Domain parking isn't the only alternative to full web development and there are many ways to monetize, utilize and grow your web traffic without taking the expensive, long road of full web development. I believe it was Rick Schwartz who asked: what is the value of a click if that click leads to the sale of an airplane? While he was referring to affiliate sales versus PPC: even if your domain is not ready for development you still have several solutions more valuable than parking yet less expensive than full scale development.

MiniSites

It took me awhile to accept the concept of minisites. (Matter of fact, I cannot stand the term) but what it describes is a site with a few pages of content mainly designed to capture search engine traffic while waiting on full scale development. (I do something similar with my own domains to avoid blockage for being a parked name). Some people leave their names as minisites. Others use it as a testing tool before they develop full scale. Either way, make sure your domain is a good candidate for a content-only site and use content that has been uniquely written for your website. Target keyword terms that relate to your domain name and use data capturing methods such as an opt-in newsletter subscription that can be utilized later down the road.

Landing Pages

Landing pages are designed for several purposes: some collect leads, advertise affiliate products or serve as landing pages for ad campaigns and targeted search engine traffic. They are also useful for experimenting with traffic before moving on to full scale web development. I like niche landing pages that upsell to other established sites that do well at long tail seo. Again, make sure your content is unique and sufficient enough to hold it's own and use data capturing methods such as an opt-in newsletter subscription that can be utilized later down the road. It is also a good idea to include social media methods, such as links to Twitter and Facebook pages, to capture those users for future use when you decide to develop full scale.

"Under Construction" Web Pages

It's not 1999 anymore but "under construction" web pages can still serve a useful pre-development purpose. My favorite method is displaying a logo, a newsletter sign in box, links to relevant social accounts and a medium sized paragraph upselling (or effectively teasing) the site. Doing this allows marketing efforts to begin immediately while not having to wait on site launch and gives the opportunity to capture an audience way before real marketing begins.

Domain Leasing

If you have a domain that receives a decent amount of type-in traffic domain leasing might be for you. Domain leasing allows you to "rent out" your domain for temporary advertiser usage. LeftOfTheDot is the latest company in this area who provides these services slightly different than LeaseThis or RootOrange. LOTD develops eCommerce and business sites on the sub-directories of premium domains (more explanation of that here). Though it is perfectly fine to take domain leasing into your own hands as long as you factor into the loss of revenue each month while leasing out your domain and come up with a fair monthly price with an optional buy out price in case the company wants to take ownership of the domain name.

Related Cheat Sheet

• Domain Monetization Cheat Sheet & Adsense Alternatives
• Do-It-Yourself Domain Development

For Further Reading

• Wikipedia: Landing Pages
• CopyBlogger.com: Landing Pages Turn Traffic Into Money
• Digital-Web.com: 11 Ways to Improve Landing Pages
• TiaWood.com: The New Under Construction Page

Your thoughts?

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