Rob who made the MSB eBay plugin recently launch a plugin for WP with a few friends. I which them great success with it.

This new plugin allow you to have a page be rewritten thus creating new content for your blog and thus bypassing the duplicate content penalty. This is great to bring traffic to you niche sites. Since I'm moving away from WP to MyStarterBlog, I did not bought it but some of you might want to look at the video.

The second product is a fast niche site creator working with no MySQL backend. This one, I did bought it. I had a chance to use  for the last week and boy! does it make it simple to create niche sites in a few minutes. I'm using $1 .info for now thus lowering my cost. The official launch is in 1 day but take a look now at the video. It support eBay, Amazon and Chitika ads. For each site, you only use one method only.  I can create multiple sites per hour. However, it will be selling for 14 days only. After that, it's bye! bye! bye! no more.   If you are strap for money, I would bye that one first and then the other later with the money you will make.

The default theme is simple and it's not meant to be a competition with MyStarterBlog. The goals are different and both works.

The other product is for creating sales pages and giving you tips on how to do that.

I believe in the diversification of income streams and this one goes into my overall method to make money online.

Like I said, it cost nothing to watch the videos.

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In August 2008, Google deindexed most of my BANS/phpBay sites. Like I mentioned before, it was my own fault and take full responsability. Since then, I added only 7 sites to my very small network of 29 sites(36 total). I also added it on 3 of my WordPress blogs using phpPay Pro WP plugin(worth it).

I did not do more link building using BMD or FBF for some time on most of my sites. The last point is very important here because the traffic is still coming from other search engines like Yahoo/MSN.  Imagine when I will make new BANS/phpBay sites with more content on it to make Google happy.

Show me the numbers

I will not used real numbers but I'm going to go with my biggest earning month as the baseline.

May: 61.22%
June: 100% I earned the most that month
July: 85.48%
August: 40.2%
September: 25.78%
October: 31.95%
November: 69.6%
December: 107.1% (up to Dec. 31)

Are BANS/phpBay dead?

Some will say that those kind of sites are dead now.  Those that tell you that are complete morons or they just want to keep the competition away. If you look at only Google traffic, it's partly true but Google does like WP blogs and the phpBay WP plugin can be added to your blog.

In fact, I do have BANS/phpBay sites(not blogs) still indexed. Most were created after the Google deindex using the phpBay API (v2.5).

I only use phpBay API and the WP plugin now. I don't use BANS because I prefer the phpBay API.

I can build Canadian specific post because I also make money from Canadian visitors too. Plus, phpBay WP has 14 parameters you can control/override. That's one reason I added Plugin Code Builder to AuctionSiteWriter to make that step easier.

Alternatives

You could also use other alternative(free/paid) on your blog but look at the features first. For example, phpBay has a free version. It was too simplistic that I upgraded to the Pro(Bundle). Because I wanted to give a better experience to potential buyers, I needed to filter out some keywords.

Conclusion

Some will point to me that the increase is because many are shopping for the holidays online. This is a fact and I won't argue that point.

But conside this:  Because of the recession, most people will try to find a better deal on new or a used product. Thus, creating a targeted BANS/phpBay sites will be one more way for you to make money.

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In the last month, StoreStacker was reviewed by 3 known blogs(Chow, Zac and lastly Gyutae) in the MMO(make money online) field. I don't have a problem with that. But they only mentioned part of story.

Deindexed BANS, phpBay... StoreStacker next?

Those of us that used other scripts like BANS, phpBay... have noticed that Google will eventually deindexed many of them. They all got hit eventually.  StoreStacker will be the next one and it's just a matter of time.

If you read the StoreStacker main page, it will deliver relevant articles. But this is will be duplicate content and Big G will see it as a footprint to track your site.

How to avoid getting deindexed?

Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea of having a site that auto generate like StoreStacker. But like BANS, phpBay, you will need to add original content to make the Big G happy. That's where most get into troubles and yes,  including me. I, however, do take full responsibility for my deindexed sites.

If you just install the script in it's basic form, you will look like all the others that did the same. Big G will detect that and not pass visual inspection.

Too many choices

One of the common mistake webmaster do with niche stores, it's to give to many choices to visitors. The same principals for BANS will apply to StoreStacker.  I already posted about this.

