Stricter-advertising-rules-online-FTC-type-rules-now-come-to-the-UK?goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:16:53 GMT Following up less than a year from the FTC's new rules on disclosure comes the news that the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK is going to be clamping down too.

Quote:
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is extending its remit to cover the online realm.

It means that online marketing and ads will, from 1 March 2011, be subject to the same strict advertising rules as traditional media.

The ASA will also have the power to ban marketing statements on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Good news? Or too much government meddling?

Implications? Do you see currently non-compliant sites rushing to sell before the rules come into force? An opportunity to shop competitors? ]]> Clinton http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1453-Stricter-advertising-rules-online-FTC-type-rules-now-come-to-the-UK <![CDATA[Flippa's gone quiet but still "innovating" for us]]> http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1452-Flippa-s-gone-quiet-but-still-innovating-for-us?goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:10:58 GMT Since Luke's departure, Flippa has gone quiet on the blog posts, but they have made a post today about their latest innovation - a report which shows keyword rankings for listed sites. This is done with the help SEMRush whom they now call a "partner".

So the emphasis isn't on selling newbies fairly new sites excessively reliant on cheap, temporary SE traffic anymore then :)

Kudos to Flippa though for their constant innovation.

Any bright ideas on how this new feature can be used (or misused)? ]]> Clinton http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1452-Flippa-s-gone-quiet-but-still-innovating-for-us Super Original Idea http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1449-Super-Original-Idea?goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:24:02 GMT So I'm looking for a new project to occupy my time, and I thought it would be great to create a tool that would tell you who was hosting any website. It would be a valuable tool for finding out who's hosting those sites with irregular name-server entries as well as earn me a little affiliate commission.

Wouldn't you know, someones already done it. http://www.whoishostingthis.com

WAIT!... "operated by Quality Nonsense Ltd"?

@QualityNonsense: I hate you. ]]> ClaytonL http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1449-Super-Original-Idea Why are people searching less? http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1432-Why-are-people-searching-less?goto=newpost Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:50:03 GMT I came across an article (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/08/25/americans-searching-16-less-than-they-were-a-year-ago) stating that search... I came across an article stating that search volume is down 16% year over year, based on the stats from July 2010. Why do you think this occurring, and what does it mean for online businesses?

My guess is that people are finding more content though social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter instead of searching for it on their own. ]]> benitez17 http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1432-Why-are-people-searching-less I Need A Credit Card Processor http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1427-I-Need-A-Credit-Card-Processor?goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:32:27 GMT I'm buying a site that sells an ebook, and also offers the option of the book in print - now I've talked with
3 credit card processors and none will deal with digital products.

Of course I'm about to email the seller about this, but if there are options besides who he uses I want to compare rates.

Any recommendations? ]]> james http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1427-I-Need-A-Credit-Card-Processor The Latest Algorithm Change Announcement at Google http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1421-The-Latest-Algorithm-Change-Announcement-at-Google?goto=newpost Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:23:51 GMT Last Friday, Google announced an algorithm change that is supposed to cause the search engine to return a large number of pages from a single highly... Last Friday, Google announced an algorithm change that is supposed to cause the search engine to return a large number of pages from a single highly relevant site when appropriate, instead of returning results from more individual sites. The full details are available here.

As usual, the comments about this change at their blog are mixed, but the point that I took away is that this change continues to tilt the SERPs towards quality content sources and away from things that can be gamed.

Have you noticed any changes on any of your sites, and what do you think about this change? ]]> benitez17 http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1421-The-Latest-Algorithm-Change-Announcement-at-Google Website Business Accounts http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1403-Website-Business-Accounts?goto=newpost Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:22:20 GMT Any accountants in the house?

I've got a few accounting questions that are bugging me. Anyone know the answers?
  1. If my "website business" makes a loss, can that have beneficial tax implications on my personal tax situation?
  2. How can we handle depreciation in value of our websites?
  3. Do the websites that our businesses own have some kind of "agreed value" that needs to be represented in the company's accounts? If so, how do we calculate that value?
Hypothetical situation: I buy $10,000 worth of websites, and they generate $5,000 revenue. Have I made a loss? Or have I made a profit (ignoring other costs) because I still have £10,000 worth of websites + $5,000 revenue.

I guess the goal of these questions is to find out what website businesses can do to minimise tax on profits. Is there anything you do?

I know I need to speak to an accountant at some point, but from what I have read, they're not always web savvy. ]]> hooperman http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1403-Website-Business-Accounts What do you think of the new .co boom? http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1395-What-do-you-think-of-the-new-co-boom?goto=newpost Sun, 22 Aug 2010 06:37:04 GMT What do you think of the new .co TLD that has been released? Do you think it will have as much authority and trust as a .com or .net? The... What do you think of the new .co TLD that has been released?

