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Buying Domain Names

Finding a Domain Owner Using Archive.org

Elliot Silver
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0

When trying to buy a domain name from a person or company in private, I frequently come across private registrations. I usually use the Whois history tool to see if there was an email address previously on file. I concurrently visit the website to see if there is contact information on the page.

Oftentimes people or companies acquired a generic domain name many years ago, and sometimes their projects failed or the domain name isn’t being used any longer. When the Whois history tool doesn’t help and there isn’t any current contact information on the website (or the site doesn’t resolve), there is one great option to find contact information: Archive.org.

Simply visit Archive.org and search for previous iterations of the website. You may find a phone number, email address, or the name of people previously involved with the website and domain name. This information can be used to inquire about a domain name.

Think about it this way. Most of the low hanging fruit has already been plucked. The great generic domain names that may still be acquired are out there, but many require sleuthing and research. Archive.org is another great tool to use to contact domain owners.

Buying Domains at Bankruptcy Auctions

Elliot Silver
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14

I spent some time with someone who mentioned that his company filed for a strategic bankruptcy in the past year. Although I have recently come to know this person and his family pretty well in just the past two years, I had known of his company since I was a kid because of his company’s regional television commercials. In fact, I was joking around with him by imitating some of the lines that were frequently used in his commercials.

When we were talking about the bankruptcy, I asked him about his company’s fairly generic domain name (contained part of his brand but would have been defensibly generic since many other companies use the term). He mentioned that it sold for $3,000 in a bankruptcy auction, along with other business assets (both intellectual property and tangible equipment and goods).

After doing some research, it seems the site still gets about 2,000 visits per month and has a ton of back links. I feel the name would have been worth at least $10,000 to a domain investor based on traffic alone.   I was a bit bummed because I would have bid on the name had I known about the auction, and I could have used the site for lead generation, which probably would have yielded several hundred dollars in commissions or referrals each month. This was a very targeted business, and customers would spend thousands of dollars on services. Operating this type of business was difficult with this economy, but the leads that continue to come to the site have value – especially since the bankruptcy was fairly quiet.

Long story short is that domain investors should monitor bankruptcy auctions. Toys.com was won in a bankruptcy auction – one that most people didn’t know about at first. A few months ago, I learned of a bankruptcy auction via Google Alert for Friedmans.com and CrescentJewelers.com, two bankrupt jewelry stores whose websites at one time had significant web traffic. I didn’t place a bid on the auction, but it’s good to know about them anyway, especially if you run a jewelry business.

As more and more companies file for bankruptcy, there are bound to be good deals on domain names that people may never learn about. It’s equally important to research the company’s history and customer service situation to prevent buying a hot potato, but in some cases, the quality domain name will outweigh the risk.   Bankruptcy auctions would seem to be another source for domain acquisitions.

Comparing Google Exact Match Search Volume to Type-in Traffic

Elliot Silver
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30

I spoke on the phone yesterday with a gentleman who is just beginning to get his feet wet in the domain industry. The person has done a lot of keyword research, registered a hundreds of dollars of keyword domain names, and he is now exploring his options to begin generating revenue. I asked him if the domain names receive traffic, and he said they receive thousands of visits a month.

I was very surprised to hear that new registrations were receiving so much traffic, so I inquired further. It turns out the names aren’t parked (or being monitored) but the owner assumed Google search volume equated to type in traffic. Unfortunately, this isn’t accurate by any means, and I generally find new registrations (except hot trends) do not receive any type-in traffic at all.

I haven’t done a ton of research on the comparison between average monthly search volume in Google and type in traffic, but I thought I’d share some information I have from some of my domain names. The figures might not be entirely accurate, since some of the traffic to my sites could be repeat visitors, so I will not use sites where I know this happens frequently.

Google exact search volume for: tropical birds: 5,400
Type-in traffic for TropicalBirds.com: 215 uniques (4% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: torah: 49,000
Type-in traffic for Torah.com:1,052 uniques (50% total site traffic – keep in mind other extensions are developed websites)

Google exact search volume for: chain cat shark: 36
Type-in traffic for ChainCatShark.com: 5 uniques (5% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: chain cat shark: 36
Type-in traffic for ChainCatShark.com: 5 uniques (5% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: gun collection: 5,400
Type-in traffic for GunCollection.com: 32 uniques (100% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: middle valley: 140
Type-in traffic for MiddleValley.com: 32 uniques (100% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: tequila fest: 91
Type-in traffic for TequilaFest.com: 18 uniques (100% total site traffic)

Google exact search volume for: hockey goalie helmets: 880
Type-in traffic for HockeyGoalieHelmets.com: 9 uniques (100% total site traffic)

I have found that the longer the domain name (and more words it has), the less type-in traffic it receives, especially when compared to search volume. However, longer tail keywords do tend to rank better when fully developed, and the higher the ranking, obviously the greater percentage of search traffic it will receive.