You want to get paid but when?

If you have just a few sites, you will need to drive a lot of targeted traffic to them if you use more than one affiliate per store. You see, if 3 buyers buy from affiliate A, B and C, your chance of meeting the minimum payout will be divided by 3. You will have to wait much longer to get paid. Since StoreStacker support more affiliates than BANS, I suggest to use one affiliate per site.

If you have a large network of sites, this won't be a real issue most don't have that luxury.

Conclusion

You may or may not agree with me but those should be taken into consideration when you build a StoreStacker to avoid being deindexed and get paid faster.

At this time, I did not own StoreStacker because I'm too busy with AuctionSiteWriter.

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Here are some stats for BANS/phpBay for July.

For reminder, here are previous months results:

April: $1.84
May: $98.12
June: $163.44

and for July: $139.71

First thing you will noticed is that is dropped a bit but so was the traffic(summer I guest). I must mentioned that I did not do much with them(no link building) since I was still working on AuctionSiteWriter and another project that will make you money too.

One of my former BANS and .info was converted to phpBay. It's not indexed in Google yet but I still made $37.18 from it including one ACRU(signup of $25). Also, I did $3.57 from another .info/phpBay(converted).

The rest was made from pre-owned domains. This is still the best way.

phpBay just released v3(beta) of the API. I did not used it yet but if it does what I think, one site will be able to be international thus increasing overall income.

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After seeing report that Knol was getting indexed and given more authority, I decided to create my own Knol page yesterday.

For my first test, I wrote a unique content Knol page and point it to my former BANS. It was converted to phpBay(API). That's why I did not mentioned that page since I don't want to make mistakes.

I did not make the page spammy since the information was good and to the point. Also, since that page was deindexed by Google(.info + BANS). I wanted to see what would happen. Btw, the only mentioned in Google was from a Yahoo answer that someone else did. The domain itself is not even indexed.

It's also the same domain I used to get traffic from this service(use googlesale2008 for 20% off until July 31) that I mentioned here.

After 16 hours, the page has not been indexed yet.

Edit 2008-07-29: Still not indexed after 36+ hours. If I'm login, I can find it using the "Search" function but not if I'm log off.

Edit 2008-08-02: Still not indexed in Google. If I a do a search(not login), I can't find it but I can is see:
Not enough results? Search again allowing more matches

Then it will show me my Knol

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Those are 17 mistakes with BANS or phpBay(API/Plugin) that many are doing when they are starting. Yes, I did a few of them too. Those are not in any particular order.

1. Using Adsense

Since you want buyers to go to eBay, why are you sending them elsewhere? Yes, you could make a few bucks but you could make more by sending them to eBay.

2. Using affiliates

You think you are wiser and put some related affiliate ads instead of Adsense. Again, send them to eBay. A new signup will earn more in most cases.

3. Not keyword focus

You are showing every items in a category like everyone else. At least, choose an item and find a buying keyword for it using Keyword Elite for example. Use a long tail keywords that has less competition. Focus on that keyword to bring traffic to your site. For example, one of my site got: 1 visitor, 1 wining bid($3) and it was a new signup($25). So, I made $28 total.

4. Targeting only high value items

You only look on those items costing 1000s. But don't forget about impulse buys and signup fees. That $0.99 item can make you $25 extra.

5. Show your sites to everyone on a forum

You go on a public forum and give the URL of your site. If you are keyword focus, why are you giving your keyword research for free? You have some lazy marketers that will use your keywords. They might just double check it just in case but they will still use it. You are not giving away one site but every sites on that IP too.

6. Use their anchor for the site on MMO blogs

Again, why use a link to you site on a Make Money Online blog? The few times I saw a comment on my blog, I deleted the anchor and warned the commenter. But not every blogger will do that or have the time. If you have a blog, don't use the same hosting package for it. I know it cost more but you will make the money back. For example, all my BANS/ phpBay site are on a reseller account on Host Gator. This blog and others in my network are hosted elsewhere.

7. Use the default theme

Be different or at least modify the colors of the default theme. If you can, add a graphic header to make it more like a real "store". It can be scary but you have to learn some basic CSS/HTML skills in this business. Remember to modify or remove the "Powered by Build A Niche Store". Again, you don't want to give away your keywords since some are searching for that.

