Finding End User Prospects

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogFinding end-user prospects for your category defining domain names is just as easy as searching Google for that term. Chances are fairly good that if the category is at least somewhat competitive, there will be several advertisers on the top and side who are paying tens, hundreds, or thousands of dollars a day in pay per click advertising.   If someone is paying this much money to ensure their top position in Google, they may understand the argument to spend money on their category defining domain name.
I personally prefer to reach out to the SMBs (small to medium sized businesses) who advertise on Google.   Compared to large companies, there is much less red tape involved in decision making with SMBs, and you can have an answer in less time than you would if you went to a large company. Many times, the decision maker is also the person who signs off on the monthly Google ad spend, so this is a good opportunity to speak with the right person.
My note to the Whois contact will explain how I found the company, and how I believe the domain name can help them. Not only can a category defining domain name help save money because of the type-in traffic (if that is true), but the category defining domain name will give them even more credibility.   This is much more pertinant to the SMBs who are probably competing with the large brands for positioning in Google.
For some companies, it makes sense to buy a domain name for $25,000 when they are spending $5,000 a month in Google Adwords spends. For others, they prefer to market their brand rather than use a generic domain name.   If a company has an issue with branding, I like to recommend they look at Vodka.com, Baby.com, and Loans.com to show brands that have successfully used generic domain names in advertising without watering down their brand.
Companies that spend money on PPC advertising buys are generally more aware of the power of a good domain name. Educating others is important, but I will let Google and Yahoo spend their time and money educating. I’ve found it to be very tough to sell an expensive domain name to someone who doesn’t really get it.   There are enough companies out there that do get it.
If you want an example of a company that gets it, have a look at this week’s domain sales report on DNJournal.   Rick Schwartz just sold RoomDividers.com to the operators of OrientalFurniture.com, who currently hold the #1 side banner ad spot for the term on Google.   This is clearly a company that gets it, and in time, they will probably be able to rely less on PPC and more on organic search traffic.   Smart move.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

8 COMMENTS

  1. In your initial email will you include a price or wait to see if they reply?
    ***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
    I don’t usually indicate the price. I would rather open a conversation and discuss the price later. Usually the first response I get is “how much?”

  2. >>> Rick Schwartz just sold RoomDividers.com to the operators of OrientalFurniture.com, who currently hold the #1 side banner ad spot for the term on Google. <<<
    I did a search on Google in India. I don’t see them on the right side showing Sponsored Links.
    Can you guide me here ?
    ***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
    Maybe they aren’t buying ad space in India.

  3. Nice post Elliott. So when they reply “how much”, what is your answer and how do you negotiate the price from there. You obviously don’t want to scare off the buyer with a “high price”.
    ***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
    It all depends on how much I paid and the price I want. When trying to sell a name, the seller isn’t usually in the better position unless there is more than one interested party. I do my best to get the person to make an offer to see if his range is reasonable. I won’t usually sell it for less than I want unless I need the cash for something else or if there aren’t other interested parties.

  4. I found an end user for a name last year by finding that industrys most popular forum, joining and posting for a year and then I approached the top two people. The second one bought it…I made $5500 for the effort!

  5. Tim, posting for a year is a significant time investment, just to sell a domain. So unless you were actually interested in the product/services they were discussing. i am not sure about time investment.

  6. Art…I probably had a total of 2 hours actual time into the forum…it was a year but I didnt make a pest of myself since I didnt know anything about the subject and was faking it and asking questions mostly. I did subscribe to the industry magazine for a year for $20.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

Handoff to Dan on Imported Leads Can be Confusing

0
I've been using the lead import option at Dan.com more regularly. Although the 5% commission is not ideal, transactions tend to move more quickly...

ArtificialIntelligence.com Goes Up for Sale

7
I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered,...

EU Gives More IP Protection to Food & Drink Producers

0
Did you know that some well-known food and drink varieties are protected intellectual property regulations? Popular types of drinks and foods that are protected...

Price Testing

1
In 2022, my wife and I decided our kids were ready for some big mountain skiing and we planned a trip to the Rocky...

GoDaddy Making You Sign in to See What You Renewed (Updated)

3
This morning, I noticed something different in a domain name renewal email from GoDaddy. Instead of telling me exactly what domain names I renewed...