I receive many questions like the one below from clients and potential clients about all kinds of “site builders”. It really does not matter if they are free or cheap or if they are offered by Godaddy or SiteSell.com, these types of one stop website builders all have quite a few things in common and in my opinion, free or cheap is not a good deal.(if you have any idea that you may want to build a business around a website, or support your business with a website.)

My new client Maribell sent me this question, not long after she signed op with us here at iBusinessLogic.com for a WordPress niche market website development project.

Hi Scott,
A quick and totally off topic question…

What is your opinion about the SBI or SiteSell by Ken Evoy?
I just have a friend who uses them and keeps mentioning/recommending them.

I understand that wordpress is much better but I’m not clear why or what the difference is and I’m curious to get your opinion because I know I prefer wordpress but I can’t explain it.
Thanks so much.

Maribell

My Answer to Maribell was pretty much as follows:

Dear Maribell,

I looked at the the SBI or SiteSell concept several years ago.

Deal or Scam? Maybe neither - But Why?

Seems to me… that the old adage – if it is too good to be true…. Usually is! – Applies here.

Site Sell websites are templatized and not attractive in my opinion. Going beyond the basic lack of appeal of the final products I would say that it seems to me that the tools SiteSell touts as being huge features of the program, are all available as plugins for WordPress and many more tools and plugins are available in open source programs like WordPress than will ever be available in any proprietary site builder framework.

Several examples of why using a content management system is a better choice for your company:

1. Usually in a Site Builder there is no database, so no one can search your site except if they use the menu. (Not user friendly)
   
2. You only have one option for every add on, the one they provide , otherwise, if you do not like the tool they offer – well, you are out of luck.
   
3. Also, ask if you can back up your data and move it elsewhere if you like? – I think this may be more difficult than they may claim if they offer data backup at all.
4. With WordPress, you have literally millions of developers working for you, every day, providing tools and applications that you could hardly imagine were available at little or no cost. If you choose a tool (plugin) and it does not suit your purpose, or does not work with your other plugins, or you just want more features… Then you simply remove that old plugin and replace it with a newer and better one, or one that suits your purpose better.
   

This is why it is a good idea for you hire a “Developer” like iBusinessLogic.com to help make the decisions about what works for your application and about the trade-offs that inevitably occur in any project – no matter whether you are building a house or a website there are always decisions to be made about features and options that can and should be used or not, with a Site Build It website – those options are non-existent.  Proprietary web site builders like this do not allow for trade offs, they have one application for every feature you may want for your site (if they have one at all) there are no choices, no alternatives, no way to make your site look or work any different from the thousands of other sites they have over promised and under delivered.

I could go one for hours on the advantages of using open source software over proprietary single supplier web building tools that lock you in for life to a monthly payment, even if you find that the hype does not match the actual product.  (Locked in for life – unless you want to lose all of the data that you spent a great deal of your time assembling and publishing on any website). But whats the point? Some people just want to take the easy way, and some people will always sell stuff that is too good to be true. It’s just part of the human experience.

Another blogger and Internet Commerce specialist Lis Sowerbutts wrote about Site Build It

Its a “one stop shop” for someone who wants a website but doesn’t know where to start. You pay them a hefty fee- PER SITE – around $300 ANNUALLY. And for this sum you get:

• “free” domain name
• “free” hosting
• drag and drop website builder
• newsletter manager
• autoresponder
• search engine ranking help
• traffic reports
• hand holding: forum, tutorial etc.

Now if you Google for “site builder scam” – you will find a lot of  “reviews” which are just affiliate pitches? Why because Site Build It pays affiliates around $75 a sale, and that’s an annual fee to remember. You don’t even have to a user of SBI to be an affiliate – how can you sell something you don’t use yourself – that’s what I turned me off affiliate marketing initially. You will find no link here for SBI – if you want to join – type in their url direct and then sign up as an affiliate and pay yourself the commission as a discount!

So Why is Site Build It a Scam?

