I like this thread. Let me give you 2 suggestions on how to improve your hosting site. 1. Change the script so you can have search engine friendly urls, like www.site.com/view/123456789123456789_jpg 2. Add titles to images, it's quite easy to be done and it would also make your hosting site more user/viewer friendly I already did both with my image host and I'm hoping to see some SEs love soon . Mihai
mihai, Thanks for suggestions. Could You update on statistics, does that improved SE love? That very interesting. I am also thinking about other seo changes too. Somehow SE does not love my website at all, would be nice to find a reason.
How to get more returning uploaders Do You remember my most important metrics of website? visits, page views, revenue per page view, returning visits. Yesterday I started implementing follow up email system on HeyImage.com website, so when member will sign for an account he will get 5-6 emails, with a day pause, which will explain him features of HeyImage.com By doing this I am expecting, to brand HeyImage.com a little to a user, and hope that he will return more often, and upload more pictures to us. Today will finish that system, and after 10 - 15 days, will see some uploading statistics. Here are the themes I am thinking, what you think? #1 Please confirm your email #2 Photo desktop uploader feature #3 We are paying for your hosted images #4 Invite a friend feature Still thinking what other good emails could be....
This thread is definitely worth adding to favorites. Great stuff, no I need to do some more coding with my image host http://images.llfk.com But I truly love your suggestions, they do make sense. Maybe I would be able to get this thing off the ground (currently the site used half a gig in 19 days, which is nothing for an image host).
Wow, this is amazing. Hey, I have soem free money, and if you think you can help me make some profits, Im willing to help you expand your website and make it more than just an image hosting site. Maybe we could add a forum to it (while keeping the image hosting as the home page) so that people will visit for more reasons and for more times. In fact ,the site may even become a multi-niche fame. You have the traffic, now lets make them interested in your site more than their boyfriend/girlfriend so that you would make ten fold the money than you already are (while sharing around 20~30% with me-your buddy). If you think I would be a good financial beneficiary for you, please PM me. (Email= )
Thanks! I understand, but I do have a question. Isn't possible to set the autosurfer to surf to, for instance, ad_tracker.php?action=img_track&track=good_type&file={file_id}&user_id={user_id}&anything={some integer}? This would make the "visit" be counted as a view. And the surfer doesn't have to load the image, so he saves bandwith. Is this assumption correct?
I can't see an image hosting site doing well unless it specifically limits off site linking or direct linking to thumbnails and allows you to maximize the thumbnail inside of advertisements, sold per CPM, and not adsense. My theory, anyway.
I had an image hosting site that was earning maybe $2 per day with 5000 members and about 20000 images uploaded and sold it for $2000. I had two of them and both sold for $2k each. If you make $700-$800 per month you should be able to sell if for way more than $10000
Amirmullick3, Thank You for investing inquiry, however at this time, this project needs more work, than money. So I decided to hold investment inquiries. Sorry about that. However, after 3-4 months, I will hame some small investment oportunities, if interested please leave me PM, after start, after start I will deliver more information. That will be my next project.
ChrisPhp, Yes it would be possible, to create a hitbox acting like this. On University Security Course, we were told, that You must defend system as much as much revenue could be gained by hacking it. For my website, gain would be quite small, so I don't think people will program special hitbox software for it. And if someone will start to make big money, I can analyze, their traffic on my logs. If You are counting expensive clicks maybe You need better security. Add proxy checking, if posible count views generated by these visitors. Log refferers, etc.
netpox Thanks for a comment. By the way I thought about your case quite much. After thinking I decided, that people mostly pay big, for lot of members, and revenue. Let's hope I will reach my goals, and make this website worth bigger investment.
If you knew the script he is using you'd understand. It generates that gibberish and uses dynamic urls ending in .jpg to show the pages so my version is much better than the original links, even if it looks gibberish. Not really nice from the English point of view but for the possibility of SE indexing. Add a description to each image and you'll be able to even better urls after that.
Hi. could you tell me, which vps-service you are using for 75$, because I am looking to find myself a vps for a image-hosting site!? thanks a lot.
For a bit more than 75$ you can get yourself a dedicated server at VolumeDrive.com. I have my server there and I am quite happy. Dual core CPU, 2GB of ram, 125GB hard drive, 3,300GB on 100MB/s traffic (or unlimited on 10MB/s), cpanel included, ftp backup, and etc. Why would you want a VPS when you can get a dedicated server for a bit more?