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Long Domain Transfer Process

Elliot Silver
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21

I almost feel like I participated in a miraculous situation last week when I was transferring a domain name. I bought a domain name that was registered at Godaddy, and it was pushed to my account  instantly. I then flipped the domain name the next day to another domain investor. The reps at Godaddy helped to unlock the name within a couple of hours (they lock it for security measures), and it was ready to transfer.

I sent the domain name’s authorization code to the buyer, and within 10 minutes of his requesting a transfer to his registrar, I received an email asking me to confirm. I confirmed that this was legit, and under an hour later I received an email from Godaddy asking me if the transfer was legitimate, which I immediately accepted within my Domain Manger at Godaddy account.

Under 30 minutes later, I  received  an email from Godaddy confirming that the domain name was successfully transferred.

I don’t understand why it takes so long (up to 5 days) from other domain registrars. Are their systems antiquated and they can’t quickly process transactions as fast as Godaddy? Or is it a stall tactic in the hopes that the transferrer changes his mind?

Whatever the case, I appreciate the quick transfer speed of Godaddy.

Estibot Begins Listing Domains for Sale

Elliot Silver
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18

I am not a fan of domain appraisals. I don’t believe in them at all, especially automated domain appraisals that really can’t have a “gut feel” about the value, which is often the most important thing for me when considering a domain name.

In fact, I actually have a template I use when I am trying to buy a domain name and the owner mentions or suggests an appraisal.

Ok, now that this caveat is out of the way, I will admit that I checked out an appraisal on Estibot the other day, and I noticed they now seem to list domain names that are for sale in a manner similar to DomainTools.

The name in the graphic above is owned by iReit, and is currently listed for sale at DomainMarketplace.com.  I am not sure what sales platforms are integrated with Estibot, but I checked a Buy Domains-owned name and it had a sales link, but a Sedo listed name did not have the for sale listing.

Marketing Aside, Behind the Scenes of DomainQuestions.com

Elliot Silver
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2

Let’s put the marketing of DomainQuestions.com aside for a second. Like I’ve shared with my other web development projects, I want to give you a behind the scenes look at DomainQuestions.com to help you with your own projects.

The reason I felt that a site like this is needed is because of the amount of questions I get on a daily and weekly basis related to domain names. Most people aren’t domain investors and their questions can be answered in a number of ways. I felt that I could help more than just the one person asking the question, but others who might be looking for the same answer. I also hope that friends and colleagues in the business will contribute knowledge as well.

In terms of monetization, I have gone direct to the advertisers in lieu of affiliate banners or Adsense. I will be committing my time to answering questions, and the site’s traffic will grow. As a result, advertising on the site is not expensive now and it should be a very good bargain a few months from now, especially for those companies who lock in longer term deals at today’s rates.

I chose to build DomainQuestions.com on a different website than my blog for a couple of reasons.

I want others to answer questions, and I felt that people might be reluctant to do so on my blog. I didn’t want people to feel that this was an extension of Elliot’s Blog, which although it’s a domain blog, is a personal blog. I felt that the branding of the site gives it more of a community feel than my blog might give.

Secondly, from a business perspective, it’s better to have it on its own website. If I decide that I don’t have the time to run the site in a couple of years, it’s more saleable than my blog. I think my blog’s value is tied in with my personal association with it, and while the content may be valuable to someone, Elliot’s Blog isn’t Elliot’s Blog if Joe Shmoe is running it. DomainQuestions.com could be managed by other domain experts and will still be a community site with many different perspectives.

I chose to advertise on domain blogs because I believe they are a very cost effective way to reach my target audience. Not only will I want other domain investors who read the blogs to answer questions, but it would be great if some of the blog owners refer questions they can’t or don’t want to answer to DomainQuestions.com. The more domain knowledge that contributes to the site, the more beneficial it is to the people seeking answers.

You know me well enough to know that I am generally happy to answer questions and respond to most comments, so feel free to do so. If you’re wondering how it was built or the platform, you can check out a question that was asked.

I Love Vegas (Generic Domain Names)

Elliot Silver
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11

We made a last minute decision to take a trip to Las Vegas, and we landed last night. My wife has never been to Vegas before, and I have never been for anything other than a bachelor party. It’s been a long couple of weeks (new site, dissertation defense, marathon…etc), and we needed a short respite.

When I was looking into booking options, I decided to support the companies who operate on generic domain names. We got a great deal on a round trip JetBlue flight and hotel room packaged together at Vegas.com. They offer a ton of deals at just about every airline and hotel in the area. I saved a couple hundred dollars by not booking on the airline website and Hotels.com… not bad.