1. You don’t own your domain – the Anguilla-beaches .com site which features prominently in the sales pitch is owned by Ken Evoy – who owns site build it – according to domain tools anyways; UPDATE: yes you do own your site but this is still disingenuous marketing
2. You can’t just move your website elsewhere to say cheaper hosting – you are tied up with SBI for life. You have to make $300/year just to break even on the deal! UPDATE: you can with varying degrees of difficulty – its not easy appears to be the consensus
3. They spend a lot of time quoting Alexa rank of SBI sites – Alexa ranks just proves that you have a bunch of internet marketers visiting your site – probably because of the link from the sales page – as they are the only people who use the Alexa tool bar. Internet marketers are unlikely to buy your homemade chocolates or rent your condo in Puerto Rico;
4. The search engine help according the site build it’s own sales promotion video involves submitting your sites to the search engines -  do not ever do this - this just prooves to Google that your site is not worth visiting cause no one is linking to it.
5. Further more to rank your site they suggest you use pay per click (PPC) advertising – this is as about as risky as say foreign exchange dealing as it not something any new on-line marketer should be doing.
6. You don’t need a newsletter or autoresponder unless you are selling crap – sorry I mean affiliate products to visitors. If you site is just for attracting niche buying search traffic – you don’t need these products.

So no SBI is not a traditional scam. They no doubt deliver on what is promised – though you no doubt have to pay extra from the PPC champaign. Yes traditional hosting and free software won’t give you support on how to build your business.

But $300 for support is pretty darn expensive.

In a follow up review page the same writer offered this opinion after being descended upon by the faithful affiliates and users of Ken Evoy’s Site Build It SBI program.

Is Site Build It a Scam?

No, SBI is not a scam – its a lot, lot more dangerous than that – its a fucking cult: a group of people who are in love with Dr Ken Evoy who believe that the sun shines out of, well you know where, who believe the one true way as provided by Ken Evoy and brook no  interference or dissent either within their ranks or outside of them.

Why Were There No Negative Reviews of Site Build It

 

Site Build It Troll – At Rest

Because your average blogger when faced with the barrage I have had over the last 48 hours would have dropped the whole bloody thing, probably deleted the post and run for the hills. Or their useless hosting would have dropped their site for resource over-runs. They would have believed the threats legal and otherwise.

Some of us are old enough to remember that a mob was something that happened in person, and trust me a real riot or mob is pretty bloody scary – but at least the individuals are there in person and not hiding behind made up emails and generic IP addresses. The online version doesn’t scare us old people!

So, lets just say that signing on to such a program is risky at the least and possibly less than optimal at best.

Why am I comparing this to using WordPress or any open source Content Management System for your internet commerce goals?

I guess I am simply confounded at the audacity of people who offer inferior platforms and tout them as superior all while limiting expandability, growth and options. WordPress is not that difficult to master, there are millions of resources available to help even the most timid users understand how to optimize the CMS to fit almost any website niche or need and anything that a product like Site Build It can do, can be done better, with longer lasting value and ROI with a well designed WordPress site. Drag and drop has it’s disadvantages, including limiting accuracy of placement, compatibility across all browsers and just plain time wasting. A WordPress page can be constructed in minutes, and the typography, options for placement of video, audio and/or image content is superior than any easy site building program I have ever tried. Writing a wordpress page is darn near as easy as writing an email in your favorite email client.

Everyone in this world is looking for an easy solution to every problem.  Whether that problem is World Peace, Losing 100 pounds, or creating a website for their business. I think that if a politician were to have a moment of honesty, they might tell you that World Peace is unattainable, your doctor will tell you that losing weight takes effort and fortitude, and I will tell you that building a website that supports your business goals costs more than a night at a Jimmy Buffett concert!

There are options that are less difficult than the old fashioned way of creating websites with Dreamweaver or Front Page (like WordPress or Joomla) and it is true that todays options for getting your message online are greatly expanded, but the fact remains that for every great result, there is in most cases a story of great effort – either of mind or spirit or plain old elbow grease. Buying into a quick fix method of creating a website which supposedly offers a one size fits all system, but a limited number of options is not the wisest of decisions.

I will let others tell you if Site Build It! is a scam, that is not my job really. I can tell you that in my opinion there are smarter, stronger, and more economical options available in Open Source Content Management Systems, which will allow you to start, build and grow your website with your business and maintain control over that website, just as you do your business.

