Is My Business Plan Viable ?

[Sebastien]

Hi Guys,

I recently started a website for poker players from California. The goal is to review all the live casinos, have a strategy section, forum etc,etc,etc.

From a business standpoint, do you think that my target demographic is too narrow? I had the idea of targeting a demographic before branching out.

I am also very concerned about the domain name I have chosen. I didn't put too much thought into it. Do you think I can keep it ? Or is it ridiculous?

From a keyword perspective, I would be receiving traffic from long tail keywords that are included in my post titles.

Please advise. I was moving along swiftly and all of a sudden all of these questions appeared.

Thanks.

EDIT: website name is http://pokerfornia.com

[Sebastien]

Wow ! 20 views and no replies? I didn't think there were that many lurkers in the PAW forums;-)

I'd like to see a conversion rate of 20 views to 1 reply if possible.

Thanks.

PS: shameless attempt to bump obviously, but hey, my conversion rate is pretty low right now (0 out of 20).

[hazo]

I think that you will be fine with the demographic that you have chosen. People have had a fair bit of success with similar sites in different areas, especially ones with forums. You need to find ways to build a nice little community with loyalty.

I like the domain name as well, but I'm not an expert in the area.

Goodluck,

Nick

[kaus]

I think its a great idea but for it to work your really gonna need to be on the ball. Update, update and update. Keep the site active with as much relevant and updated information as possible if you want readers to go to you first instead of someone else.

As for the name Im not to keen on it but it works

[Graham]

I think its entirely possible and is usually better to target a niche. Things to consider though are competition, converting players looking for offline stuff to online. That will be the toughest thing IMO... I like the domain name, and the logo looks cool too though.

[Sebastien]

Guys.

Thanks. I was actually thinking of killing pokerfornia and doing the following.

1/ Getting a new domain name such as pokerformula.com and starting a website that offers strategy content.

2/Including the casino reviews that I already have as added value to my website.

By doing so I wouldn't be limiting myself to a demographic and there would be a lot less overhead than maintaining a site for poker players in California.

What do you think?

Pokerformula > Pokerfornia ?

Pokerfornia > Pokerformula ?

[hazo]

I would stick to your niche and go from there. You will be competing with a LOT of sites if you do a generic poker strategy site.

[Sebastien]

Thanks. Does everyone agree with Hazo ?

I kinda thought pokerformula would be a step up ;-(.

[SmackDog]

You must start some where and it is my opinion to start small and work your way up.

If you target a smaller, untargeted niche then you will give yourself a better chance to start earning some income.

After you get a smaller niche site established then start building your larger site.

The advantage here is that you never know if your smaller niche site might grow into a larger general strategy site. Then you get the best of both worlds.

For example, my first site targeted was focused on running poker leagues. Instead of targeting a higher competition keyword like 'online poker leagues' I started with the less competitive 'internet poker leagues'. This allowed me to get some traffic while at the same time I started working on the larger keyword 'online poker leagues'.

Hope my ramblings help.

[Sebastien]

By the Way, this may be a funny question to some of you americans, but I want to make sure that I understand what "formula" conveys if I were to purchase the domain.

Could I replace the "U" of pokerformula with a test tube as in a chemical formula or a potion. Or would people be thinking, w0w ,back off this guy is french !!

Does it only convey mathematical formulas ? Let me know if I can use the test tube. ;-)

All the best