Kiloserve Proxy Hosting

Today I wrote a post on namepros forum which I though is worth posting here. I have changed the structure and the text a bit to match the Kiloserve blog but it’s substance is the same. I will be expanding on the important ideas below, providing information on how go about with each step e.g. code, where and how to advertise etc

If you are new to proxies, this will be very helpful. If you are into proxies for a while then this probably won’t add much more to your knowledge but might give you a couple of nice tips.

To start off in the proxy business:

1. Register a domain
   • info domains are cheap and will do just fine to start you off. Chose a memorable name, one that users will easily remember to type in directly in their browser without having to search for a link off a website, email or search engine.
   • com domains are more expensive but have the advantage that can get more traffic since they are easier to “access” (.coms can be reached by simply typing the domain name and hitting Ctrl+Enter). They are usually used to build traffic and PR and you can eventually sell links on them for extra cash.
2. Register for an adsense account. If you don’t have this then it will be much more difficult to monetize your proxy. The easiest way to get an account (if you don’t already have one) is to start a blogspot blog and then apply for adsense using that as your main site. Then you can take the pub id and use it on your proxies. If you are banned from adsense there are a bunch of CPC alternatives, however they won’t bring in as much.
3. Get some hosting. This is a very important step. If you chose the wrong web host then you’ll end up with a lot of frustration, not to mention loss of revenue (due to probable downtime). There are not many web hosts that offer proxy hosting due to the proxy business particularities (read this post I wrote for the reasons) but if you are just starting out with proxies then shared hosting is the best solution. You can get quality proxy hosting for not much (starting at $5 a month) from a few hosts. Kiloserve offers Quality Proxy Hosting and encourage you to check us out. I will happily arrange for a trial period and accommodate any custom requests that you may have. Of course you will shop around but I suggest avoiding offers of the nature “$10 a year” or “one off payment” etc. Most of the times, it’s practically impossible for the host to make up for his costs and will probably dump you half way through the year.
4. Get your proxy script
   • I suggest any PHP based script i.e. phproxy, zelune, surrogafier, glype. The CGI script eats up lots of resources and many hosts won’t accept it.
   • Phproxy is the most popular and the easiest to find a nice, free template to use
   • Zelune and Glype are the latest scripts on the market. Supposedly requiring less bandwidth and resources. I have not confirmed this.
   • Surrogafier is a 1-file, very robust script but very difficult to customize.
5. Upload your script and add your adsense code
6. Enable hotlink prevention and block unwanted countries. Hotlink prevention means preventing users from going directly to their preferred website without visiting your home page. You don’t want that because you lose adsense revenue. There is a piece of code for phproxy which is freely available to use - I’ll make another post about it. Some people disagree with blocking certain countries from accessing your proxy. Personally I block China because chinese traffic has been abusive. A small number of users have been using 80% of my bandwidth. You can easily block countries by following instructions here: http://blockacountry.com
7. Advertise. This is a big chapter in proxies. My suggested methods are:
   • buying newsletter links: this can get you access to thousands of proxy-hungry users. Can get you 1000-2000 visits the first day. I’ll make another post on this detailing how to go about doing this.
   • Submitting your proxies to google/yahoo proxy groups. Some people who tried this have seen miraculous results. I haven’t, but you can always try it. I’ll provide some groups to try in another post
   • submitting to proxy toplists: besides proxy.org and a few others, most toplists won’t bring you much traffic. Instead they might get your proxy blocked faster.
8. Expanding revenue streams. Once you’ve gained enough traffic (and maybe PR) you can increase your revenue by:
   • Selling ad space on your proxy either through ad brokers or through private sales on forums like this one
   • Adding advertising on proxied pages: you can use canepmedia for banners (CPM), or bidvertiser and the like for CPC (Adsense not allowed on proxied pages - do not attempt to try). I’ll provide information on advertising on proxied pages in another post.