I’m going to share a closely held secret with you about web design.

This is a secret, that no web design company in Tampa, St Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere in Florida or the World ever mentions…

• You will have to do some work to get your website live.

• Then you will need to be involved with it’s development as a part of your business as much as if it were a key employee!

What’s that you say? I’m paying someone to do my website?

Why should I be involved?

• You’ll still have to do work to get it just right.

• Then you will need to keep an eye on it to be sure it works for you!

Most web companies don’t talk about what’s required of you in the process of web development, because it’s generally a turn-off to say, “Pay Us… Here’s Your Homework, and oh, by the way – this is an ongoing process”.  But in all honesty, this is the unavoidable reality.

In fact, with the right approach, web site development can be fun, and will reap incredible rewards in the final product.  Besides, who else knows more about your actual business than you do? Who can define your direction and goals better? What outside company knows more about what your customers want to hear than you and your front line staff?  Granted, web developers and designers can take your information and mold it into a cohesive message, but we can not do this without some idea of what that message is… Help us to help you create an Awesome website for you and for your customers!

Content is king (and a tedious necessity of Internet advertising!)

• The biggest delay for any web project is not the design, or HTML coding, it’s getting the content.

This is a constant theme throughout the web industry.  That means that you, the client and business owner, need to either pay someone $150 an hour to write about your business, or more likely,  you’ll have to sit down, and write about your business. (At least write the basic ideas and help map out the content with your web developer)

This will take some thought, time discipline and creativity. Don’t sweat it… just look at your business plan, past brochures or marketing materials, and competitive websites and you can knock this out quickly. We can work with you on this, help you with your ideas, toss out our ideas and generally re-write your basic outline notes in a creative way, but the more you do, the less we need to do and the less it will cost you. Simple as that.

• Communication is the cornerstone of getting your message out, you must craft the message parameters and generate the basic ideas that will propel the content forward.

Great photos can make your website. Bad photos can kill it!

If your product, storefront, or employees are a major component of your brand, then you’ll need quality photos. You can try to take digital pictures (high resolution), and it may work. But, sometimes a REAL professional may be necessary. The other option is using stock photography.

A great stock photograph can usually bridge the gap for a new firm, until they have the budget to pay a professional photographer. This can actually be a really fun task with the right approach.

• Publishing poor photos of your business is where mistakes are made on the net. You only get a few seconds to make an impression and photos make the most visual impact of any medium.

Be Specific About Your Website Goals.

“Something professional” or “just a couple of pages” is not feedback that you can give your web designer and expect results. What usually helps a designer is to provide examples of other websites you’ve seen in the past that you like. Hopefully, your web designer has a significant portfolio that can help in guiding your design preferences. Most designers and web developers can make your ideas come to life, or they can show you ideas that you will in turn see as a good fit for you business, but you must be invested in the process.

Web designers all have had clients who would not engage in the process, gave no feedback, did not share ideas or objections to themes or colors or layouts, and at the end of the project find that the client does not like the result.  This is a sure way to find yourself looking for another competent web design person and that is not your goal or the designers.

• Believe it or not, we are actually proud of the work we do and we want our clients to be just as proud of their website as we are to have created it.

Keep the momentum rolling and stay involved in the web design process.

How? If you have a deadline to meet, let your web designer know at the beginning of the project. This can shave weeks off of a web project. Assuming your web designer is providing drafts for you in a reasonable time frame, get back to them as soon as you can. Using email to send ideas should always be welcomed by your designer, excessive one on one meetings usually will not help a lot.  If you have a designer/developer who takes an interest in learning more about your business and is willing to come to your location to do research or to photograph your retail operation, your employees, your products or your facilities, by all means make time to allow this to happen.  Understand that the web design process is really the management or creative and data based ideas and content. Your web designer should be inspired by your business to create the best possible product for you.

Your biggest job is to help with inspiration!

Expect to make changes…even after your website is LIVE.

