Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 46

Thread: Content Sites vs. ECommerce sites

  1. #1

    Content Sites vs. ECommerce sites

    Hi guys,

    I would like to start a discussion comparing Content sites and ECommerce sites and their respective revenues.

    Which one do you prefer? Which one is more profitable? Which one is easier to promote? Which one involves more work than the other?

  2. #2
    Registered Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,755
    For me content sites are better. That's only because of the time involved in an ecommerce site though, they are much more profitable imho...
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  3. #3
    Registered Member incka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Wakefield, UK, EU
    Posts
    3,801
    Depends, a content site such as dictionary.com or bartleby.com can make far more than ecommerce sites, but ecommerce sites can make far more. It depends on promotion.

    Also would you class a site like SavvyShopping.net as content, and a AWS or datafeed site as content or would you class them as ecommerce.

  4. #4
    Also would you class a site like SavvyShopping.net as content, and a AWS or datafeed site as content or would you class them as ecommerce.
    I tend to think of those types of sites as ecommerce, although they are somewhere in between.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Kyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    840
    For this post, ecommerce sites are when you stock products in your office/home, and sell them with a website.

    It's not fair to compare the two, content and ecommerce. Generally speaking, content sites need much more traffic to generate as much revenue as a given ecommerce site. Ecommerce sites require a lot more work and money put into the business from the start, plus time for shipping. Again, I'm not talking about specific cases.. just general content vs. ecommerce sites.

    There's a lot more costs and risks associated with an ecommece site. You need to stock products, purchase more expensive hosting and security certifacte, bank accounts, merchant accounts... you basically start at a loss. There are more laws to consider, as well as more tax issues.

    I prefer content sites. My site SurviveOutdoors.com once had its own store with products that we shipped out. I'm not a big fan... but it can be very profitable.
    Kyle

  6. #6
    Senior Member chromate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,348
    Depends what the products are. If you have an information product you can sell, then this can probably be the most profitable. People pay good money for good information and of course, there are no shipping costs involved.

  7. #7
    Registered Member incka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Wakefield, UK, EU
    Posts
    3,801
    Chromate - A good example of this is High Beam Research, LLC. They make quite alot of money from people paying for access to their eLibrary.com & Encyclopedia.com sites.

  8. #8
    The best way to approach this isn't to compare the two, but to combine the two. Have a content site that can drive traffic to your ecommerce site.

  9. #9
    Registered Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,755
    Or for some people, a content site that can drive traffic to an affiliate site.
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  10. #10
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    East Lansing, MI USA
    Posts
    7,055
    Ecommerce is a gold mine. It is more work but the potential is so much greater.

    With content sites you can make good money, enough to live comfortably. But it is really difficult to make enough money to make you really rich. Some affiliate sites can do it, but with just advertising its hard with a content site.

    An ecommerce site though , the sky is literally the limit. You can start out small, and then keep expanding. In a decade you could end up running a publicly traded company worth millions.
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  11. #11
    Registered Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,755
    But at the moment with google in its current state, wouldn't it be hard to get some traffic into the ecommerce site? I know it's the same for content sites, but you haven't invested much in them apart from time.
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  12. #12
    Future AstonMartin driver r2d2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,608
    Google arent doing too bad themselves, for what is essentially a content site.

    Making it big though would be more possible with an ecommerce site - you just need the time and money to invest...

  13. #13
    Registered Member incka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Wakefield, UK, EU
    Posts
    3,801
    Mike, alot of ecommerce sites buy adwords or buy links to them on PR9 sites such as newscientist.com.

  14. #14
    Registered Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,755
    That's more money to spend.
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  15. #15
    Ecommerce is a gold mine. It is more work but the potential is so much greater.

    With content sites you can make good money, enough to live comfortably. But it is really difficult to make enough money to make you really rich. Some affiliate sites can do it, but with just advertising its hard with a content site.

    An ecommerce site though , the sky is literally the limit. You can start out small, and then keep expanding. In a decade you could end up running a publicly traded company worth millions.
    Chris,

    Did you start with purely content sites in the beginning?
    How do you promote your ecommerce sites?
    Do you write content sites related to the ecommerce sites and link to them?
    Do you try to embed some content into the ecommerce sites?

    I'm trying to get a general idea of how to promote an ecommerce site?


    Thanks

Similar Threads

  1. Can webmaster content sites profit from AdSense?
    By nohaber in forum Advertising & Affiliate Programs
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 05-13-2004, 09:00 PM
  2. Ecommerce
    By thebillionaire in forum Ecommerce
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 04-18-2004, 06:49 PM
  3. Two sites with same content
    By iKwak in forum Search Engine Optimization
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-31-2004, 02:50 PM
  4. Should I build content sites "just because I can"?
    By RockNRollPig in forum Advertising & Affiliate Programs
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-24-2004, 02:44 AM
  5. Content spamming using articles?
    By nohaber in forum Search Engine Optimization
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-21-2004, 09:38 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •