Best monetization method for Apartment website

leadsupplier

leadsupplier

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Aug 11, 2009
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So i'm searching for apartments in this new place and theres a whole SHITLOAD of large apartment complexes raping google ads.

Anyway, the search term "[place] apartments" is pretty easy competition. So, if i hit #1 with my site "place-apartments.com" what do you think the best way to monetize would be?

Assuming they are interested, i would consider listing each apartment company and having them bid for the top spots.

The other thought i had was leads, but i don't think that would be as lucrative.

The final method would be to just straight up sell the site to the highest bidder.

I was thinking of sending a mass email to all the places so that they could feel the pressure of their competition scooping it up.

If any of you guys have experience in this niche, or with a model that can be adapted to a site like this let me know.

kthxbye!
 


Go lead gen. Then once proven, sell the entire system to other "place"s. Approach other rental agencies / property management companies and tell them, "look, made XXX # of quality leads in this area, signup for the system, and I can do the same for your area".
 
Stop.

Think much bigger.

If you were talking about starting apartmentsrus.com or something and have place.apartmentsrus.com for every city then that would be worth it. It is ok to build them out slowly, start small, but think big.

IMHO, this project would work great in combination with a custom scraper, that takes stuff from local yellowpages/craigslist/apartment complex sites/etc and get an awesome resource going for each area that constantly updates itself.

Let people interact for free, charge extra for 'premium'/highlight placing and other 'specials' to 'help' people stand out.
 
greenleaves said:
Stop.

Think much bigger.

If you were talking about starting apartmentsrus.com or something and have place.apartmentsrus.com for every city then that would be worth it. It is ok to build them out slowly, start small, but think big.

IMHO, this project would work great in combination with a custom scraper, that takes stuff from local yellowpages/craigslist/apartment complex sites/etc and get an awesome resource going for each area that constantly updates itself.

Let people interact for free, charge extra for 'premium'/highlight placing and other 'specials' to 'help' people stand out.
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but how would it be different from apartments.com, zillow, trulia, and the like?

i get your point, but i don't know if it's a battle worth fighting. i'm really looking for something to supplement the rent with this site.
 
leadsupplier said:
but how would it be different from apartments.com, zillow, trulia, and the like?

i get your point, but i don't know if it's a battle worth fighting. i'm really looking for something to supplement the rent with this site.
Click to expand...

If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not, split and re-evaluate.

You don't have to take them on directly, evade them. If you say they don't rank for your 'place' then take that 'place'. It won't be much, but it will be a start, then you can go to the next 'place'.

Big businesses are intimidating, but you might be able to compete with them eventually (or be bought out) Just go where they are too big to go for the meantime, while you grow yourself.

And you can always figure out ways if you push it and have big dreams for it. But if it is a small project with little future, you will (rightly I might add) not feel motivated for it.
 
greenleaves said:
If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not, split and re-evaluate.

You don't have to take them on directly, evade them. If you say they don't rank for your 'place' then take that 'place'. It won't be much, but it will be a start, then you can go to the next 'place'.

Big businesses are intimidating, but you might be able to compete with them eventually (or be bought out) Just go where they are too big to go for the meantime, while you grow yourself.

And you can always figure out ways if you push it and have big dreams for it. But if it is a small project with little future, you will (rightly I might add) not feel motivated for it.
Click to expand...

well they do rank for it, but i tink i could outrank it with some elbow grease
 
You're building a toaster to make 1 piece of toast, unless you're using an aff program, in which case you add no value, which is debatably 'fine'.

Leads, by the way.
 
leadsupplier said:
but how would it be different from apartments.com, zillow, trulia, and the like?

i get your point, but i don't know if it's a battle worth fighting. i'm really looking for something to supplement the rent with this site.
Click to expand...

How is your current idea any different from a very small apartments.com?


If it is really easy to rank for and monetize "[place] apartments", then it is probably very easy to rank for and monetize "[place2] apartments" and "[place3] apartments".

The point isn't "oh I'm going to create this massive multimillion dollar company and try to be the next zillow". The point is "I've found a keyword that is very easy for me to make money in, and luckily for me there are 10,000 other keywords just like it that I can do once I've done the first keyword".
 
Check out swamprentals.com. Pretty much the same idea, but located in Gainesville, FL. The dude that runs that site pulls in about 100k a year from that site alone. He charges apartment complexes to be listed on his site - that's all.
 
Elevate said:
Check out swamprentals.com. Pretty much the same idea, but located in Gainesville, FL. The dude that runs that site pulls in about 100k a year from that site alone. He charges apartment complexes to be listed on his site - that's all.
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this is beautiful. exactly the type of thing i was thinking originally. Just act as a local portal that "gets it" and provides more value than a shitty zillow or trulia. how much more do you know about this guy and his site. the sites alexa rank is in the 2mill range, so the fact he's making 100k of that is a true feat.
 
leadsupplier said:
this is beautiful. exactly the type of thing i was thinking originally. Just act as a local portal that "gets it" and provides more value than a shitty zillow or trulia. how much more do you know about this guy and his site. the sites alexa rank is in the 2mill range, so the fact he's making 100k of that is a true feat.
Click to expand...

I know a lot more about the site (got the scoop from the guy he contracted the web design out to). He also has a similar site in the Orlando area, and is moving into Jacksonville soon.

Don't want to share too much detail here, just hit me up on Skype whenever: ElevateAM.
 
It all depends on the size of your catchment area. I have been on both sides of that business (lead buyer and lead generator) and without knowing how big your potential audience is and the kind of demand its hard to say what you should do. Hit me up if you have any questions.
 
I have a fairly profitable one city real estate/apartment program and I funnel ALL of the leads to a single real estate broker on an 18% cut. Apartments net me about $90 per booking (my share) and houses net $400 on up (my share). The broker has several agents working in her office so the leads get serviced very quickly.

I utilize XML feeds for listings. I initially had planned on going nationwide, but quickly found out that focusing on one market allows for better content and better ranking - significantly better revenues.

They pay me quickly and fairly, because they get an exclusive and do not want to loose it.
 
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