A website should not be a static, web based brochure or just some pages about your hours and location.  Adding content regularily keeps your name and your business in front of more eyeballs – Specifically Google and Bing and Yahoo! To generate more views of your most important sales tool (Your website) you really must keep it fresh with new testimonials, articles and content. There is no way around this, it is just a fact of life in the website world and no matter how much the people who sell SEO over the phone like to claim that they can, no one can keep you placed well in search without updated and fresh content, inbound links, and new information for the search engines to index.

This is why we recommend to all of our clients that they consider strongly the value of updating their websites regularly. To do this more easily and on your own, you will want to request a Content Management System (CMS) that will allow you to make the changes, add the content, build new pages or add testimonials etc.

• The other option, if you do not have the time to do all of this is to start with a simple maintenance program (Starting @ $99 per month with iBusinessLogic.com).

WebSite Maintenance is Necessary

Web site technology is changing continuously and the pace of the changes is growing exponentially. The days of putting up a few HTML pages and leaving them alone for 5 years are one forever. Your site must keep up with the standards of web development and with the multitude of different browsers that are available today.  There is also the issue of hackers and malicious threats, security is not bulletproof, if Google and eBay can be hacked, your website can also go down in a second.

• Having a full site backup plan, if you want to keep your website fresh, and “live” is important. Keeping that backup updated with your changes to the site is essential to having a smooth recovery from any incident. (Plans available from iBusinessLogic.com)
  

No Other Option – Today’s Websites are your best Sales Force

Ultimately, NOT having a website is a death sentence for any business. The decline in readership of print based advertising methods and the lack of use of Yellow Page Books all lead the consumer to the Internet.  If that consumer finds you on the Internet they will have more confidence in your business.  Whether they find you with one of todays mobile phones or at home with their computer it does not matter the important point here is that when that consumer, your customer, lands on your website, they should find your information presented in an informative and easy to use and understand manner. If you are not on the Internet with your own website, they most likely will not find you at all.

• Therefore, while the above tasks may not be sexy, and they may not sound like fun, being disciplined and knocking them out, (just as you did when you started your business and built your store or your client base or your hotel or whatever business you happen to be in…) in the end will help you to create new business and get you the website that you always wanted.
  

WordPress is an unbelievable Content Management System website development framework, using this powerful tool for Real Estate websites is a natural. Cost effective, nimble, creative and search engine optimized. Get a WordPress based website for your Real Estate business today!

iBusinessLogic Real Estate on WordPress

A new informational post by: iBusinessLogic,

What should a website accomplish for your business?

Much depends upon what type of business you have but we can share some

of the basics that are common expectations for business owners.

• A Business Website – should be informative – It should provide the potential consumer with the required confidence to make the decision to make a call or place an online order.  If your website looks too flashy, or if your website looks like a quick web builder site, will your customer have that confidence factor to call you? – More importantly, does your site have the information your customers need to make that momentous decision to call you over your competition?
• A Business Website – should be capable of growing with the business, adapting to changes in pricing, or products, or services. The website is a reflection of what it is you offer to the public, it is the catalog of your business and it is the best advertising money you can possibly spend.  Over the life of a properly designed website, your business should realize thousands upon thousands of impressions on the public, impressions add up to leads, leads become sales.
• A Business Website – should be dynamic. This means that it should be capable of offering a multitude of media to the visitor. – Text is the king of all media still but video and audio along with stunning images are also very important for some niches.  Your website should allow for all of these media presentations and it should be relatively easy for you to say, add a you tube video or a podcast if you choose to do so.
• A Business Website – Can offer online sales, document downloads, protected representative or client access, image galleries, video galleries, auto responders, daily specials, video tours, and unique content that you as the business owner wants to share with your customers and potential customers.

Thanks for reading this post, if you have any questions about what your business website should do for you, please give me a call.

