Last night I had the opportunity to speak with a new friend across the world, Ed Keay-Smith from OzDomainer.com. It’s amazing how people can connect on the Internet. Ed sounded like he was next door, and we had a conversation like we’ve known each other for years. When you have a chance, please check out the podcast. I discussed how I started in the industry, how I think the Snowe legislation could impact all domain owners (and how people can help), and I discussed my new experience in developing my domain names.
If you have any questions after you listen, feel free to post them here or on Ed’s blog, and I will be happy to respond. BTW, I hate how my voice sounds on answering machines, on microphone, and now on podcast 🙂
Podcast with Ed Keay-Smith
Podcast with Ed Keay-Smith (Oz Domainer)
"Burndown Value" of Generic Domain Name
When buying a domain name intended for development, you should determine the “burndown value” of the domain name. In the general sense, the “burndown value” is what the name is be worth once the previously developed website was/is removed. Although a developed website generally increases the burndown value, there are some instances where the burndown value may be affected by the website that existed before, or what the previous owner did with the domain name.
New Registration: Diamond in the Rough
I dont register many new domain names. I prefer to focus on strategic aftermarket acquisitions when I buy, as I believe the payoff can be greater. However, just like almost every other domain investor, I like to register new domain names every once in a while. Hunting for domain names is fun, and it feels great to find a gem in the rough – although one person’s gem may be someone else’s waste. I think everyone would agree that a gem of a new registration is a name that earns its annual registration fee and more, without any marketing effort.
In March, after doing some keyword research related to the outdoors and hunting, I registered MountedHeads.com (no link to avoid violating TOS). Although the Overture wasn’t strong, I felt the name was unique and in an interesting niche. Of course, “mounted heads” is related to taxonomy, where hunters pay to have their animal heads mounted. There are currently over 18,000 Google results for the term, “mounted heads,” and although it isn’t typical that a parked page is ranked so high, this one ranks #5 out of 18,000.
From the time I bought the name, I have had it parked on Fabulous. Between March and September, I received almost no visitors at all. I started receiving traffic in October, and I have been averaging about 20-25 visits per month, not too bad for a newly registered domain name. The name is also seeing a 40% CTR and rising, now that I made some minor keyword adjustments and used the Fabulous+ program to customize the layout based on landing page testing.
The name has made more than twice the registration fee, and it has earned 9o% of that revenue since it started receiving more traffic in October. While this wouldn’t be considered a great name for the biggest portfolios, it’s a gem of a new registration. Based on just a 10 year revenue multiple (using $4/month), this is close to a $500 domain name. Not bad for paying $6.95 for it less than a year ago.
Glad I'm a Domain Investor
The US Dollar is weak and real estate values are dropping in most parts of the country. To make matters even worse, the stock market has been tanking of late. With the value of domain names continuing to rise, I am certainly glad to be a domain investor at this point.
Who knows how much farther real estate values will decline or how much more the market will slide, but a common sentiment among people I know is that if anyone needs to liquidate their generic names to generate cash, there are plenty of people willing to buy them at fair prices. The Internet continues to grow, people are growing their online presence, and as the economy struggles, more people will move online to make money.
Smart (Domain) Thinking in Indianapolis
Compliments to the folks who run the city of Indianapolis official website. They recently changed their domain name from IndyGov.org to Indy.gov. According to their press release:
“The Mayor’s administration and ISA have been working for more than a year to obtain permission from the federal government to use the new, shorter domain name which will make the site easier to promote and make local services more accessible to Indianapolis residents.“
Indy.gov is easier for visitors to remember, and there is no confusion as to whether the city runs the site or not, as .gov domain names are only run by governmental entities. Smart thinking! I would have recommended trying to obtain Indianapolis.gov as well, but maybe that can be done later.
One free piece of advice I would like to offer (even as a Patriots fan!) is to make sure the original IndyGov.org domain name doesn’t expire!! Keep this domain name and forward it to the new website to ensure visitors to the old domain name do not get lost. This domain name should be kept forever, as people may have linked to it, bookmarked it, and city promotional materials may have this old domain name listed.
There have been many cases where organizations neglect to renew an old domain name, and it can cause major problems!
Your Domain Name is Perfect for my Business
“Good Afternoon,
I was driving on South Ocean Drive in Palm Beach the other day when I passed your undeveloped land. I noticed you don’t have a house built on the land, and I think the location would be perfect for the home I am planning to build. It is on the Intracoastal and across the street from the Ocean, which is exactly what I am looking to buy for my family’s new home. For your undeveloped land, I would be willing to pay you $50,000. Please call me if you are willing to sell it. I will even pay for the escrow and legal fees.
Regards,
Anne I. Diot”
Imagine if a property owner received hundreds of letters like this a month. While this letter is far fetched for a property/land owner, this parody is very similar to emails domain owners receive every day. People assume that just because they see an undeveloped domain name, they should be able to buy it for a fraction of the value. Developing a website on a domain name can take years to complete. Just because a domain name hasn’t been developed, doesn’t mean the owner has no plans for it.
When will people learn?