This weekend, in preparation for a scavenger hunt hike with our kids, I got a bit sidetracked and began looking up associated domain names. One domain name I came across stood out to me because of the landing page that was shown:
This was surprising to me because I know the longtime domain registrant, and I can see the domain name utilizes Bodis nameservers. Not only are there no PPC links like other domain names, the “for sale” inquiry banner and link are also missing from the landing page.
I reached out to the domain registrant via email to ask about the domain name. He seemed surprised at the landing page, and he guessed it may have been blacklisted by Google. He did not receive a notification, nor is there any indication of an issue within his control panel.
One thing he noticed after I emailed him is that the domain name has traffic stats but no revenue. Obviously, the revenue aspect isn’t surprising because there are no PPC ads showing. It is surprising to me that the default “for sale” messaging and link are missing from this landing page though.
If the domain name is blacklisted by Google or blocked at Bodis for some reason, I think it would be helpful if there was some sort of notification to indicate an issue. It is not tenable for domain investors to look at every domain name on a regular basis to ensure the correct landing page is shown.
Domain investors should regularly check-in on their parking stats to be sure things look “okay.” If a domain name is getting traffic but is not showing any revenue, it could mean the targeting of advertising is wrong. That would be an easy fix at the parking service level. It could also indicate the domain name is blocked by the upstream provider or parking service.
Shut the front and back door.
I was seeing the exact same thing.
Hey Bodis . why not add this. “If you’d like to sponsor this site, contact us”
When I managed the Google relationship for Fabulous.com, Google would regularly send lists of domains that had been “faillisted” or marked as “adult”. This was 10+ years ago though. I’m not sure if they still do it.
Unsure how reliable this is, but you can check the status of domains here – https://www.namewest.com/fail/
Occasionally domains are fail listed by our Tier 1 provider due to past or present domain activity, disabling CPC ads. This is usually due to the historical usage of the domain by the former owner.
When domains are fail listed, G CPC ads are no longer possible and where we have no other coverage e.g. Tier 2 Ads, the no sponsors message is shown. We are working on alternatives to this message, which we hope to be able to share soon.
You can check the status of domains at any time via your Bodis account
https://www.bodis.com/manage/domains
Enabling the column G Fail listed
Using the Domain Status tool
https://www.bodis.com/tools/domain-status
or via API
https://docs.bodis.com/#04d3124a-5c6e-4af2-8c42-60c5a96c611c