Here is a brief list of our services:

• Website Design & Development using State of the Art Content Management Systems
• Development/Programming
• Graphic Design
• Logo Design
• Brand-Identity Design
• E-Commerce (Web Store) – eBay – Bonanzle – and More
• Hosting, Email, Statistics
• Copywriting
• Internet Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Marketing Consulting

727-596-6900

Call!

http://ibusinesslogic.com

See our Portfolio @ http://ibusinesslogic.com/portfolio

iBusinessLogic of Tampa Bay, Florida has an extensive portfolio of completed and under construction website projects. We thought it might be a good idea to list these projects, past and present in a clear, concise directory on our own website. This way you may be able to get a better idea of what we have done, what we

can do and who we have worked for. Most of the links in this directory are live and will lead you to the website developed by iBusinessLogic. If you would like to speak with the client who commissioned a particular site, we just ask that you call us first to be sure that we can get you the proper person to speak with.

Ask for Scott Pooler and I am the director of iBusinessLogic.com, if you have any questions or inquiries please ask…

At iBusinessLogic, we offer No BS web development!

This means we use the latest in technology and our own creative experience to craft websites for our small business and
local/national customers that work! These websites work for our customers and not the other way around, and they are
very very easy to manage.

Which of these situations do you relate to?

• You have a new company and want to launch a professional-looking website quickly, your budget is tight but you must have something up on your launch date.
• You know you need a website, but are not sure what benefits to expect other than “branding”.
• You have been in business a while, your website looks dated, you have no way to update it yourself and you dread calling the guy who made it for you because he is never available.
• Your original site is OK – but you get no leads and no one will tell you why?
• You are tired of paying for traditional advertising and getting very little in return.
• You don’t want a cookie cutter template site, like the offerings found on craigslist or even on big name sites like Quicken

We can relate to these situations, because we have been there and done that.

iBusinessLogic is a Local – Not outsourced – Website development company. We craft each and every website commissioned by our clients ourselves in house. We do it with caring and love because we want to stick with our clients through thick and thin. We also know that some of our clients prefer to not be “locked” into a long term contract. They don’t want to have to rely on just one individual or company for their websites future health and maintenance. If the situation works out, great, but if it does not what is the end game? What is your exit strategy? We are here to tell you…

iBusinessLogic builds sites only on widely used and easily updated Content Management Systems. What does this mean?

This means that not only will we teach you how to add your own pages and information on your site (if you like) but if for any reason, say I get run over by a truck, or you move to Kansas and don’t want to work over the phone, any other qualified CMS developer can help you with your site in the future. No, this is not the standard website development company business plan. Most developers want you to be tied to them forever and if something goes wrong, or personalities do not mesh, they just abandon the project and you – the business owner is left holding a bag of html. You don’t want that, and at iBusinessLogic neither do we.
We want you to be happy with our services and remember us for future projects. Your site is yours, and we are just your highly qualified support team. No matter if you need one website or ten websites, we can make it happen

Here is a brief list of our services:

• Website Design & Development using State of the Art Content Management Systems
• Development/Programming
• Graphic Design
• Logo Design
• Brand-Identity Design
• E-Commerce (Web Store) – eBay – Bonanzle – and More
• Hosting, Email, Statistics
• Copywriting
• Internet Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Marketing Consulting

727-596-6900

Call us!

Ask for Scott Pooler and I am the director of
iBusinessLogic.com, if you have any questions or inquiries please ask…

Keith Sanders Law P.A. is a local attorney in St Pete Beach, Florida who specializes in Bankruptcy, Foreclosure Defense and Loan Modification.

Prior to working with iBusinessLogic this local attorney’s best form of advertising was either word of mouth or the occasional Craig’s List Advertisement. iBusinessLogic went to work on changing that situation with a fully optimized easy to manage WordPress as CMS website development project.

This legal specialty site inclused a custom premium theme with rotating banner header, a custom beach oriented background, call to action buttons and easy to update testimonial displays that rotate automatically on the home page with every new page load.

Attorney Sanders and his staff have been impressed with the speed and efficiency of this website development project.  From start to finish this complete web site was completed in less than 4 weeks.

Keith Sanders stressed his desire to focus on three primary forms of law in which he specializes:

• Bankruptcy – Chapter 13 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Law in the State of Florida
• Foreclosure defense in the State of Florida
• Loan Modifications

Needless to say these are very competitive keyword phrases and we of course wanted to hone the niche down to a more localized result. With this plan the site was optimized to capitalize on search traffic in the local Tampa Bay area and of course in Keith Sanders home town of St Pete Beach.

