Test and Learn

Elliot Silver
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23

When it comes to various types of website development, my philosophy has always been to test as much as possibly, learn from these tests, and move forward with successful tests or kill failing tests. I’ve been pretty open about my testing here on my blog, and I hope the lessons I’ve been learning and sharing have been helpful.

One test I’ve been running is with Epik on one domain name – BumperProtectors.com. I announced this test a couple of months ago, and I’ve been watching as traffic has slowly grown from almost nothing to over 300 visits/month. In total, 53% of its traffic in the last 30 days was from search, 34% from direct navigation, and the rest was from referrals such as my blog and other various sites. I think the site generated a couple (maybe a few) dollars a week, although I haven’t really checked much nor do I know if that is pre or post revenue share.

Yesterday, I learned that there were some de-indexing issues with sites on the Epik network, and sure enough, BumperProtectors.com looks to me like it was de-indexed from Google. Even if you type BumperProtectors.com into Google, I get no results.  Consequently, search traffic from the last couple of days has been 0.

I understand that Rob Monster from Epik will be addressing the issue today, and Andrew said the announcement will be that my site will be upgraded to an ecommerce store for free.

I am not entirely sure I am going to accept this offer. Should I do so and then submit a reconsideration request to Google, I am taking a big chance that they like the new site enough to re-index it. If they don’t approve and/or they approve a second time but later disapprove for whatever reason, I could have a nice domain name de-indexed twice, which certainly wouldn’t bode well for this exact match product domain name’s future. It’s one thing if I am working with Bumper-Protectors.mobi or some crap like that, but in NYC, selling bumper protectors is a big business.

I look forward to hearing what Rob has to say, but I haven’t decided whether to keep the domain name at Epik.

Block Someone From Stealing Content

Elliot Silver
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22

Nothing agitates me more than when I see another website stealing my content. Well, maybe seeing unicorns killed for tasty unicorn burgers, but that’s about it.

It especially infuriates me when I do a Google search using keywords from my article and the other website is listed either above or below mine. You’d think that Google would be smart enough to know that the other website is a rip off of mine, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

This is probably a no-brainer for those of you who are smart with web development and/or hosting, but for an amateur like myself, I just figured out how to block another website from stealing my content.

I use a DNS Look up tool and enter the website that’s stealing my content. I get that website’s IP addresses and take them to my  hosting cpanel. Under the security section, I visit the IP Deny Manager or IP Block Manager (or something similar), and I add the DNS of the offending website. Voila… my copied articles and content disappears.

Now they could change the DNS, but that wouldn’t be a fun game of cat and mouse for them. They probably spend their time sucking the life out of plenty of other websites and wouldn’t even notice you blocked them.

Anyway, it’s my way of getting a bit even.  If all that fails, you can send them and/or Google a DMCA takedown notice, but this is easier.

Adios, content pirate.

Domain Names Provide Better Value

Elliot Silver
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13

If a local business is interested in buying one of your domain names, and you are trying to hash out a price for the domain name, here’s something you can use to make your case to the potential buyer and show them just how much value a domain name has compared to other means of advertising / marketing.

A lighted pole sign that many businesses use to attract the traffic that drives by their business can cost upwards of $5,000 or more, and that’s for an ugly, static sign. Of course, this sign can only be used to give a small amount of information about the company, can’t really be drastically changed, and it doesn’t say much about the company. It also can only be seen by a limited number of local people who drive directly past it, slow enough and close enough to read it.

On the other hand, a generic domain name can be the foundation for a beautiful website that can describe a business, offer special discounts, sell products, and can attract a targeted, worldwide audience. The domain name can be seen by millions of people, costs very little to maintain, and it can be used in many different ways.

Finally, when a company has a sign made and installed, the actual resale value of the sign is probably around zero. In fact, it would cost the owner money to remove and/or replace it. On the other hand, a used generic domain name will increase in value with age and usage, and it can be easily sold or converted into cash.

I Have Very Little On the Line, So The Big Guys Can Foot The Bill

Elliot Silver
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19

I just read Mike’s post about powerful DC politicians coming to a domain industry conference, and I’ve read quite a few posts he and others have written about supporting the ICA. I’ve also written posts imploring domain investors to support the ICA, in addition to contributing to the ICA.

From my own perspective, I think the general consensus amongst most people in the domain space (which I disagree with) is something along the lines of “I have very little on the line financially compared to others, so I will let the big guys foot the bill for protecting all of our interests.”

