How to Do Due Diligence – Part One

Elliot Silver
-
6

I previously discussed the importance of doing due diligence before purchasing a domain name, and I want to offer some thoughts regarding how I perform due diligence. This post will cover aspects related to finding out about a domain name’s sale and listing history.

You’ll want to find out previous sales and previous sale listings to help with your negotiations. You might be prepared to pay $20,000 for a domain name, but if you saw it didn’t sell at TRAFFIC 2009 in the $5,000 – $10,000 reserve range, you know your offer is probably too high. Likewise, if you saw a name sold for $100,000 in 2010, you probably won’t have much luck offering $1,500 for it.

Here are some suggestions on how to find out if a domain name was previously sold:

Read More

Domain Due Diligence: Previous Marketing

Elliot Silver
-
9

Before buying a domain name, it’s a given that you need to do your due diligence for a variety of reasons. The primary issue I want to discuss today is previous marketing attempts for the domain name. In my opinion, there are two reasons you will want to investigate how the domain name was marketed in the past: legal reasons and financial reasons.

Let’s discuss the legal issue first. For the sake of this discussion, I will assume the domain name that is being purchased is a descriptive keyword domain name. With most of these names, even the most commonly used terms, there are trademarks associated with them (think Apple). Although it’s clear that you can

Read More

Why You Should Give Feedback

Elliot Silver
-
4

A couple of weeks ago, someone emailed me about an  embarrassing  error on one of my websites. It wasn’t a big deal and was an easy fix, but I was embarrassed that it was there for 2+ years without anyone telling me. On a site that sees hundreds of visitors a day, I am sure that many people saw it but didn’t take the time to use the contact form to report it.

If you are using a domain industry website and see something wrong, especially small issues that may have been overlooked, you should either email someone from the company or use the contact / feedback forms to give details. We are all fallible, and we’ve all made mistakes.

Most people and companies appreciate when website errors and bugs are reported to them. They understand that if a client takes the time to give feedback, it must be important enough that they should address and fix the error, or at least report that they’ve had a look and give a reply about why they won’t fix it.

In a small “industry” like domain name investing, when a company fixes an error or bug, it could help more than just the company that fixes the error. Perhaps it will lead to a lift in PPC income, or maybe visitors to the website will be able to find more relevant domain names for sale. Point being is that maybe your feedback will help more than just the company that fixes its error.

BuyDomains recently relaunched its website (Karen Dixon discussed it yesterday). Check it out when you have a chance, and let them know if you see something funky. Same goes for other industry websites. If you see something that doesn’t look right, let them know. It might not help you directly, but perhaps it will.

Hidden Costs of Domain Name Leasing

Elliot Silver
-
23

I’ve written a number of articles about domain name leasing. I’ve discussed the benefits of leasing a domain name, and I’ve also discussed the downsides of domain name leases. In 2009, I also wrote about additional problems with domain leasing.

In the last three or four years, I’ve leased a few domain names (as the domain name owner), and I’ve also discussed lease deals on a number of other domain names. For the most part, the deals either didn’t make sense to finalize or they fell apart after a drawn out negotiation. This has given me some personal insight into the hidden costs of domain name leasing, which I want to discuss today.

As the owner of the domain name, you need to be judicious in how your lease agreement is drafted. I would assume you are going to have an attorney draft your agreement, since not having legal advice for something like this would be like going to the supermarket for dental work. An inexpensive attorney might charge you a couple hundred dollars an hour, while most attorneys will charge more, and some will charge much more.

Domain attorney Zak Muscovitch had a great article about

Read More

LinkedIn Can Help You Find a Buyer

Elliot Silver
-
7

Here’s a tip on how a LinkedIn company search can help you find a domain name buyer.

Although I am reluctant to use LinkedIn to try and sell someone a domain name (unless it is a last resort), I want to share a way that you can use LinkedIn to find a prospect for descriptive domain names, specifically keyword .com domain names.

The most common search that people do on LinkedIn is the people search. This allows visitors to find people with whom they’ve done business, connect with colleagues and co-workers, or get in touch with people they want to meet. Personally, I don’t think this is a great way to approach a buyer about a domain name.

Another common search tool that can help you find prospects for domain names is the

Read More

Can You Make Money Today With Directories on Long Tail Domain Names?

Elliot Silver
-
41

I received an email from Fred Mercaldo asking a question regarding his portfolio of long tail geographic service domain names. His portfolio of developed domain names had once been making a fair amount of monthly income, but it seems that since the Google algorithm updates, the traffic and revenue have gone way down.

In emailing about this with him, he thought it might make a good discussion if I posted his email question here to get additional insight. The discussion should be about operating directory websites that make money on long tail domain names.

Read More
1...888990...214Page 89 of 214