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Generic Domain Names

Using Google Auto Fill Menu to Mine Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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7

Picture 1Before acquiring or hand registering a domain name, I usually do some research on the term in Google. I want to see how many results there are, how many advertisers there are, and whether companies use the term in domain names associated with the product.

When doing my search, I have the Google auto-fill menu enabled, and Google provides a useful list of related searches as I am typing. I sometimes use the results that show up in order to get domain registration ideas. For example, when typing in USB, I get the following options: USB Hub, USB Flash Drive, USB Cable, USB Wireless Adaptor…etc.

Oftentimes, the results are peripheral products that I didn’t knew existed, and sometimes the .com domain of the phrase/term is available to register. When Google first started using the auto fill feature, I had it turned off. However, I’ve since turned it back on and used it to mine domain names.

General Electric Parks Names at Sedo

Elliot Silver
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5

geDuring Thanksgiving weekend, while my wife talked with her sister about her baby registry, I checked to see who happens to own BabyRegistry.com. The domain name was owned by iVillage back in 2005, but iVillage was bought out by NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric, the company that now owns the domain name. It wasn’t a surprise that a company like GE owned a great name like this. It was a surprise that they are parking it with Sedo instead of having a website on it.

For a number of years, the domain name resided on Yahoo nameservers, but in early April of 2009, the DNS changed to UltraDNS, and later in April, they were moved again to SedoParking DNS. Despite the fact that GE is one of the largest companies in the world, they aren’t doing much with this great domain name. They could either partner with a company that offers a baby registry, or forward it to one of their product websites, as they do with other generic names they own.

A quick Google search also shows that other solid GE domain assets are also parked with Sedo. Some of those names include Women.net, ParkinsonsControl.com, UnderstandingADHD.com, LeukemiaInnovations.com (which happens to be listed for sale), and HealthyFamily.com.

It does appear that General Electric also sells domain names. Fingernails.com was owned by GE dating back to 2007 (another acquisition in the iVillage deal). As of November 19, 2009, the domain name changed hands, and is now registered to another company. The owner must have gotten a great deal, because the name is currently listed for sale at BuyDomains for $20,000.

Robot Hamsters: Hot Holiday Toy of Christmas 2010 and Black Friday

Elliot Silver
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7

Black Friday

You know we must be in a recession when the “hot” holiday toy of the 2010 Christmas shopping season are Zhu Zhu robot hamsters. These rodent toys retail for under $10/each (plus accessories) and I don’t really know much about what they do. I guess they do things like hamsters, without the smell, waste, or obligation to feed them.

People waited in long lines to get these hamsters, and many were unsuccessful – a classic case of demand exceeding supply. I am sure that people are hawking them on sites like Ebay right now, similar to what was done when things like XBox and Wii game consoles were the hottest toys that couldn’t be found in stores.

Unfortunately for the company, they didn’t buy RobotHamsters.com, and someone else was able to buy it a few weeks ago. I’m sure most kids know the brand name, but it’s the parents that are searching around to buy them, and I am sure most are calling them “robot hamsters.” I guess one company’s loss is another company’s opportunity.

This is similar to the Myachi hand sacks that have also been popular. I went to Toys R Us with my friend Lonnie and his family a few months ago, and one of the founders of Myachi was in a prime spot playing with his toy. The kids were mesmerized, and Lonnie’s son mentioned that he had one as did his friends. Lonnie and I asked the guy a bunch of questions, and I couldn’t remember the brand name for the life of me until I just Googled it.

Unfortunately for Myachi, which was founded by two college students over 10 years ago and had their domain name registered 1998, another company was able to buy the generic domain name HandSacks.com in 2007, and they’re now a competitor. While all the kids may remember a brand name, it’s the parents who hear about these toys second-hand and need to buy them. If the companies just owned the generic domain name, which were available to register even after the brands were successful, they would probably see increased online sales.

Anyway, happy Black Friday.

Dog Walker Directory Site Launch

Elliot Silver
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45

DogWalker.comMy wife and I live in New York City with our 2 year old dog, Lucy, and on occasion, we need to use the services of a dog walker. We are fortunate to live in a large apartment building because it’s easy to find a dog walker via word of mouth, since there are so many dog owners in the building.