Do you think it will have as much authority and trust as a .com or .net?

The reason I ask is that I'm umming and arring over buying my first .co for an exact match term which is also very brandable too. I've tried to contact the .org owner about buying it but had no reply.

I'm thinking .co would be a good investment, but they are double the bloody price too.

Thoughts? ]]> ian http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1395-What-do-you-think-of-the-new-co-boom Do I Need a C.P.A ? http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1388-Do-I-Need-a-C-P-A?goto=newpost Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:22:55 GMT This concerns having a C.P.A. for on lines businesses, but maybe it should be under the 'General'
headings.
Anyhow, everything I've ever read about owning a business includes a section about the things a C.P.A. can do for you, how invaluable their advice can be in running your biz., etc.

I had my 1st interview with one this week - he filled the criteria in that he works with very small businesses,
family owned things & so forth.
I told him I was in negotiations to buy a site, if it did or didn't work out that I would pursue other opportunities and would probably end up owning more than one.
I guess I expected a modest sales pitch about what his firm could does for his clients and what he might possibly do for me - maybe a few examples.

But I didn't hear a thing said that any bookkeeper couldn't do.
Even though I live in a large city, I don't really expect to find a C.P.A. that actually has a list of web site owners for clients (I live in Dallas, Tx. if anyone has a recommendation), but I did expect an insight or
two on what they could offer beyond bookkeeping.

This was my first interview, but I'd like to know if you pros have found C.P.A.'s useful, or if this area is
so relatively new that the majority of them really don't have the background for it ]]> james http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1388-Do-I-Need-a-C-P-A Seems like this guy knows a thing or two... http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1372-Seems-like-this-guy-knows-a-thing-or-two?goto=newpost Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:28:39 GMT Maybe you've heard of Barry Diller. I came upon an article (one I cannot find) mentioning him several years ago and his antics blew my mind.

I remember I was previously impressed with the likes of John Reese who became famous for launching a product and generating a million dollars in a day or Frank Kern who generated millions when his "Mass Control" product sold out in 53 minutes. While these are not feats to sneeze at, their efforts pale compared to Diller.

It boils down to this: Diller was a big-time entertainment guy who decided to invest in the Internet. Accriding to Wikipedia "Diller quit 20th Century-Fox in 1992 and purchased a $25 million stake in QVC teleshopping network. Diller resigned from QVC in 1995." He bought stuff like Ask.com, Expedia.com, Excite.com and others.

I read where he's been paid $1.1 billion over the past decade. Those are paychecks, not sales revenues.

So is this guy too far out of our league to learn from or do people at his level have to play by the same principles as we do?

Andy ]]> Andy http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1372-Seems-like-this-guy-knows-a-thing-or-two .org Domain Growth Accelerating http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1364-org-Domain-Growth-Accelerating?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:58:54 GMT I was surprised to see that people are registering more .org domains than ever, considering that there are so many other extensions available, and... I was surprised to see that people are registering more .org domains than ever, considering that there are so many other extensions available, and the .org extension is supposed to be used for clubs, charities, and the like. The full article is here: http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/17/the...-accelerating/

Do you think people are using more .org domains because they can't get the .com, because it is supposed to be a quality extension in the eyes of Google, or for some other reason? ]]> benitez17 http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1364-org-Domain-Growth-Accelerating The 1 tip to save you 60 working days a year ...... http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1352-The-1-tip-to-save-you-60-working-days-a-year?goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:36:00 GMT Thought I would add this post for those of you who feel like the information is in overload. So what is equivalaent to 60 days a year work ? ... Thought I would add this post for those of you who feel like the information is in overload.

So what is equivalaent to 60 days a year work ? answering you emails 4 hours a day = 1460 hours / 24 = 60 days a year. Yep that is right

This was one of the most liberating things that I have ever learnt and has saved me hours each day

That's right, all the crap that comes through your email, whether it be promos, lists products etc.

First of all get yourself a gmail account if you havn't got one.

Second of all.......UNSUBSCRIBE.

all the guru's out there jamming crap down your throat every day

Then...use filters...top right hand box in your email account click on settings, then in the next screen use filters.

I have a folder for all the marketing stuff, receipts, elance work, domains, serials etc.

So the only stuff that goes into my inbox is the high quality stuff that I need.

Then when I am done with the email I archive it so that I can get it at a later date.

There are some days where I get no emails, how liberating would that be ???

How much more work / thinking could you get done ???

Anyway that is my two cents for the day

enjoy the freedom ]]> JockP http://experienced-people.net/forums/showthread.php/1352-The-1-tip-to-save-you-60-working-days-a-year