I have been a webmaster of dating sites for quite some time. I get my share of emails from other dating webmasters asking questions. I have no problem sharing what I do with other webmasters because most of it is public knowledge. However, in 2009 there is one thing I discovered that I will not share with other webmasters. It is difficult to do, but simple to apply. I suspected for years this was the solution, but never had the courage to take action. In 2009 I decided it was now or never and the results are that I have three very robust and busy dating sites. I have a personal hurdle I must clear in 2010 to take it to the next level. I can’t wait.
Other than my little secret, I can share what is public knowledge if you are just starting out as a dating webmaster:
1. Get a good dating script. There are tons of them, both free and paid. I think one of the key areas to focus on when checking out scripts is the coding. A lot of scripts are poorly coded or become poorly coded by using 3rd party mods. This usually causes server or database issues forcing you to upgrade your server and spending more money than necessary. A good quality script coded properly will prevent these problems. There is only one reason you should have to upgrade your server and that is because your site traffic has grown and needing more resources to handle the traffic. But most webmasters are forced to upgrade because of poor coding or 3rd party mods eating up their server resources even when their traffic is moderate at best.
For webmasters who are established, it takes guts to make a move to another script, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of members. I know, because I use to use a free script called 4images that was heavily modified. Despite the sql time outs and errors, despite my site being at a standstill, I hung in there with 4images because I had thousands of members. In 2009 I switched to vldPersonals. At the time I dreaded the thought of changing over, but now that I have, my advise is this: if your site is at a standstill or on a slow decline, if you have tried all the SEO and marketing techniques you can think of, and you keep modifying and modifying with no substantial improvements, it may be time to change scripts. I now use vldPersonal script, but there are many others.
2. SEO (search engine optimization). We all want organic free traffic from search engines. There is so much written about SEO on forums, there is no need to discuss here. One factor I will mention is that SEO is constantly changing. What works today, may not work tomorrow. Visit the SEO forums to research and learn more. I personally am a fan of Digital Point and Sitepoint.
3. Marketing is both a paid and free adventure. Usually the same forums that discuss SEO discuss promotion/marketing techniques. You have to do it. You may hate it (most webmasters do) but you have to do it. I use as many free marketing techniques that I can as long as they are legit. I also use paid marketing (i.e. adwords, facebook and myspace ads). When it comes to marketing, there is both online and offline marketing. Personally, I prefer online marketing, but I have used offline marketing as well (i.e. putting ads in Philippine Newspapers). Both work, but I feel I have more control over online marketing v.s. offline. With marketing, I think the more versatile a webmaster is the better his results.
4. Time is one area you may not have control over, but I do believe the longer your site is on the net, the more likely there will be success in your SEO and marketing efforts.
5. Google and content is king. There are other search engines (yahoo, bing, etc), but focusing on google is by far the best strategy for success. Content is king has become a cliche. I’m not saying it is not important, but I’m not convinced 100% that it is king. I believe what is king is a mixture of all efforts. You can’t rely just on content alone as you can’t rely on just inbound links as being your only effort to success. It is the combination of all these things that usually make your site what it is. So what I believe is king is DOING IT AND HARD WORK. You can discuss all the theories you want, but unless you put them in action, you will never get anywhere.
That’s it. Nothing new. I may someday share what I consider the most important solution of all, but for now if you take care of the above and work hard it, you can succeed.
Good Luck
Dan
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Webmaster Success
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Comments
dan
cheers
paramore
i've just joined for a rather curious reason.
i live in n.z today and telcom our major provider has all it's help desk in manila and today i needed stuff done and got chatting to the " helper" and she told me she was on this site so i checked in.
so far i can't figure out on your site how to search for my filipino dream as your search model doesn't have a country listing for the Phils in the country box??