Interesting Way To Tell If a Domain Name is Only Used for SEO

Elliot Silver
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I came across a keyword .com domain name that was being used by a publicly traded company as a mini portal to sell one of its products. The product did what the keyword domain name is, but neither the product nor the website were branded as the domain name.

I thought it was neat to see the company using a descriptive domain name to market one of its services, and I realized it’s most likely only for SEO purposes rather than marketing purposes. To clarify, the company isn’t sending people to this website but they are hoping people find it via Google instead.

How did I come to this conclusion (aside from the lack of real branding)? The

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Being a Follower Can Be Difficult

Elliot Silver
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In the game of American football, the wide receiver generally has the advantage over the cornerback because he knows the route he has been assigned to run and catch a pass. If speed, skill, and football intellect are equal, the wide receiver should be able to get open to catch a pass from the quarterback.

Last night, I was reviewing FreshDrop’s NameJet list of expiring domain names to back order. I came across a domain name that is in the same vertical a company spent tens (maybe even hundreds) of thousands of dollars acquiring a few years ago. I think the company would have paid

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Check Out Sale Comps Before Pricing

Elliot Silver
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I recently loaded a large group of domain names for sale on Afternic. In order to set the pricing, I did what I usually do… looked at my purchase prices and thought about what I think would be a fair sale price, and I set the prices based on those two factors. My gut feel might not be the most efficient pricing model, but it’s done me fine so far.

Shortly after the names were priced and approved, I did a couple of searches on Afternic for keywords related to my domain names, and I saw other domain names listed for sale. Some of the prices varied drastically, and it’s going to make me review the prices I set for some of my domain names. I think you should do this competitive research, too.

When you list your domain names for sale on

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When Bidding on an Auction, See Comps to Find Better Deals

Elliot Silver
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One of my primary domain acquisition sources is NameJet auctions. I have found some good deals when buying on NameJet, and I am involved in many auctions each day. I want to share a tip that I use to help guide some of my purchases.

When I am bidding on an auction, I use comparable sales and comparable sale listings to help guide my purchase, in addition to my own gut feel for names. If I notice other recent sales have been for much more money, I might be willing to spend more on a particular domain name.

Comparable sale listings on marketplaces like Sedo and Afternic are also important data points to consider, and I will share my rationale with you using two of my company’s domain names as an example.

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Stay In Touch With a Domain Owner

Elliot Silver
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If you are really jazzed about a particular domain name that isn’t for sale, you should do your best to keep in touch with the domain owner in the event that circumstances change and the domain name goes on the market.

I’ve been looking to buy a particular domain name for several years. It’s not an amazing domain name, but it’s a pretty exceptional category defining domain name, and there are thousands of professionals in the field. The domain name has never been developed (or parked), and it is owned by an end user who thinks he will use it eventually, although it appears unlikely.

Every few months, I send the guy a

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Include a Trademark When You Buy a Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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A friend in the business told me about an exceptional domain name he had just acquired, and as we were discussing potential buyers, he noticed that the company had an abandoned trademark for the domain name. It was the exact .com trademark, and had it been live, it might have made a nice extra piece of intellectual property to include with a subsequent sale.

I hadn’t really thought about doing this before my conversation, but when you are buying a domain name from someone who has owned it for a while, it might behoove you to do a trademark search at the USPTO to see if that person happens to have a trademark. If there is an active trademark, be sure to include it in the deal.

One reason this is a good idea is

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