8. Use third-party themes

If your are not comfortable with CSS/HTML and prefer to use third party themes, make sure that they don't have some "signature" to track your sites down. It might be free but it also come with a cost. That's why in AuctionSiteWriter(free/pay), I did not add: "Created using AuctionSiteWriter" when creating a site using phpBay. I could had free publicity that way but I don't.

9. Does not create unique content

For speed sake, you can use AuctionSiteWriter to build the site for you. But it does not stop you from adding unique content for each pages afterward. If you get third party content templates, modify them for your needs too. A few 100s sites is not the same as a few 1000s using the same content template. Make it your own.

10. Don't analyze your transactions logs

You should analyze the sites logs and EPN(transactions) to see what people bought from you and from where they came from. You might find other niches to exploit or keywords to add. Of course, you will need to have sold items first to see a buying pattern.

11. Not patient about links

You created backlinks(Bookmarking Demon, Fast Blog Finder(free/pay), Directory Submitter(free/pay), Article Submitter(free/pay)) using your anchor keywords. They will be counted when Google decide to count them. You need to be patient but don't under estimate other search engines.

The opposite is true and you did not create enough links. At least, do a Bookmarking Demon run. It's the easiest to do.

12. Not using pre-owned domains

Buying a pre-owned domain(2+ years) will give some existing links until your new links get counted by Google. You will also have some residual traffic from people that don't know it changed hands yet. One of my best performer is a .net and pre-owned.

13. Using BANS and .info domains

The ideal was good at first(low cost domain) but Google changed the rules. As of this writing, Google is not too keen on BANS plus .info. Remember my $28 I wrote before? It was a BANS+.info that I converted to phpBay API using AuctionSiteWriter. That transaction happened 2 days after the conversion.

14. Banning some IP

Some might see more clicks but no bids in EPN from one IP thus banned it. Don't forget that other search engines will crawled you too. Yes, Google is the big one but smaller search engines can find you too and will send you buying traffic.

15. Looking at Click-through rate(CTR) in EPN

Since search engines, like I mentioned above, can increase the CTR in EPN, I only look at the bid vs winning bids ratio. I get from 22% to 100% conversion to winnings bids. The lower cost items will get more bids.

16. Not using free options

Use Squidoo and other sites like this to create free backlinks.

I'm using software(I paid for them) but some software above(free/pay) let you have an ideal of what it can do before you buy it. They will give you more features once you buy them. Also, sites do exist that may do the same thing. They will often lack in features but it's free.

17. Don't look at the recurring cost

When you buy a software or web service, you did not looked at the recurring cost for using it. Me, I look at one time fee especially in software since that's what I used the most. All of them in this post comes with free upgrades for life. Of course, it's not always possible.

Do you have others not in that list?

You might want to read:
Opinion: BANS vs phpBay(WP plugin) vs phpBay API vs Free Options

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AuctionSiteWriter

AuctionSiteWriter v1.1.0 is now available. I also added a new offer(PLR pack) to get some publicity/feedback from fellow bloggers.

BANS on .info patch

A few days ago, I converted a .info(few month old) from BANS to phpBay API using AuctionSiteWriter new feature to make a simple site. Two days later, I got a visitor(not from Google) that bought the item and also became a new signup. So, I made $25 more. The few visitors I got since from Yahoo do convert very well. And no, I won't tell you that niche.

So yesterday, I started reusing a paid way to bring traffic from search engines other than Google and Yahoo. Last year, I used this service (use googlesale2008 for 20% off until July 31) to bring bring traffic to my free media player. Each month, I had extra downloads but since it was free and visitor did not click on my Adsense, I stopped using it.

How it work?

My ad will be shown on 250 search engines(smaller ones) at the right like Google is doing with Adwords. It's not a pay per click but a fix monthly price.

It places an advert on the right hand side of the 250 search engines. This does not include Google, Yahoo or MSN. The advert will be displayed one in every three searches on your exact keyword phrase.

This time around, I'm doing a long term test for 1 year. Normally, I would not pay for traffic for that kind of site but the conversion rate is very good. So, I paid $60/year less the 20% with the coupon. The normal rate for one month is $10. I wanted to wait but since the coupon is for 20%, I decided to give it to you now. If you do use it, use one of your site that's deindex in Google but performed well before that happened.

