Internet business

[Solysombra]

Interesting question for anyone out there with a knowledge of internet business.
My wife is computer literate, more than me anyway, when we eventually move to Spain she plans to create a business using her own website (which she does not yet have), the business will involve people entering her website in order to obtain information, apart from generating income through advertising and sponsorship how else is income generated, for example is there a way to get paid for every "hit" on your website and if so how does the money come to us, sorry this is a very vague question but thanks anyway!

[Bongtrees]

What type of information will she be selling?

[Solysombra]

Tourist and recreational information, I can't go deeper than that, sorry!

[pete_l]

Personal experience has shown me that it's very difficult to get
casual users to pay for website content. You/she will have to spend
a lot of time and effort building a reputation for providing information
that people want that's not available anywhere else.
There's still a view that info obtained on the internet should be "free",
especially when people can just google for it and with the plethora
of blogs, online magazines and forums it's hard to convince people
otherwise.

So far as micropayments go, the major hassle is that people have to
sign up and open an account. This tends to be a barrier as frequently
it's seen as "just too hard", or not worth the effort. If you wanted to use
PayPal ('cos everyone's got a PayPal account - haven't they?) then you'd
need to check what sort of commission you could afford from each
payment to you.

[Solysombra]

Thanks for the info, hopefully most of the revenue will come from government and local council sponsorship, that's the theory anyway!

[spanish_lad]

yes, you can get paid "per click" - how do you think *beep* sites make money ?

you can also get paid for each time images are viewed, again - *beep* sites...



it is a VERY small amount tho .. something like $1 for every 3000 hits for an image, and $5 per thousand hits to a website.

i´m sure that websites such as this use the same sort of funding

[Deborah]

From a travel agents point of view....................I am totally against this type of website. 9 times out of 10 the information is incorrect. We have fantastic, free, informative websites and tourist offices here in Spain. You need to look no further than andalucia.com.

Message sender please note that to offer types of services like these you do not just need to be computer literate but probably the owner of various licences.

[Bongtrees]

Thanks for the info, hopefully most of the revenue will come from government and local council sponsorship, that's the theory anyway!

When the government wont help Valencia with financial aid for sponsoring the American Cup and future Olympic events and town halls strapped for cash and not able to pay for essential services I think you are in for a monumental struggle.

[Solysombra]

From a travel agents point of view....................I am totally against this type of website. 9 times out of 10 the information is incorrect. We have fantastic, free, informative websites and tourist offices here in Spain. You need to look no further than andalucia.com.

Message sender please note that to offer types of services like these you do not just need to be computer literate but probably the owner of various licences.

So, if for example I want to check out thouroughly on a website information and a virtual tour of say La Carihuela, you can provide it can you, by the way neither I nor my wife are stupid, We are aware that we would need business licences, not afraid of competition are you

[Deborah]

In answer to your reply. No I am not afraid of any competition. I think competition is needed to maintain a high standard of service providers. What I do object to is illegal competition offering low cost c__p. This happens a lot when just about anybody is allowed to advertise on websites. There is no control.

Think what you like it makes no difference to me. I have had my business up an running in Spain for many years. Seems to me that you are just starting out and if you continue in the same vein then it does not look like you are going to do yourself many favours.

Maybe you have been watching A place in the Sun or whatever it is called to much, or are just another of those looking for pin money to boost the pension.

[gavilan]

To Deborah ... please could you direct me to those fantastic and informative websites you refer to because the one I seem to have found have vague and inaccurate information leading to frustrating and abortive visits and I have also found tourist offices closed when trying to locate something ... I am particularly interested in roman and arab history of the Axarquia ... look forward to your guidance
gavilan

[MarkF]

Think what you like it makes no difference to me. I have had my business up an running in Spain for many years. Seems to me that you are just starting out and if you continue in the same vein then it does not look like you are going to do yourself many favours.

Bully for you Deborah and what does "the same vein" mean? The guy only asked a reasonable quesetion to start a thread.

Good luck in your venture solysombre, I hope it works out for you.

IMO the internet provides a wealth of opportunity to those idly twiddling their thumbs in Spain looking for a "job", some hope! I set up an internet based business to provide an income for my family prior to moving to Spain. It's taken 18 months but now provides a livable income, it doesn't matter where I am, I am a free man!

[spanish hopes]

Deborah said:

are just another of those looking for pin money to boost the pension.

