Hi there, First, by way of introduction since this is my first post to this list, I manage Tucows' domain parking program.
Thank you for your comments and feedback regarding our recent change of ad provider (and therefore parked pages). It's nice to see that you noticed! RE: "pointless pictures" appearing on parked pages Research has shown that landing pages with pictures usually generate higher clickthrough rates, so that's why you may see pictures on the landing pages. Keep in mind that at the end of the day it's not what you or I think looks 'better' that counts. What matters is that the page layout generates the highest possible revenue for us both (reseller and Tucows). We did extensive research over the last few months before deciding to switch providers, and one of the key things we were looking for in a new provider was the understanding of the importance of ensuring the landing page experience helped generate a higher likelihood of clicking on the ads. Adding pictures is one of the ways to accomplish this. Another thing you should know is that these landing pages will *automatically* evolve and be further optimized as the new parking system gets a deeper understanding of what the visitors to these domains are looking for AND, more importantly, clicking on. RE: providing resellers with control over setting the keywords on a per site basis While I totally agree that it's important to ensure relevance of the ads to the visitors, I also believe that making this a manual process for our resellers to have to worry about is not fair, efficient, nor does it scale well in the long run. What you and I *think* might be the most appropriate keywords is not nearly as good as what a smart and automated system can actually *determine* (through A/B testing) really *are* the most appropriate keywords and ads to display. For example, should a domain name featuring the word "paris" offer a page of links related to France or have pictures of Paris Hilton? What do visitors in England expect at this domain versus visitors from the United States? What if they speak Chinese? The solution we have chosen will figure that out automatically, without you having to lift a finger. The end result? Higher revenue since the landing page experience reflects what the visitor is *really* looking for. Thanks again for your feedback. Bill -- Bill Sweetman General Manager, Domain Portfolio Tucows _______________________________________________ domains-gen mailing list [email protected] http://discuss.tucows.com/mailman/listinfo/domains-gen
