Hi Darren,

If you are looking at online publisher business model I’ve got a couple of articles I’d like to recommend. The first one analyses the relationship between traffic/ size of the operation and advertising revenue stream. Details at the following url:

http://all-things-spatial.blogspot.com/2009/06/law-of-exponentialism-of-online.html

The second is a generic model to assess online business opportunities. According to this model, producing free content and monetising it with advertising revenue (eg Adsense) is probably the simplest to implement but “predominantly a slow growth proposition unless big money can be thrown at advertising and generating publicity to bring in the crowds”. Also, it’s probably the least attractive to investors but, as recent IPO of Demand Media illustrates, it has its merits. For further details please follow this link:

http://all-things-spatial.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-pick-online-winners.html

Good luck with your project!

Arek
w: http://aus-emaps.com
b: http://all-things-spatial.blogspot.com

Hey guys, apologies for the delay in coming back, but thanks so much for the tips - really appreciate them.

Arek, those articles were really helpful, and Amanda I have taken your advice.

Cheers!
Darren

Darren,

After building several online businesses, the following parameters should provide you with a high level guide. Research your keyword terms to determine your target keywords, and their associated traffic volumes. Pick 5-10 keywords initially. Aim to achieve about 5% of total keyword traffic. Allow at least 6 months to achieve this goal, supported by appropriate SEO. You could work on achieving approximately $10-20 per 1000 visits in advertising revenue.