Owning a domain name where the keyword string gets search volume is good, but you can’t assume that will equate to type in traffic.In fact, when you look at the numbers, I think you will find the % of type in traffic compared to the exact match search volume is fairly small.

If anyone else is willing to share their information, perhaps we would have a more compelling discussion.

Buying Domain Names for Expected Growth

Elliot Silver
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5

Parking MeterIn the New York Post this morning, I read about a cool new iPhone application that is awaiting approval from Apple called NYC Broken Meters. Users will be able to find broken parking meters in New York City, syncing information provided by the city with GPS mapping. Since NYC allows people to park at broken meters for one hour for free, it’s a handy tool.

The company plans to operate its website on the domain name NYCBrokenMeters.com, which is perfectly fine. However, I do think it would have been smarter of them to buy up other city BrokenMeters.com domain names for future growth. I think this is a neat app, which isn’t limited to one city. If the city of Chicago would release this information the same way as the city of New York, they could easily create Chicago Broken Meters…etc.

People often ask for my opinion on buying extended names like this, and I think this would be a good example of when it’s a good idea. If your company has the ability to easily expand to other areas, even if it’s not quite in the cards yet, I think it’s wise to spend the extra $10/name to buy those other domain names. Whether we’re talking cities, towns, products…etc.

Not only do you risk a competitor taking domain names that could match, but there are others who could register them and make you pay out the nose when you’re ready to move forward. It’s usually just a matter of time before someone else will grab them.

You Can Start Today and Still Be a Successful Domain Investor

Elliot Silver
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9

FlipI strongly believe that a person could learn about the domain industry right now, do some research, make a small investment, and make a profit. I don’t think it’s accurate to say that only people who started 10+ years ago can have success in this business. I also don’t think you necessarily need hundreds or thousands of dollars to start.

If I had to start all over again today, and I was only willing to spend $50, I think I could still make a profit. It would certainly take time to make an impactful amount of money, but that is the same as just about everything else.

So how would I start today with $50? I would focus on two things.

1) I would look around to find companies that own a whole lot of domain names in their vertical(s),   and I would see what types of names they own using a Reverse IP tool or by looking at the names that reside on their nameservers. There are quite a number of companies that own hundreds or thousands of long tail domain names, and I would try to find unregistered names that are similar to what they already own. One company that immediately comes to mind is Vacations To Go, although I haven’t sold them any names.

Before registering the names I found, I would do some research to find out who at the company would buy the names. If the company is small, I would contact the CEO. If it was large, I would probably not waste my time. I use the company’s website management page, tools like LinkedIn and Facebook, information on press releases, Whois information, and other sleuthing tools to find the CEO or owner. Once in touch, I would ask if the company is currently buying good domain names. Nothing more, nothing less.

If the person on the management team says the company is buying, I would then register 3 of the best domain names I could find from my previous research. I wouldn’t try to hit a home run and name a ridiculous price on these names. If I paid $10, I would probably offer them for $150/each. It’s a huge profit margin, but not too expensive for the company. It’s also not an amount that would require a lengthy contract or ownership confirmation, which would reveal the recent registration date. He or she will just buy if they like the names. If the company isn’t interested, I would list them on a place like DNForum for $40 just to recoup the investment and move on.

The key is to make sure the domain names make sense and are actually good names that a company would want to buy.

2) I would do geo-keyword research to find unregistered geo profession .com domain names and email people in those professions. I would offer to sell the names for $150/each, again because the price isn’t too high that it would cause someone to take a lot of time to think about. There are a ton of solid names that have been dropping, and I think a person with some time could do well by registering a few and contacting people who are in the field. Many of these types of names were coveted by the professionals in the field, but they were previously owned by large domain companies. You can now buy these names at registration fee, and try to re-sell them at a profit.

Take a look at your local phone book and see what types of urls lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, and other professionals are using, and see if you can find similar names for other cities. I know a large law firm in my hometown that uses NashuaLaw.com as their domain name. I also know there are a bunch of CityLaw.com names unregistered.

There is still a lot of money to be made in this business, whether you started 10 years ago or 10 minutes ago.

Problem with Pricing Your Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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15

There aren’t a whole lot of domain investors or domain sales companies that list their prices on site. They don’t do this because if for some reason the value on a particular type of domain name increases, they won’t have to sell it for that price. This allows companies and investors to base their prices on a wide variety of factors that can only be calculated at the time of the sale.

A few weeks ago, I received a list of domain names for sale from a company, and I looked through the list and made a few purchases. After a second and third look, I found another name I want to buy at the list price. Apparently there have been some larger sales recently in a similar vertical, so the company hasn’t decided whether to sell me the domain name at their listed price.

I am in the midst of working with the company right now, so I won’t mention the name, but this should be a warning to both buyers and sellers. If you price your names, you either need to be constantly on top of market fluctuations or risk taking a possible presumed loss on a sale. In my opinion, it’s bad form to price a domain name and then change it after a buyer agrees to pay the list price.

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