It seems that many domain investors aren’t doing this full time, and/or they think their holdings pale in comparison to larger companies. These larger companies, with so much more on the line, should use their vast assets to protect their own holdings and the holdings’ of others by default. I can see this side of the argument, although I don’t agree with it.

In my opinion, one of the wisest “investments” a domain investor can make is in the formation of a business entity to protect personal assets. In a poll I ran on my blog not too long ago, 41% of the people who read the article don’t even have a simple LLC to protect their own assets.

If people aren’t protecting their own assets, does anyone think they are going to financially support organizations or associations that supposedly support their interests?

I can imagine someone thinking that their $100 or $500 donation will result in no recognition or support, even if they need an assist with a UDRP or some other issue that might impact their holdings. Instead, the money will be spent on lobbying or something else that can’t be seen and can be difficult to quantify.

I know that Phil Corwin works hard for the ICA representing the interests of domain owners. I also know that others are working hard to protect domain investors’ interests behind the scenes, but the truth is that we are a very fractured industry. People don’t agree on the smallest things, and in most cases, it’s every person and company for itself.

I really don’t know what can be done to “unite” this industry to support even the most obvious of objectives.  What do you think?

Argument for Traffic Price Reduction

Elliot Silver
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35

On Friday, I wrote about the successful Traffic conference that concluded last week in South Beach. I wasn’t there for the entire show, but I can’t really offer much criticism because there weren’t many things I would change. Well, maybe one thing… the price.

Traffic is still the most expensive domain investment conference. With ticket prices ranging from somewhere between $1,295 – $1,995 depending on location and time of purchase, the cost of the Traffic conference is hundreds of dollars more than the cost of other conference tickets. It’s also more expensive than other similar tradeshows. (As Howard points out in the comments, I am incorrect and the cost was $995, and Rick emailed me to mention they  offered an 895 price plus a $100 room credit for all those that acted early.)

I know that Rick and Howard said that the conference is for serious domain investors, and the price is high to reflect this. People who want to cause trouble for them or who aren’t professionals won’t pay the price to attend. I get that and understand that perspective.

I am not an affiliate expert or SEO expert, but on occasion, I attend affiliate and SEO conferences when they’re in NYC. I never pay for the full rate because I wouldn’t take away enough to justify the cost, so I either pay for a pass with less credentials, or I simply attend the exhibition hall for free. I meet with some of the exhibitors, and I generate business for some of them. My attendance is added value to them, and they are willing to pay for booths because they know there will be thousands of people in attendance, including many people who only go to the exhibit hall.

I believe there are a lot of people who buy, sell, and monetize domain names as a hobby or they own decent names and don’t know there’s an actual domain industry. The cost of a Traffic conference ticket is prohibitive to them, so they’d never show up. If there was an option to buy an exhibit hall ticket or a less expensive ticket, attendance would be greater and there would be more opportunities for everyone.

Sure, some amateurs might show up, and perhaps even some “riff raf” who don’t really belong, but I bet there would be a number of people who have an interest in learning more about the domain industry, and it could bring some new blood into the space.

I think it’s a great idea to have a Traffic conference in San Francisco right around the time of ICANN. However, if there is a hope for some attendee overlap, the ticket prices will have to come down. Otherwise, it’s going to end up being a bunch of meetings in the lobby, which will be annoying to show organizers.

Idea to Get Back Links, Traffic, and Good Will

Elliot Silver
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1

This might be somewhat obvious to many, but here’s a technique that I’ve been using to get some backlinks and traffic to a couple of my websites (not my blog). These are things you might consider to help your sites while helping others as well.

On Twitter and Facebook, I’ve noticed many companies and organizations discussing competitions or contests they are involved with that need votes from the general public for them to win.  They seem to focus a lot of energy publicizing their involvement and asking for support for them to win/make money. Additionally, many organizations hold annual events and need as much publicity as possible for them.

I’ve contacted some of these groups at various times and offered to post articles on my sites to help promote their cause, at no cost to them.  They send me articles, and I simply publish them, Tweet them, Digg them, and post them on Facebook.  Since the articles have somewhat of a relation to my sites’ content, the readers who visit can see why it’s posted so it’s not annoying to them, and they help the organizations and companies. I let them know I prefer recaps of press releases (rather than the duplicate release).

Additionally, and most importantly to the sites the articles are on, the organizations help promote the articles and drive traffic back to the sites. They are happy to share links to leading websites (on the category killer names) that are promoting their events and work. As you can imagine, doing something beneficial like this generates good will for my websites, traffic, and back links.

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