Article in General Business

Running a Proxy Web
Site

A proxy is a tool that allows users to bypass school
and work filters. At the same time, it can keep them anonymous by hiding their
IP. If you're reading this article, you have probably seen a few proxy websites
that run on CGIProxy or PHProxy.

The reasons they are so popular to web developers is
that they are a) easy to setup – it takes less than 10 minutes to install one,
b) makes a good amount of money that requires no work at all, and c) quick to
become popular.

If you go to a few web master marketplaces, you can see
that proxy web sites are a dime a dozen. So why not buy one of them? Well,
setting up your own is part of the fun! I am not forcing you to not buy one
though, you can do what you please with your money.

The Script To
Use

I am a fan of whytefire's PHProxy script and that is
what I use for my web site. All you would need to do is upload it to your server
and you are all set.

There are a couple more proxy scripts out there floating
around but as far as I know, PHProxy is the most popular and most used by web
developers.

The Server – VPS or Dedicated
Server?

Most shared and reseller hosts do not allow proxy
web sites and the reason for that is because they eat up a lot of resources and
bandwidth. If you plan on running a proxy web site, I would recommend getting a
VPS to start out with or putting it on a dedicated server.

Usually, a VPS will be able to handle a
decent-trafficked proxy without any major problems but if the proxy web site
gets too big, it is time to move it to a dedicated server if you can afford
it.

Get It Started

I
currently run one proxy web site right now that requires no real work at all.
The only thing I've done is install it on my server, added a custom design, and
submitted it to a few top site lists. From there, it gets picked up and passed
around and traffic should sky-rocket easily from there.

Making Money

I
recommend Google AdSense or Yahoo Publisher Network (for the US people) for ad
placements on the proxy web site. Remember that you're only allowed to place ads
on the homepage and not in the frame of web sites being browsed by your users
because that will be against AdSense's terms of service and YPN too I
believe.

Here are some great places where you
can place your ads for a decent click-through rate:

After
the description of your proxy

Before the URL box

Before or after the
submit button

I would avoid placing any ads at the top of the page,
the right sidebar, and the footer. It's just a waste of your ad units. You can
place them in more central spots that will surely get you
clicks.

Happy
Earnings!

Just sit back now and let the cash roll in. I
hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it