Proxy Builder Blog

I see a lot of proxy websites every day and it amazes me how little effort is put into building some of them. As with any website, if you don’t put time into building it properly then it usually shows in the end result of low visitor numbers and revenue. I always try to give each of my proxy websites a somewhat unique and original feel. This isn’t just to please my visitors but also to make sure I’m compliant with advertiser terms & conditions that frown upon cookie-cutter websites. So here I’ll briefly recap some top tips to help your proxy website do better.

1. Speed up your load times

There are hundreds of proxy websites around and they are all competiting for the same users. One of the first things that a visitor will notice is how fast your proxy homepage loads. If your homepage loads slowly or not at all, you may never get that visitor back as they move on to the next proxy. You should seek to remove any unnecessary HTML or text that adds to the loading time.

2. Write some unique content

This isn’t just for aesthetics, I’ve found it’s very important to the overall success of your website. I’ve heard many horror stories of people getting removed from Adsense and then when I visit their site I see a clone template that they’ve used across 200 other proxy sites. I have very little sympathy as it drag’s down the overall quality of the Adsense program and has a negative effect for all proxy webmasters that use it. Anyone can buy a hundred domains and stick up an identical site on all of them - you don’t create any true value and leech off advertising programs.

3. Don’t overload it with adverts

Proxy websites are a dime a dozen,  so don’t push away your visitors by overloading it with adverts. I’ve always found having two ad boxes and one ad links on my homepage is the most effective earning combination. I may add the occasional 468×60 or 120×600 banner in if it works within the template. You can also earn less in the long term if you place your adverts poorly. Remember that the first one or two blocks of ads will always be the  highest paying so make sure they are placed in the best position - centered and above the fold.

4. Make sure it’s functional

One of the simplest and commonly often overlooked mistakes can be setting up a broken website.  I’ve updated websites in my network before and managed to delete a form tag which stopped visitors from browsing through the proxy. This will quickly kill a proxy website and it may be hard to get those visitors back.

5. Include unique features like a Bookmark & Social Network Link

This is more of a bonus addition that could make your proxy site stand out from the crowd. It show’s your visitors that you have put that little bit of extra effort in and may even help to grow your site. It may also be worth adding  a social bookmarking feature to introduce a viral marketing effect with your site.

6. Use a custom or unique template

If you are looking to grow your network you need to step away from the standard Glype or PHProxy template.  This isn’t totally necessary in every case and the it’s fine to use the standard template for a few websites. It helps to add a bit of variety though and there are so many free templates out there to try.

7. Make sure the URL box is easy to find.

Your visitors are usually very focused and have one thing in mind when they visit your proxy website. You should make sure the URL box is easily found and accessible to visitors. I’ve seen several webmasters in my time that like to hide the URL box, sneak in an Adsense search or add an extra page that visitors have to find. There are many variations to these tricks but none of them work in the long term and only serve to alienate your visitors.