The results are impressive, even for us… All of these results are for Organic search within 60 days of the site going live.  This shows the strength of a properly set up and optimized WordPress based Content Management System website.  To attain these kinds of rankings in such a highly competitive search phrase landscape is quite impressive.

These screenshots are taken in early October 2009 – the site went live on 8 September 2009.

Keyword Phrase #1 – Bankruptcy Attorney St Pete Beach

#4 in Google for Bankruptcy Attorney in Local Search

Keyword Phrase #2 – Foreclosure Defense St Pete Beach

Google #2 - Foreclosure Defense

Keyword Phrase #3 – Loan Modifications St Pete Beach

Google Results - Organic #2 for Loan Modifications

Attorney Keith Sanders and his dedicated staff can continue to rank for other keyword phrases as long as they use this website as it was intended. By adding new information on a regular basis and concentrating of specific keyword phrase content, this attorney’s website should provide a very attractive return on investment.

Oh, and one other bonus from this optimized site… Attorney Keith Sanders can be found without having a Linked In or Twitter account. We always promote the use of these social networking tools, mainly because they are great for building a personal brand.  In Keith Sanders case, his name had already been taken on both of these social networking websites.

Keyword Phase #4 – Keith Sanders – Ranking #2 in Google

(Outranking both Twitter and Linked In)

Beating Large Sites like Twitter and LinkedIn - is Possible!

For more information about iBusinessLogic legal website development please contact us

This article is under construction (actually we are testing the new image slider on the home page of this blog)

The full article will be published here soon, so please come back for more details.

Site Name: Albany Remodeling

Owned by: F.R. Kennedy & Son Construction

CMS: WordPress

Google Rank: 1st Page for the Term “Albany Remodeling”

Features: Galleries of completed and in progress jobs, communications, contact forms, blog with how to and what to know type articles featuring jobs done in Albany, NY and surrounding towns in the Capital District of New York State.

iBusinessLogic Corporation is proud to announce a strategic partnership with CompoJoom.com of Germany.

This newly formed International partnership, brought together through social networking (LinkedIn Groups) with a common desire to help the Open Source Movement plus the joint goal of bringing monetization options to developers and publishers of online content. Is tasked with bringing a new Open Source supporting advertising network online in June 2009.

CompoJoom is headed up by Daniel Dimitrov, the developer of the number one most downloaded and used comments component for the Joomla! Open Source Content Management System.  With over 100,000 users (downloads) of the free JoomlaComment, CompoJoom and Daniel Dimitrov have a proven dedication to the Open Source community and it’s users.

Soft launch end of June 2009

iBusinessLogic’s Scott Pooler has been selected to head up the branding and marketing departments of a new ad network recently named Joomvertising!  “Scott has been essential in the initial name selection and branding of the Open Source ad network”, Daniel Dimitrov said, “we are very proud to have him and iBusinessLogic on our team”.

What is this Joomvertising! ?

Joomvertising!  an advertising network that fully supports Open Source and Joomla!  A portion of every dollar made through the advertising network goes to the development of Open Source.

• Joomvertising pays publishers first and foremost – that is you!
• 70% of all advertising revenue goes directly to the publisher!
• Less than 10% of the advertising revenue goes to the Joomvertising! Ad network.
• The remainder? Is paid to developers of open source extensions which affiliate with the Joomvertising! network and to Joomla! itself – we want to keep Open Source alive!

For Publishers of content using Joomla! (The Open Source Content management system with over 10 million downloads and a very active developer and user community) the Joomvertising! Network offers the following features.

• Joomvertising!  – Finds the advertisers
• Joomvertising!  – Places the ads automatically
• Joomvertising!  – Allows the publisher to reject any ad type
• Joomvertising!  – Pays the publisher first!
• Joomvertising!  – is set and forget, install the code, watch the PayPal inbox
• Joomvertising!  – is the only ad network that fully supports Open Source!

Joomvertising! initially will be offered for use through the number one comments component on the Joomla! extend directory or by logging onto the http://joomvertising.com website and registering as a publisher.

