We all would like to build an empire online. Many of us would like to build a real estate empire as well. There is the philosophy afoot that places a parallel between REAL real estate and VIRTUAL real estate and I think the parallels are a pretty good way to look at it.
There are several ways to increase the value of real estate. I will take a few aspects of it that comes to mind in this blog.
What a real estate developers and investors look for are innovative ways to “improve” a given property. Use is one of the ways that this is done. What is going to be happening on that property and whether it raise the value of the property and promise enough return that merits improving it for that purpose.
Most of the development in commercial real estate is for things like stores or shopping centers, apartment complexes, office space for companies and industrial use. Some of the larger concepts would be amusement parks, resorts, educational and sports facilities.
In each of these cases you have a specific purpose for each property and I would think Real Estate investors are probably looking for new and innovative ways to develop properties because there are already a plethora of the above mentioned in the world.
A big issue with commercial real estate is there is often a lot of it that is converted to a tax write off and just becomes an eyesore. The areas which house such degraded properties have the challenge of finding a compelling new vision for those properties. So, for a website you have to keep it void of eyesores so that when someone visits it, it is void of eyesores as well. Bad advertisements, bad pictures, poor layout and confusing content all cause a website to become a lower valued property.
For a website I am starting to look at that as well. How can I raise the value of a website. I think to focus on the “use” of the website is very important. What is the use of the website?
For this website, the use is to explore the concepts that make having an internet based business a serious and profitable undertaking. So, the principle for any website is really for a person who visits the site that they can immediately recognize “what is going on there.”
It is unlikely that as an individual you can produce a website like ESPN, Facebook or Google. Getting billions of hits a year is probably not going to happen, but then again, those corporate websites aren’t done by one person either. But, when you consider those websites, you know that it is very clear what the “use” of each one is. Google sort of reminds me of that Pacman game where Pacman just goes and eats up everything else.
So usage is important. When someone visits your website, or mine, can they tell what the use is? What can they do there? Find information? Find something they are interested in buying? Is it just information about you, sort of like a business card? Is it a website about a brick and mortar business you have? Or is it a membership website or a tool they can use for their business?
There are so many uses for a website and all of them are viable as reason to have one.
The other aspect about online real estate would be “location, location, location.” Where do you place your website so the people you want to see it can see it? How do you get the best locations for it? Advertising? Sharing on Social Media? Placing ads in publications or on other websites?
Those are all good questions and food for thought. One thing that I know is that I have too many blog/websites. It is difficult to manage them all and keep them attractive and up to date. So, I think it is really important to have one or possibly two websites and let one be the primary business for you, because it is a lot to say grace over.
Clearly, it is much easier if all of your blog/websites use the same type of software, because then that saves you a lot of time in building it.
The use and location of internet real estate is vital to it’s success. Monetizing a website is a whole other topic, but without the two listed above, there is no reason for anyone to visit. Build something new and different and be specific about what it is and what types of people you want to visit it, target market. But most of all, HAVE FUN and make it fun!