I have used the BANS script (Build A Niche Store) which is a software that allows you to build a site using eBay’s affiliate program. The script allows you to build a site using keywords, categories and so on to display matching and relevent products to your "Niche" via the eBay Partner Network system.
I have about 5 sites currently built with BANS and they make me a little money but not all that much.
One site I built was to focus on two things. One, use a keyword strong domain (Fruitcake) with an unpopular extension (.biz) and see how it would rank in SE’s (Search Engines) compared to other extensions for the exact term. The .com is forwarded to a full site and so on and non rank well. Two, could I make money with using the BANS script on this domain.
At first (Before I had BANS), I just built more then less a mini site and used affiliate products from CJ.com . The site really didn’t do all that well selling the products but was getting ranked pretty well in the SE’s. I was ranked # 2 & # 3 on MSN.com for the term Fruitcake and was always ranked well for buy fruitcake, fruitcake business and fruitcake recipe. I was always on the first page at Yahoo for the same above terms. For Google, I was never ranked even in the top 100 for the terms.
Since then, I have switched to the BANS script which right now offers a good deal of Fruitcakes on eBay so their are a good deal of Fruitcake Products to choose from. In the Non-holiday season, fruitcake products are not popular on eBay so my home page doesn’t show that many products via BANS, but my content on fruitcakes is always their along with at least a couple products.
Now that I have the BANS script on Fruitcake.biz , I have have LOST all my rankings in MSN. Yes, all. Google doesn’t rank it either and my LONE SE rank is at Yahoo for the term Fruitcake which I am 7th (for my location) but just the term Fruitcake.
I would have to put the blame on the BANS script as the content that changed is only the ones provided with the products offered by eBay. All other content that was on the mini site I transfered over to the BANS site.
Another upsetting thing is, I feel that I am providing Relevent Content AND products to the domain name, from a trusted source (eBay) but I got deranked in the SE’s minus the one spot. Although I have lost most of my ranks, I am still making a little bit with the site but right now is the Hot Season for Fruitcakes!
So….. I think you CAN get ranked for a semi popular product using a less expensive domain that matches the keyword term exactly (Fruitcake.biz). 98% of your traffic is going to come via the Search Engines since most people would not just type Fruitcake.biz or any link building you have done . Your first goal is to get Ranked Well in the SE’s. The mini site did better ranking in the SE’s, but the products didn’t convert very well. The biggest trick is getting what ever product/service you offer to convert on a mini site, using either a drop shipping company or affiliate products. Clearly the SE’s do not like the BANS script.
I wish I had the answer for why the affiliate products that I used with the mini site from CJ didn’t convert. I think it has a little to do with the "sites" the products came from as several were smaller (unpopular) sites, but Shop.com was one and that didn’t convert either so it doesn’t fully explain why. eBay products are converting better, and I think that is because of how popular eBay is and people feel more comfortable to purchase.
A suggestion would be to use a mini-site and include a "couple" products using the Ebay Partner Network tools. That way you are getting the eBay products, without the BANS script. For now, all I can hope is that my # 7 rank for Fruitcake holds up until after X-mas and then stick a new mini-site back up on it.
Tony
Jamie, do you have enough data to compare BANS vs parking with generic typeins?
Gregg Hall
I agree with you. I think that the SE’s identify them as scrapers just like many other site generators out there. I personally have used the EPN tools for a long time to put auctions on blogs. This works flawlessly with WordPress, you get good rankings plus the eBay feeds.
Here is an example site:
http://CaliforniaCellPhoneLaw.net
Gregg
Solid Namer
Hi Jamie
Google does not like the new BANS version (v.3) and is actually deindexing many of those sites. I would rather build sites on the WordPress platform and then use a plugin like phpBay or affomatic to include ebay products. It is just as easy as BANS and search engines love blogs.
Jason
I’ve setup recently a lot of my product brandable names on WordPress using an eBay plugin I wrote that works a lot like BANS. The first few I setup are index in Google and have been for a long time now without beign banned. Newer domains have yet to be picked up…
What I’ve seen is that while I don’t rank for the generic term (e.g. “watches”), I *do* rank for the product names showing up in the eBay feed. That’s the long tail working for you and b/c you’re using a feed, it’s always updating itself and bringing in new product names/models…
The thing about eBay is that people buy all kinds of stuff on it, so they may not buy one of the items showing up on your site, but do eventually buy something else, e.g. Someone bought a $2000 watch from my “handbag” site…
I’m experimenting with improving the long-tail gravity, monitor what you *do* rank for and try to improve that — don’t let it disappear when the eBay feed gets old, etc…
Also thinking about adding features. The eBay feed has plenty of data you could act upon for your visitors: price alerts, keyword watches, etc… services + a catchy domain take these types of sites to the next level… x fingers.
http://standout.dropbuzz.com/2008/12/11/wp-easy-update-3/
Marty
Jamie,
I know the frustration as I bought the BANS script over a year ago and got minimal results. Then one day I decided to try a new niche and it all clicked. The problem with fruitcake is that it does not sell on ebay. Here is a tool that will break it down: http://data.terapeak.com/?query=fruitcake&siteID=0&id=0&date_range=14&date=2008-04-27&search=1&
You will want a sell through rate of over 50% with at leat a few thousand listings. The higher the item is priced, the more you make. Avg. fruitcake goes for $15.
Another problem with your site, and unfortunatley for most domainers, is that you did not add any content to your pages. You should add 2 to 3 paragraphs about fruitcakes and then have Ebay listings below it. Each page should have different content. Many of your pages have nothing to do with fruitcake.
I spent two weeks building out a site and it has consistently made me $700 a month for three months. This includes some link building and promoting to help my search engine rankings. The older it gets, and the more promotion I do, the more it will make.
**Jamie Says**
Thank you Marty. I do have content on the site (below the products) on the home page. I guess I could move that above the products. Also, I agree about the other products but they are all food related and I didn’t intend to have those, but figure it was better to have something instead of nothing.
theshopstore
“Since then, I have switched to the BANS script”
Are you saying that you changed most of the site’s content, all of it’s HTML code, and then lost your listings? Of course you are going to lose your listings. Unless you 301 redirect your old pages that listed to new pages on the BANS site, that have very similar content, you are going to lose your listings. Please don’t knock the BANS software if you are unfamiliar with what happens when making major changes to your content, and how it lists afterward.
I also use BANS, and to tell you the truth it is a pretty great piece of software in general. Out of the box is is ok, but if you take the time and optimize the individual pages with descriptions and change some other things, you will start see better results.
Hopefully it is not too late and you can still 301 redirect the old pages that listed to a new category page, or even your homepage if that is the only page you had listings for before. I would also recommend losing the “Sponsored Links” and “Recommended Site” text. Those are never good and I doubt that text was on your site before either.