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The Joomvertising! ad codes can be placed in any banner or user position through the standard Joomla! banner component. (See the support section on http://joomvertising.com for easy to understand videos showing exactly how to insert the code. – Expect launch late June, 2009)

For advertisers – Joomvertising! offers:

• Access to up to 10 million publishers using the Joomla! CMS!
• Targeted placement of banner or text based advertisements
• Complete OpenX tracking capabilities
• Multiple size banner placements
• A method and mechanisim to support Open Source while promoting a product or service
• With the JoomlaComment placement – close proximity to the most active portions of social active Joomla! Websites – the comments section under each article.

Joomvertising is proud of supporting Open Source and for thank our users for understanding that without all of us making contributions to Open Source, the community will not thrive.  Help the community while helping yourself by monetizing your site or offering your message – join Joomvertising! as an advertiser or publisher.

This strategic partnership between a US based website development and marketing company iBusinessLogic and the Germany based Open Source development company CompoJoom is just one example of the power of Open Source and the worldwide reach of Social networking. Mr. Pooler and Mr. Dimitrov met through one of the Joomla! groups on LinkedIn, a social and business networking site.

Without the world wide communication available today through services like LinkedIn connections such as this would not be possible. Finding like minded entrepreneurs with complimentary skills is always a challenge, the combination of iBusinessLogic’s Scott Pooler and CompoJooms Daniel Dimitrov should prove to be a strong management team for Joomvertising.com!

Keep an eye out for more information here or on Joomvertising.com soon, we expect a soft launch in late June 2009!

For more information contact Scott Pooler by using the contact page on this website

Internet Business and Internet Marketing, it all sounds so interesting and easy…

Get an idea, buy a domain name, build a website and the money flows…

Right?

Maybe…

If the idea is right, the research is sound, the website is optimized and the effort is complete.  Building an Internet business is no less difficult than starting a traditional brick and mortar retail or wholesale business.

Don’t let anyone tell you different!

Lets look at the second step most people take when entering the Internet business world – Buying a Domain Name.

Domain Names – How Much Are They Worth?

There is a large market revolving around the simple Internet domain name.  A commodity usually purchased from a domain name registrar like Godaddy or Register.com for about $9.99 can, if the name is valuable, be resold for hundreds or even millions of dollars.

The following excerpt is from Wikipedia: In an excellent article describing Domain Names:

Domain aftermarket prices and trends

Domain name sales occurring in the aftermarket are frequently submitted to the DN journal. The sales are listed weekly and include the top aftermarket resellers which include but are not limited to Sedo, Traffic (auctions), Afternic, NameJet, Moniker and private sales.

To date, and according to Guinness World Records and MSNBC, the most expensive domain name sales on record as of 2004 were:

• Business.com for $7.5 million in December 1999
• AsSeenOnTv.com for $5.1 million in January 2000
• Altavista.com for $3.3 million in August 1998
• Wine.com for $2.9 million in September 1999
• CreditCards.com for $2.75 million in July 2004
• Autos.com for $2.2 million in December 1999

The week ending January 27, 2008, DNJournal reported that CNN, a cable news channel purchased iReport.com for $750,000. The high price for iReport.com, as in “I Report,” was because it was branded by CNN as CNN’s news crowdsourcing prior to the purchase of the domain name. Likewise, AltaVista was branded as a search engine prior to the high purchase price of the domain name.

Big Dollars = Big Opportunity – for some…

These factual reports of actual domain resales has opened an opportunity for less than scrupulous domain name aftermarket brokers.  These individuals promote the resale of domains which may appear to be quite valuable to uninformed or new Internet business entrepreneurs. The following information is an example of just one of those offers that could have lead an unsuspecting budding Internet entrepreneur astray.

The following is an actual unsolicited email I recently received offering me an amazing opportunity to purchase a domain name.

(details of the sender (spammer) have been omitted)

Hello, (My Name inserted here)

I recently found your site online and thought I would contact you.  I am a Domain Broker and am currently offering the domain ebayBoatAuction.com for sale.  The price for this domain is $400 and if you have an interest in acquiring it please let me know.  I can be reached at this email address or at xxx 822-xxxx.

