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How to Sell your Domain Name Fast and for Maximum Value

I received an email about a webinar that is being hosted by AfternicDLS & BuyDomains on September 23rd from 2 – 2:30pm EDT, and I think it might be interesting to those of us who own domain names as salable investments.

The free Webinar will cover detailed specifics on how to sell domains quickly and for maximum value, sharing all BuyDomains proven sales strategies and tactics, which are designed drive maximum domain sales velocity and price. BuyDomains and Afternic consistently report nice end user sales, and I believe this free webinar can be helpful to all of us.

You must sign up to participate.

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Learn the strategies that bring the fastest, most lucrative deals on domain names. Our “how to” webinar shows you exactly how it’s done.

We are often asked how BuyDomains and Afternic sell so many domain names at such high prices, week after week. On September 23rd, join us for a free webinar where we will share the strategies and tactics we use to deliver the results you read about each week.

In this thirty-minute webinar, you’ll learn:

– How we get you the best price, fast – We’ll show you how the industry’s leading sales force helps sellers make the most lucrative sales, with market-tested tools and unsurpassed expertise.

– Which strategies and services help you turn the best profit – We’ll give you concrete strategies, like how you can drive more solid inbound inquiries, or how to triple your chances of a successful sale.

– How to Close the Deal Fast – We’ll tell how our services can move your transaction along driving the sales process to a rapid close.

You’ll also have the chance to ask your toughest questions in our Q&A session. We hope you will join us for our most important webinar of the year.

Sign up now!

Blog Comment Spammer Trick

I came across a trick that’s been used by blog comment spammers in the hopes that they receive a back link on popular blogs that receive traffic. This trick is used on blogs that allow previous commenters to post comments without being moderated, something many bloggers prefer rather than having to moderate all comments.

Spammers will post a comment that is related to the topic in discussion. While the comment may or not be entirely on target, the post is generally on-topic enough that it doesn’t raise any red flags to the blog owner. The blog owner will approve the comment, and with that approval, the spammer will have gained access to post unmoderated comments carte blanche using the email address with which he signed up.

Although many blog administrators will see subsequent comments, including the URL, they can be easily missed, especially when a blog receives many comments. It’s amusing to see spammers try this method, especially because their keyword names are usually dead give aways, and most blogs use “no follow,” preventing them from receiving any search engine benefit.

Third Quarter Estimated Taxes Due Today

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Domain Tax Guide

If you are like many American entrepreneurs who own and operate small businesses, you probably need to pay your estimated taxes on September 15 – which happens to be today. This is just a reminder that Q3 estimated tax payments are due today!

You should also keep in mind that as we enter the fourth quarter, you need to make sure you are doing everything possible to make filing your taxes easy and painless. I sent the Domain Tax Guide to my accountant a couple of years ago, and he has used it to help with my taxes. Now might be a good idea to buy the guide if you haven’t done so already.

To Develop or Not to Develop

There is no question that certain domain names I own shouldn’t be developed by me. Purely and simply, they are domain investments, and the goal is to eventually sell them to an entity that does want to develop them.

Some domain names I shouldn’t develop are in highly competitive verticals, and it would be virtually impossible to rank high enough in search engines to drive traffic and generate revenue in a cost-effective way. Other domain names are highly targeted and specific, so even with a high ranking website, there wouldn’t be much traffic or a great pay off with development.

However, there are some domain names that I own that might make good candidates for smaller sites that can be monetized effectively with affiliate banners or Adsense, using the services of AEIOU, MiniSites.com, or WannaDevelop.com. Choosing what to develop in this manner is difficult.

Out of the names below, on which would you develop mini sites, and on which would you hold simply as investments?

BeerPairings.com
DebtSettlementCounselors.com
EasternCaribbean.com
DubrovnikVacations.com
JerusalemVacations.com
MartiniqueVacations.com
FatMetabolizers.com
Metabolizers.com
PaintHardener.com
ParabolicSkis.com
PopunderBlocker.com
RedBelliedPiranha(s).com

Use Caution When Buying Typo Drops

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I’ve been looking at dropping auctions more regularly on NameJet and SnapNames, and I frequently come across generic typo domain names that are enticing. They seem generic enough that they would avoid any type of trademark violation, and they could potentially get traffic based on some analytics I’ve done. These are typically misspelled words where one letter is replaced with a letter that’s next to the correct letter on the keyboard.

Today I found a typo domain name that I was considering, and I went to the website to see if I could find some analytic information – like Compete.com traffic. When I got there, I saw that it was a porn site, and it got me concerned. I know that a domain owner may not be liable for what a previous owner did, but that wouldn’t necessarily stop a company from filing suit under the assumption that you had something to do with its prior usage.

Now if you are sued for misuse on a high value domain name, that’s another story and a cost of doing business in most cases. However, if you are sued because of a cheap typo name you bought hoping to make enough PPC revenues to cover the drop price, you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth the effort.

Furthermore, you should ask if the domain name is really worth acquiring if it’s currently a porn site, as it wouldn’t make sense for the domain owner to monetize it this way if it received traffic (it’s unrelated to porn).

Protect Your WordPress Blog

I was viewing a friend’s website on my Blackberry the other day, when I noticed a bunch of random unrelated links above his header. There were Viagra links, Honda links, Cialis links, Acai links…etc. You name the affiliate link, and it was probably there. When I visited his site on my laptop, those links were nowhere to be seen.

Several months ago, I had a similar problem, which my developer diagnosed as some sort of code injection. This was attributed to my not upgrading to the latest WordPress version (currently 2.8.4). Basically when security flaws are found, WordPress closes those holes in the next edition, and site owners need to upgrade ASAP. Because hackers and other malicious people can then learn what security flaws were found in the previous version, they can exploit those flaws in blogs and websites that aren’t running on the most recent version.

In any case, it can be a bit tricky to remove the cause of the malicious links, but it’s important to do so, otherwise your site is leaking “search engine link juice,” and those links can be harmful. This doesn’t even consider that other areas of your site may have been attacked, which can cause other problems. Simply upgrading to the newest version of WP may not help, as the malicious code will still be there.

One of my the best things for me is that the person who manages the technical side of my blog is knowledgeable about programming and WordPress, and he has been able to help me with errors (both human error and a malicious hacking attempt). If you don’t know of a capable person, it would be wise to find someone smart that you trust who can help you at a moment’s notice. There are also plenty of resources on the web that can help you, but sometimes the fixes are complicated.

Always be on the look out for strange things that happen with your blog’s performance and layout, and if you notice something funky, don’t just cast it aside. Search Google, Twitter, and WordPress to see if other people are facing the same issues. Stay on top of WordPress or other platform updates and security warnings, and you may help prevent damage to your website.