PHPBay v BANS (Build a Niche Store)
I’m trying to increase my post regularity once again to this site to offer some additional value. Since last September I have tested both BANS and PHPbay quite extensively and feel the time is right to come out and say that I no longer build BANS sites. There is much to admire about this script and the interface for creating customized store pages is strightforward and simple. It is also the best way (in my opinion) for a complete newbie to make money money online. Take me for example, I was able to build enough sites in just 9 months to replace a full time income which enabled me to work from home.
Unfortunately Google is no longer in love with BANS and whether you add content or not oftentimes you will discover that your sites get deindexed. Of itself this isn’t the end of the world as there is plenty of potential to make money via Yahoo and MSN. My top store made $6,000 last year despite being deindexed by Google.
That said you want your sites indexed in Google as they dominate search. If you’re NOT in Google you’re out of options. Try flipping a site if you’ve been deindexed – it aint going to happen.
I now build a mixture of sites autoblogs, affiliate sites, squidoo lenses and phpBay pro sites. My phpBay sites are gaining ground on BANS and earnings will likely surpass BANS by the end of the year. phpBay is a better product than BANS for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I can use Wordpress as a frontend content manager which gives me tremendous flexibility. But most importantly, unlike BANS, you can use SEO URLs on links and images which remove the eBay footprint leaving Google less cause for concern.
Don’t imagine you can put up a crap site using phpBay and make money as you still have to content and not just auctions and I would avoid auctions on the front page at all costs. However, if I chose to I could put up one site a day with the content writing outsourced. In reality I build about 1 phpbay site per week and spend the rest of my time developing other sites as I want to diversify my income streams. This acutally requires quite a lot of discipline as making money via eBay is a doddle compared with other models. However, if you want your business to have secure foundations you must develop multiple streams of income.
Filed under: Strategies
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I agree – I am now using wordpress all the way.
BANS is a great starting point and I may go back and re-do some of my BANS sites and change them to Wordpress – but to be honest – why change them if they are working?
I’m with you on that Tao. I wont even touch my most profitable site. It looks appalling compared to what I build today and certainly proves what has oft been written – you don’t need a good looking site to make money.
What’s more it has no content and auctions on the front page and probably took me all of 2 hours to create. It’s deindexed from Google and whilst it is a seasonable product, at its peak the site gets over 1,000 visitors per day! If only they all did that well lol.
Hey mbpage thanks for the information comparing BANS with phpBay pro, BANS sounds kinda awful from what I have heard not only from the meager earnings but being well BANNED. You say “making money via eBay is a doddle compared with other models.” Would you have time to tell me some of the other models you are talking about that make decent money? thank you in advance. I will check back here if you respond, I added your site to my bookmarks.