My Reply to this Domain Broker may have been a bit more involved than he expected.

I approached the response in a manner that assumed this person had just made an honest mistake and that he was uninformed or ignorant of the laws he had already broken or proposed breaking…

Dear Sir,

Since any domain that has the word “ebay” in it will eventually receive a cease and desist order from eBay, Inc. if it is used as an active URL, I would not be interested in your offer to sell a domain with the word eBay within. Please note the following information taken directly from the eBay website: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/everyone-ebayipuse.html

While it has become very popular to register, use and sell domain names (including on eBay), it generally is not permissible to own, sell or use a domain name, which contains a trademark owned by another person or company. Visit the Use of eBay Names, Logos, Screenshots or Domain Names page for more information about registering domain names similar to the eBay name.

Certain uses of domain names may also subject the owner to additional penalties. Congress passed a statute called the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, which provides for penalties of up to $100,000 against persons who in bad faith and without authorization, use, sell, or offer for sale a domain name that infringes another’s trademark. Click here for more information on trademark law.

I suggest that if you have multiple domains with the word eBay or ebay anywhere within, that you stop any attempts at brokering them for a profit of any kind. You could be exposing yourself to litigation or worse, if you sell these domains.  Only eBay inc can register and/or use domains with their trademark and they are notoriously happy to pursue even the smallest cases with vigor.

Good Luck in your brokering business, I also suggest that you peruse the Cann Spam act to determine if the emails you are sending out with commercial offers to parties that have never done business with you in the past are in fact legal.  This too could be an exposure you are not advised to accept.

Respectfully,

Scott Pooler
CEO iBusinessLogic Corporation
USA Support – MerchantRun-GlobalLink
http://iBusinessLogic.com
http://merchantrun-globallink.com
12525 Walsingham Rd
Largo, Florida 33774
727-596-6900
Skype: allbusinessauctions
Twitter: http://twitter.com/scott_pooler
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpooler
Beach-Host is a division of iBusinessLogic Corporation http://beach-host.com Get Your Site Now!

Do I really think this individual had no idea that he was offering a domain name that could never be legally used?

Well, I would like to think so, but in this world we can almost always be sure that people will take advantage of the unsuspecting.  I am pretty confident that if I had spent $400 of my hard earned cash, hoping to make a business out of eBayBoatAuction.com, I would have been sorely disappointed.  I honestly doubt this Domain Broker would have gladly refunded my money. I mean, that is a pretty good profit on a $9.99 investment, if even if selling a trademarked name is illegal, right?

Caveat Emptor

Buyer beware indeed…

There are millions of opportunities in what is still the infancy of Internet business, so many in fact that short cuts are not necessary. Hard work, ingenuity, previous experience, research, drive and skill will bring you to the top.

Please do not fall for unscrupulous offers or get rich quick schemes that do not allow your own inner passion to become a success to blossom.  You will be a success only if you make it so, no one can do it for you.

While mentors and consultants or developers like myself can make the process less painful and save untold steps along the way… It is the entrepreneur who drives the ship and makes the business a success, not some quick scheme, offer or box of DVD’s or seemingly can’t miss domain name.

This one would have missed before it had ever gotten started, or worse… Imagine investing in a website, building it on a trademarked domain, investing hundreds of hours and possibly thousands of dollars, only to find eBay knocking on your door with a cease and decist order, or the justice department with a subpoena?

I am so lucky…

iBusinessLogic is proud to be working with the Indian Rocks Beach Vacation board and Ship A Hoey of Indian

Rocks Beach to make their new website.

The site is a cross between a vacation accommodations referral and reservations portal and a local Indian Rocks Beach and Central Florida attractions guide.

We have the initial look and feel of the site installed and some initial beach photos in the scrolling gallery, there is a great deal of content to complete but the site itself is functional and will be ready for public use in less than a week.

A website design like this is suitable for condominiums, small hotels & motels, Chambers of Commerce and local historical societies.  We could also see this look utilized very well for seafood restuarants and beach bars who want a fresh Florida look for their company website.

What do you think? Is this a nice design look?  Keep an eye out for new content and more features in the very near future.