Utter conceit Deborah. What makes you think that running a website as a desperate way to earn your living would give the customer a better service than someone who does it 'even to supplement their pensions'.
The chances are that the pin money earner would not need to promote any dodgy business prepared to pay whereas the "Professional Entrepreneur" could well fill their site with any rubbish for a few euros.

[Solysombra]

Deborah, firstly if you read my original posting you will note that I have already stated that I will be retiring in August and therefore have an adequate pension, I also hold 2 patents on weft making machinery and a further 1 pending so money is not an issue, your remarks regarding "pin money" was crass in the extreme considering that in some areas of the world some people rely on pin money to supplement their income, however perhaps you are better than they are
Secondly the internet is open for all kinds of business, I would never offer "crap", I'm an engineer and therefore whatever I produce businesswise will be thought over and improved many times before I offer it for public scrutiny.
Why would I want to run an illegal company, I have been in business for many years, as has my wife and we are very business minded, finally let me assure you of one thing the very reason my wife will be running this new business is because of the very low level of service in the travel industry, thanks however for your comments and you can be sure that if I can ever do you a similar favour, I will IN THE SAME VEIN

[gavilan]

To Solysombra - have been interested to read of your/wifes project - as you may have seen from my post on this subject - I have not been impressed with information contained within many websites re the Axarquia ... nor with the local tourist offices ... since january this year I have been trying to locate places of interest in this area ... not an easy task ... and to gather together the fragmented history of the Axarquia ... it is going to take me at least until the autumn to sort it all out .... and I dont know how your internet project would operate but if the Axarquia is of any interest to you/wife ... keep me posted of your progress
gavilan

[Grouser]

Gavilan I thought this was quite a good site for the Axarquia. I like the line drawings
http://www.costadelsol.net/web/alcaucin/indice.htm

[gavilan]

dear grouser - you make my point perfectly ie and eg I spent several hours in hot sun last sunday morning trying to find the old sulphur baths at Las Majadas ... little stream completely overgrown and absolutely no sign that I could see of these much vaunted suphur springs ... if anyone knows where they are I would be delighted to be told I am stupid!
gavilan

[silver]

gavilan if you search in Spanish you will find loads of info...get your key words from this..
El municipio de Alcaucín es rico en aguas medicinales (mana de las Majadas) y minerales (fuentes del Espino, de Puente Manuel y de los Caños).
Baños de las Majadas
Los baños de las Majadas ya fueron utilizados por los árabes. Son unos manantiales de aguas sulfurosas y cuyas propiedades curativas son excelentes para aliviar las erupciones cutáneas. Hasta principios de siglo eran muy utilizados en los meses de julio y agosto. Se encuentran a unos cinco kilómetros del casco urbano.

[gavilan]

dear Silver - I can read Spanish and have known Alcaucin for 8 years - true I have only recently tried to find los banos de las majadas but in my experience of late these so-called baths are just another example of how difficult it is to find places of interest which the brochures, web sites and tourist offices (when open!) give you information about ...
another example is that there is supposed to be a phoenician tomb 2700 years old some where around Algarrobo ... now again we often go to the coast there but I had never seen a sign about this ... last friday we made a determined effort to find it ... no sign on main road leading from motorway down to coast where supposed to be ... said to Bob lets turn left into the garden centre and ask there ... as we drove in few meters ... saw tatty sign which said 'necropolis' ... where? what? ... asked in vivero office ... oh yes they said would you like the key?
Ask me also about the Museo de las Pasas in Almachar and the Arab fountain in Daimalos, and el Museo Moriscos in Sayalonga etc!!!

[Grouser]

Gavilan, yes it's strange and sad how some heritage just gets lost through lack of care or interest. I walk to a hilltop called La Mesa from time to time. It has Moorish remains there of a settlement called Mazmullar which I found traces of. However it was only on a visit where I bumped into Jose, a very nice man who was pruning his olive trees, that I found the extent of what was up there. He was very enthusiastic about the place and stopped work in order to give me a guided tour, pointing out all the features, some of which I had walked right past several times, completely unawares. However this is preferable to it being made a tourist feature I think. Getting the balance right is the problem. I was told that in the underground vaults with Moorish keyhole arches, that can still be seen, there were clay storage jars taller than a man. One day they disappeared, to resurface in an antiques shop in Malaga. If that's true, outrageous though it is, it was some feat getting them down the hillside.