How to Start a People Search Online Business
Though it may be tough to compete with search engine giants such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, you can achieve success with a people search website. This is a simple business you can start once you have the right software and information.
- Determine what features to incorporate into your search engine. Decide if you want your search engine to return names, addresses or contact information as well as ages. You might let people use the search engine at no cost to them, but charge them a fee if they want full details of their search result.
- Decide on a name for your search engine. Choose a unique name for your search engine. Be sure the name you choose is easy to spell and easy to remember. Check with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to find out if the name is already being used by another business. You can use their Trademark Electronic Search System to conduct this search. If the name is available, secure your right to it by registering it as a trademark.
- Register the domain name of your search engine. Register your chosen name as a domain name with a ".com" extension since domain names ending with ".com" are the most popular. If the name has been taken, brainstorm and come up with a different domain that matches your business name, or simply change the name of your business.
- Get a web hosting account. Find a reputable web hosting service and sign up with them. Web hosting services are affordable; you can get one that offers all the features you need for a modest cost.
- Set up your people search engine. Hire a freelance web programmer to complete the project for you. Post the details of your project on websites like Elance.com or oDest.com. Freelance web programmers will bid on your project. Hire the web programmer who you feel will do the best job for you.
- Adverise your search engine on classifieds websites, Facebook, search-engine websites and all other effective advertising media like forums and social networking sites.