However, there are many people who don’t necessarily have dog walker contacts, and they rely on sites like Craigslist to find dog walkers and companies who offer dog walking services in addition to other pet-related services. There are only a couple of websites that cater specifically to connecting dog owners and dog walkers.

With dog walkers earning up to $20 per dog for a 15 minute walk (sometimes even more), I believe there is a big reason why dog walkers should advertise, and with the launch of my latest targeted website, they have a place to advertise by city. With a whole lot of help of my from designer, Mike McAlister of Six One Five Design, I launched DogWalker.com, a domain name I recently acquired.

As with every website launch, there are still a few issues to fix. Some of the search functionality isn’t working as well as we’d like, and I need to get advertisers to fill the directory! This is the launch of my first automated directory, and I am eager to see if this will take off, since I have a few other names that would do well with this set up.

Here are a couple of pages you can visit to see how things will look:

I have a thousand DogWalker.com magnets, and I will be paying a graduate student to hand them out in a few parks in NYC on the next few weekends. I figure if dog owners are visiting the site, dog walkers will want to advertise. I also plan to email dog walkers to let them know about the new site and hopefully sign up some advertisers. Perhaps local pet stores will permit me to leave magnets at their register. The beauty is that the marketing of the site should remain fairly inexpensive.

When you have a moment, please have a look at the site and let me know if you find any glitches. Any suggestions/recommendations on improving search functionality and SEO would be appreciated. I am considering adding a autocomplete search feature to help direct visitors to the correct city listing pages.

Next up… DogTrainer.com 🙂

Ultimate Bet Poker Rebrands as UB.com

Elliot Silver
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5

Ultimate Bet PokerUltimate Bet Poker is a poker website frequented by hundreds of thousands of poker players each month. The company just announced a rebranding effort, and the website will now be known as UB Poker. Site users had long referred to the company as “UB,” so it made sense to rebrand.

Along with the newly minted brand, the company has also begun using its recently acquired domain name, UB.com. Up until the end of July, the domain name was owned by a private domain investment company.

Users can still log in via UltimateBet.com, which surprisingly (surprising to me) doesn’t forward to the new url, although the new logo reflects the acquisition and rebranding effort. When you search Google and Yahoo for “Ultimate Bet,” the domain name that has been in use for years is the number one result rather than UB.com.

The acquisition price for UB.com was not made public by the company, but knowing the domain owner, it was not cheap!

Update: An unconfirmed rumor has it the name sold for around half a million dollars.

Royal Bobbles Offers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobblehead

Elliot Silver
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4

This is not exactly domain-related news, but it’s big news for a domain investor who has become one of the dominant online bobblehead retailers since acquiring Bobblehead.com and Bobbleheads.com for $36,000. Congrats to Warren Royal and his growing bobble empire! This goes to show what you can do when you acquire a category killer domain name in a vertical you like.

From the Royal Bobbles press release:

The officially licensed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobblehead will be available for pre-orders in mid-December through Bobbleheads.com and other quality bobblehead dealers.  Produced by Royal Bobbles LLC, this oversized, limited-edition model with exquisite details—crafted in high-quality resin—will come in a colorful collector’s box and be sold at the King Center, museums, gift shops, and through online web stores, like Bobbleheads.com.

“We are honored that the King Estate has granted us the opportunity to produce the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobblehead as the first in our series of great ‘American Heroes’,   said Warren Royal, Founder of Royal Bobbles.   “The King Estate is rightly very selective about the products which they authorize, and the outstanding quality of our product line was a major factor in their decision to work with us on this exciting product.”

Best known for his “I Have a Dream” speech—delivered at the 1963 March on Washington—Martin Luther King Jr., the youngest man to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement.   And since his assassination on April 4, 1968, political, civil rights, and historical memorabilia collectors around the world have grown increasingly interested in preserving his memory.

However, with most of the documents, personal items, and artifacts related to this slain civil-rights leader’s life rightfully gathered in institutional collections, MLK memorabilia collectors will have an exciting opportunity to acquire their own treasured centerpiece of American history with Royal Bobbles targeted release for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobblehead on King’s birthday (January 18, 2010), an historically significant time of the year when interest in and the value of King Memorabilia consistently rises.

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