They also have a other services that you might like. But for now, I'm using the ad way. If you use one of the other services, please leave a comment or backlink to your review about it.

Of course, they are other ways(free/paid) and it's one more you should consider.

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$10 Off On PowerDesk Pro 7

Just to mentioned that they have $10 off on PowerDesk Pro 7. When I work with my sites, I use the handy FTP part of the software. I have been using it since v4 when I was trying to find a Xtree clone for Windows XP. I ended up buying it.

What I do is that I open 1 instance to PowerDesk Pro in dual mode(default for me). The top is my local files and the bottom is the FTP. It could be another drive or directory too. For me, it's my file manager and ftp manager in the same software. Version 7 was released a few months ago(Vista ready).

If you can save at the same time, I have nothing against that.

Click to get $10 off on PowerDesk Pro 7 or see the benefits and screenshots.

AuctionSiteWriter 1.1.0B2 update

Last night, I released a new beta version for AuctionSiteWriter. Using the free eBay widget, you are now able to build a simple auction site. ASW with the free eBay widget is a cheaper alternative to BANS or phpBAY api. It's not perfect but it's partly free.

See Free Movies Legally update

For the last few months, I generated $50-100 per month using the methods in my free ebook. Since I was occupied with other projects, I only published 5-6 posts per month. It's summer thus my "movie season". I'm publishing a little more now with 8-9 posts for the last 30 days. I'm also testing a new way to make money too using phpBAY plugin on that blog. The filtering out words come in handy with sequels and you don't have that in the free eBay widget. My cost is still low and do make a profit each month.

Download the free ebook here:

http://www.seefreemovieslegally.com

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I wanted to use "review" but I believed opinion will be better when comparing BANS vs phpBay(Wp plugin) vs phpBay API vs free option. If you don't know, all 4 will let you list eBay items on your site. Like BANS, you pay only once to get phpBay.

I will take each one and give my opinion on it.

BANS

Positive: Simple to use, more secure than phpBay(WP plugin), themes, less cpu resource hog than WP+phpBay(WP plugin)

Negative: Require you to use a MySQL database and will use more space than phpBay API and WP+phpBay(WP plugin)

Opinion: If you are just starting(no real html/php experience) and don't want a blog, BANS is the one for you. Of course, using AuctionSiteWriter will help in the setup of your BANS faster. If you have a blog, you could add folder to hold the BANS. You would need 2 MySQL databases in that case.

phpBay(WP plugin)

Positive: It's a WordPress plugin so it's simple to add. I did used the free version(too basic) but I got the paid version because it does offer me more options for my blogs. No need for a new MySQL database. You can cloak the links and and even filter out words. That's a nice option and using it. The reader can select the country and see items available to them.

Negative: It's more WordPress fault here thus it's less secure since it's using WordPress. Just read my post about it here. Now, imagine 100s of blogs like that. It also take more resource(space/CPU time) than phpBay API but less than BANS sites.

Opinion: If you already have a blog or a few blogs, why not list items at the end of your post that might interest your readers. Personally, I would not start a big network of WP+phpBay(WP plugin) blogs just to list items on it. I already added phpBay(WP plugin) on my other blog.

phpBay API

Positive: The base code take less space(20KB) vs 6590KB(BANS) vs 4200KB(WP), no MySQL database required. More flexible.

Negative: You need to know some coding before using it. No themes.

Opinion: The potential is there but it does demand more from users. After looking at it, I started to support it in AuctionSiteWriter. I'm sure I will find a way to make it much simpler for users. The fact that you don't need a MySQL database is a big factor to me. It's one less step and some hosting package are limited on the number of MySQL per package but not with Host Gator. I bought a few pre-owned domains and used AuctionSiteWriter to generate a 1 page parking page instead in just 1 minute.

MyStarterBlog + MSB eBay Plugin($7 each)

Positive: The base code take less space(100-150KB) vs 6590KB(BANS) vs 4200KB(WP), no MySQL database required. Not a CPU hog on the server, more flexible, secure(no backend), use themes, RSS feed, sitemap.xml, no footprint.

Negative: You need Windows.

Opinion: I'm biased here but it's the least costing solution of the paid ones. Also, since you "Generate" the site on your computer, you have an automatic backup.

