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It wasn't my first site, but it was in the first ten. It was never designed to make money (directly). It was set up as an outlet for an artistic bent I had at the time, that I've since gotten over.
But it was good marketing for me. I used it as a test bed for various SEO techniques I was just learning at the time. When I got it into the top 10 for certain targeted keywords and key phrases, I'd point it out at client meetings "See, if I can get this silly little art fart site in the top ten of G, think what I can do for your site that actually has content and value..."
And I stopped updating it 4 years ago. And there it sits, quietly chalking up page views, and making just enough adsense to cover hosting costs, and maybe buy a latte or two a year.
And it also serves as a kind of Venus Fly Trap for low end SEO spammers.
Like I said, I haven't updated it in four years, but I can always tell how well it's doing in the SERPS by the amount of SEO spam I get. High in the serps, I'm getting a dozen or so e-mails a month from people promising me riches for link exchanges, banner placement, and (amusingly) telling me how much more wonderfully I'd be doing with the site if I hired them as an SEO consultant.
When It's low in the serps... Silence...
Which is all rich, really. I mean, right there on the front page is the exact date of the last update. The e-mails are automated, I know, but still. You'd think they'd figure out a way of checking to see how "dead" a site is.
I think I'll let it linger in its zombie like state for a while. Gnawing on the brains of low-rent SEOs.
Am I odd for keeping the site online? Or does anyone else here have a "moldy oldy" they keep paying hosting fees to keep online for no logical reason?