I then did some research on restaurants in Las Vegas. As you might expect, LasVegasRestaurants.com  ranks at the top of Google for a search of Las Vegas Restaurants. The website had photos, menus, and reviews of many restaurants in Las Vegas, and I was even able to make a dinner reservation right on the site. An hour later, the reservation was confirmed, and we are good to go.

Just like I prefer to shop at family-owned stores, I also like to patronize websites that understand domain names when all else is equal. Gotta respect the domain intelligence.

Monitor How Quickly Google Indexes Your Website Articles

Elliot Silver
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3

I wanted to share a way for you to easily monitor how quickly Google indexes articles and posts on your website. You can set up a Google Alert for your website, and as soon as a page is added to Google’s index, you will receive an alert. The alert should be set up like this: “site:YourSiteName.xxx.”

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a considerable amount of lag time between posting an article or dog walker listing on DogWalker.com, and I asked my developer to look into a couple of thing. I also worked in Webmaster Tools to see if I could find an issue. A few tweaks were made, and I wanted to know if they helped, so I set up a Google Alert.

After these two weeks, I know for certain the tweaks helped, as I now notice Google indexing new articles within 12 hours +/- a bit every time I post something. I am not 100% sure whether the indexing had to do with the tweaks or just that the Google Alerts made me more vigilant, but they’re good to have anyway.

If you are concerned about the health of your website or if you want to know if there are issues preventing Google from indexing your articles, you should set up site:YourSiteName.xxx Google Alerts.

Scott Day’s Digimedia Invests in Warren Royal’s Bobbleheads.com

Elliot Silver
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2

The story of Bobbleheads.com is one of my favorite in the domain industry, and I have much respect for its founder Warren Royal, who built his company after purchasing the domain name at auction. Similarly, I have tremendous respect for Scott Day and Jay Champman, whose Digimedia has a fantastic portfolio of generic domain names, including FantasyFootball.com, Dress.com, Shops.com, Decorations.com, and many other domain names.

I just received a press release from Warren announcing that the company that owns and operates Bobbleheads.com has received an equity investment from Digimedia.

As the company continues to grow, develop new products, and has the need for holiday and other inventory, it becomes necessary to fuel this growth with significant capital. Digimedia knows domain name assets and can provide the capital to ensure growth without supply chain hiccups.

It’s a smart move for both parties, and knowing the principals behind both companies, I think it’s a very good match.

Press release below:

The company that owns and operates Bobbleheads.com has received an equity investment  from Digimedia.   Bobbleheads.com was founded in 2008 by internet entrepreneur Warren  Royal with the objective of becoming the premier source of collectible bobblehead products in  the world.   In 2010, Bobbleheads.com and its parent Royal Bobbles LLC have achieved that  goal, with its products being sold in museums, gift shops, catalogs, and online stores  nationwide.   The company also is one of the top sources of custom bobble heads, producing  thousands of custom orders each year for consumers worldwide.

Digimedia, co-founded by domain pioneer Scott Day, owns and operates a portfolio of some of  the most powerful domain names on the internet, including Recipes.com, Chairs.com,  FantasyFootball.com, Decorations.com, and Jerky.com.   The company’s ongoing goal and  history of developing successful online businesses in association with these names are its  hallmark.

Royal says, “When we decided that it was time to find an equity partner to join us in growing our  business to the next level, there was no question that Digimedia was the best possible partner  we could hope for.   We recognized right away that their remarkable experience, technology, and  business acumen would bring powerful benefits to our company.   We are very proud to become  their partners.”

Digimedia also felt that the partnership represented a powerful opportunity. “Bobbleheads.com’s  progress is remarkable, especially in such a short period of time.” Digimedia president Jay  Chapman said.   “It was clear that the leadership, direction and vision of the company is very  compatible with our own.   We are excited about the synergies between our two companies in  providing value and satisfaction to customers.”

ABOUT BOBBLEHEADS.COM

Bobbleheads.com and its parent Royal Bobbles, LLC, are the internet’s premier source of  collectible bobblehead products.   Its products are featured in such prestigious and historic  stores as the Library of Congress, Arlington National Cemetery, the Old South Meeting House,  and the John Adams National Historic Park.   They have also been featured on television shows  such as “Meet the Press”, “The Today Show”, and “Glenn Beck”, and in magazines such as  Kiplinger’s and Fast Company.   Bobbleheads.com can be reached at 770-781-9850.

ABOUT DIGIMEDIA

Founded in 1997, Digimedia.com, LP utilizes its simple yet powerful domain names to provide  value for people on the World Wide Web.   The company’s sites include Jerky.com,  MovieReviews.com, and Dress.com. Digimedia develops these category-killing domain names  in a variety of ways, using technology, services, information and partners to help each site  visitor quickly get what he or she needs. Learn more at http://Digimedia.com.

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