There are lots of .tel domains regisitered, over 200,000 of them. Many of these were bought for speculation and investment. Another group were bought for personal use. Of those that were bought for business development purposes there is a large number that appear to be slated for construction as a commercial .tel directory.
Commercial .tel directories can come in essentially two different types pay-per-listing directories and advertisier sponsored directories. In the first example a .tel domain is developed into being a directory where people pay to be included in the listings. In the second example, a directory is filled with listings and then advertising is placed along side of the listings in the directory. It is also possible to combine these two into a hybrid directory.
The level of success that a .tel directory can achieve is still up to many factors. Regardless of the differences in .tel and how it works in contrast to other domains, there are still key fundamental elements that are required for any directory, .tel or otherwise, to succeed.
The formula for .tel directory success is very simple:
listings x visitors = $$$
If you have lots of visitors, but no listings, there is nothing for the visitors to see, or return to, so your revenue will be zero.
If you have lots of listings, but no visitors, then there are no people to act on those listings and/or ads.
It is very simple. No where in this equation is the name of the .tel directory or the type of niche or any other specific information relating to the directory. With this simple equation your revenue grows with the growth of your visitors and listings.
Before you set out to build the next great .tel directory, ask yourself the following questions:
Who will want to see this information?
Where will these people find out about my directory?
How many people do I need to get visiting my directory every day to justify advertising?
These are the more complex questions that require industry and niche specific knowledge. If you can not answer these questions, you have research ahead of you. After you have figured out the answers to these questions you will be better prepared to set up your .tel directory.
When you are setting up a directory, whether it is .tel or otherwise, you will need traffic to view your listings. If your listings are useful, those people will bookmark your directory and return to use it again. Without traffic, building a directory is irrelevant. If a tree falls in an empty woods, it doesn’t matter what kind of tree it is, there’s still no one to hear it.
6 Ways To Increase The Success Of Your .tel Directory
Thursday, September 24th, 2009.tel domains are about communications. They are about putting people in contact with information that is valuable to them. People get excited when they find useful information. With the right strategy, you can not only make your .tel directory exciting, but you can potentially turn it into a leading resource for Internet users Worldwide.
Here are some suggestions for making your .tel domain stand out from the crowd and separate it from the others.
Present Compelling Content
For traditional websites this is a no-brainer and is pretty straightforward. With a website you can host articles, pictures, movies, animations and other forms of media that allow you to grab a viewers attention. With .tel you are only able to provide links and some text. Some might consider this a restriction, others would call it an exercise in brevity. Make sure your .tel is loaded with concise information in the text areas and valuable links in other areas. You need to organize and structure your content so it is easy to navigate and contains the least amount of clicks for the user to find what they need. If your .tel contains many valuable links for visitors, they will likely use it as a regular resource.
Build a .com
A .tel on it’s own is not very diverse, but through programming and scripting a .tel domain can become a very robust and flexible source of information. In order to maximize the potential of a .tel domain it is necessary to use server side tools, but since these tools can not be hosted on a .tel domain, it is necessary to host them on another domain, such as a .com. Without an accompanying .com (or other web site) to go with your .tel directory, you will have very limited options in how you can communicate with your visitors. If you build a site that is directly related to your .tel domain, a “sister site” on a web server, you will significantly increase your options for building on your .tel efforts.
Build an app
Accessing .tel domains via the web is only the beginning of .tel visitor interaction. .tel domains store data in an extremely efficient and fast manner, in the DNS. There are open-source applications that can be expanded and customized to suit the needs of your visitors. If the basic TelProxy doesn’t suit your needs you will either need to plug your .tel domain into a related website or build an application for your visitors to get the best viewing experience possible. If the information you present is valuable and the application you develop makes interacting with that data better, then people will use it.
Trade some links
.tel domains are primarily set up for displaying links to profiles, web pages and even other .tel domains. Why not trade links with other .tel domain owners or website owners. Link trading has the same benefits whether through .tel or other websites.
Write a Press Release
Press releases are a great method for reaching out to the public. A well written press release can generate all sorts of visitor activity and discussion about your .tel. If the news you release is relevant, you may find your .tel mentioned in places you never even thought of.
Socialize
Get out and share the news. Talk to people. Post on forums. Tell your friends and family. Spread the word. The most successful viral marketing campaigns can begin with one person who tells 2 friends, and so on and so on. If your .tel has something unique or unusual, you might have the next viral phenomenon.
There are lots of ways to promote your .tel domains and increase your chances for success. Merely setting up a .tel directory and expecting people to automatically find it is completely unrealistic. A successful .tel domain has visitors who act on the information provided. If you are able to incorporate the ideas listed above into your marketing strategy, you will significantly increase your chances of success with your .tel domains.
And… If you have any news or ideas you would like to share, stop by Telsters.com and chat in the forums
Tags: .tel, directory, ideas, monetizing, success
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