Free solutions

Positive: Free

Negative: Limited

Opinion: I should point that eBay has a free snippet available but don't offer the cloaking aspect for example. I also did not use it. Also, phpBay(WP plugin) has a free version. It's was too simple for me but it did give me an ideal.

Conclusion

Some will tell you that you don't need BANS or phpBay at all since free options are available. It's true but it also depend on your overall need too. Setting up a few WP blogs is not the same as creating a network of 100s of "stores".

Each site has a solution that's a better fit for it. It also depend on your own skills. Adding content on a regular basis on a blog, thus updating WP more often, is not the same has a "set and forget" site. Maybe it's me but I don't want to hunt down for plugins, deal with trackbacks or security issues thus BANS or phpBay API is a good solution for the "set and forget" sites.

But since I'm using this blog as my flagship general blog, don't be surprise if I add posts using phpBay(WP plugin) soon. I already modified a few popular post using the free version but will add other kind of post to see how it would perform by attracting new search engine traffic. Of course, I will upgrade that plugin to the paid version. I already have a series in mind and will be original content.

That's the beauty of having my "name" in the domain name. I'm not bound to anything.

Edit: To show Frank C(comments) some examples, I used phpBay(WP plugin) paid version. Noticed that I could sell the item to US, CA, UK ... thus possibly increasing my sales. That's something that I like. I did not change the default colors. The second example adds categories(617), keyword filtering.

[phpbay]Die Hard blu-ray, 6[/phpbay*]

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

DIE HARD 4: LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD [BLU-RAY]    US $.99

Die Hard (includes BOTH Blu-ray Disc and DVD In Single Case)    US $4.95

Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007)    US $5.00

Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2009)    US $15.00

Die Hard 2 Die Harder Blu-ray Disc Bruce Willis    US $2.06

Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) BRAND NEW    US $3.99

Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead

This is the same thing but with categories(617), keyword filtering . I just want the Die Hard movie or Collection.

[phpbay]Die Hard blu-ray, 6, 617,"harder vengeance live 3 4"[/phpbay*]

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Die Hard (includes BOTH Blu-ray Disc and DVD In Single Case)    US $4.95

Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007)    US $5.00

Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) BRAND NEW    US $3.99

Die Hard (Ws) (2007) - Used - Blu-ray    US $7.66

Die Hard 2 (Ws) (2007) - Used - Blu-ray    US $7.66

DIE HARD BLU RAY    US $8.00

Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead

Ebay script

Edit 2009/04/20: I added MyStarterBlog

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It's been almost 3 months since I started to use BANS. If fact, I started on April 9 with my first pre-owned domain. Those are my real numbers.

Stats for April

Total BANS: 10
Total .info: 6

Total earned: $1.84
Total from .info: $0.06

Stats for May

Total BANS: 10 (20)
Total .info: 6 (12)

Total earned: $98.12
Total from .info: $10.88

Stats for June

Total BANS: 0 (26)
Total .info: 0 (12)

Total earned: $164.62
Total from .info: $3.97

Total earned since I started: $264.60

Things to take into consideration:

• Google deindexed most BANS + .info in June and only recently started to reindex them. Hopefully, my anchor link will be counted also.
• For most domains, I only did a Bookmarking Demon run. I created Squidoo pages for 2 domains only(pre-owned and .info). I did left a few comments but not many.
• Part of May and all of June was used for AuctionSiteWriter. Most of July will be for it too.

Some will say that it's not very much money. True but it's entirely my own fault for not creating more links to them. But they are missing the bigger picture: I still earned more in June while doing nothing. That is passive income.

I have a bunch of pre-owned and .info that I decided will be used with phpBay(Wp plugin and API). You might want to buy AuctionSiteWriter today(pre-launch price end's today) because I want to support phpBay(Wp plugin and API) and the later. I still have some things to work out first and I only bought it last Friday. You know now why I used Auction in AuctionSiteWriter. I will write a short post about phpBay.

My recommendation is still to buy pre-owned domains from Freshdrop. I had a bigger return using the existing traffic. I got a 60% off coupon(gdp0649g) and if It's like the last one(30%), it should work on pre-owned too but I did not used it yet. It's only valid until July 16.

I sure I will go there buy some pre-owned for later.

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