Domain Investing News, Strategy & Tips

Affiliate Domain Development

Web Development

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August 24, 2009

I’m still pretty enthused about affiliate marketing after spending some time at Affiliate Summit in New York a couple of weeks ago. On Saturday, I mentioned that I would like to do some sort of affiliate website for my next project, and I am looking to find a name in a category of interest. I had a couple of questions emailed to me about the project I am considering, and I wanted to explain it better.

To illustrate the idea, I am thinking about something along the lines of owning a name like DomainParking.com (just an example). In addition to explaining how PPC works, discussing parking provider relationships with search engines, and other information, I would have a page dedicated to each domain parking company. The page will give information about the parking company with a sign-up button that has my affiliate link. It’s simple, but because of that, I will need a great domain name that will help me get good search rankings, so when someone searches Google for parking companies, the domain ranks well.

I am not actually looking to build a site in this vertical but wanted to illustrate my plan. It’s also not a unique business model, but I haven’t done a site like this yet, and I want to test out how it would perform on a targeted domain name. The goal will be to create a site that requires very minimal upkeep, and because of the targeted domain name, it will rank well in search engines. Not only do I want it to be in a vertical I am familiar with, but the affiliate payments should be high enough to offset development costs and the domain acquisition costs.

Like CabCompanies.com (which wasn’t expensive and has decent paying clicks), I want to be able to have an ROI of under 3 years. I don’t know if it will work out in the case of CabCompanies.com, but that’s the goal.

In any case, Rick Latona Auctions is now holding a CPA, Lead Generation, and Affiliate Marketing domain auction, and there are a couple of domain names I am considering. The auction wraps up on August 28th. Please note, I do not have any names in this auction, and since I may be bidding, I don’t want to create competition for myself so I am not going to list the name(s) I like. I am also looking at other venues as well.

Good Value Drop Auctions

Elliot Silver

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August 22, 2009

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Cab Companies I just updated the list of top drop auctions on Snapnames. IMO, there are some pretty good domain names to be had, some of which have been selling far below end user values.If you are able to purchase commercially viable domain names at good prices, and you create a directory site or mini site on each, you can increase the value of them during the down market, while hopefully generating revenue.

I recently bought CabCompanies.com in a private seller auction on Snapnames, and I launched it a few days later. The website is a national directory of cab companies and limo companies. Although there isn’t much content (yet), it’s a decent starting point. I also paid less for the name and website than I think the domain name alone is worth.

I think my next project will be different and won’t use a database, I will find an industry with 5-10 industry leading companies that use affiliate programs. I will then build a site that discusses each company and provide an affiliate link for people to buy each company’s product or to visit the company’s website. When someone Googles “XXXXX companies,” my site will hopefully rank in the top 5 because it will be the exact match, and I will make money when people visit. It will almost be a ratings type site, but without the ratings 🙂

Anyhow, I am curious about what you think CabCompanies.com is worth as a standalone domain? Do you see any good domain auctions where you could build a site?

Guest Post: End User Follow Up

Elliot Silver

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August 22, 2009

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This is a guest post from domain investor Calvin Washington, and I wanted to share it in the hopes that it helps others who are dealing with end user sales. If you are doing something unique that could help other domain investors, and you’d like to write a guest post, please email me. As long as you aren’t trying to sell something or get a back link, and it’s helpful to others, I would be happy to post it.

===

I have been using this trick successfully lately when selling to end users who for whatever reason showed no interest in my particular domain. It has been working for me after getting a “No!” or “Not interested” reply. It’s really simple and I’m sure many others are doing something similar but you never know!

Thanks XXXX,

Though you expressed no interest in XXXXX.com, I appreciate your getting back with me. The highest offer we received was $XXX. I guess it’s best to let the market decide it’s value. If for any reason in the future it may be of value to you, we will be willing
to accept $XXX.

In either case, take care!

Best,
Calvin

In closing, it’s strongly recommended that your price that you’re willing to accept be higher than your highest offer received. If not, you may come across as being dishonest. Hope this helps someone. Another big point I’d like to stress is the salutation. “Best” is my way of basically saying to the end user “This is my last contact to you, take it or leave it”. I sure there are some grammatical errors or misuse of punctuation, so make the necessary corrections when needed.

How Did You Become a Domain Investor?

General Domain Information

Elliot Silver

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August 21, 2009

24

I want to change things up a little bit today. Instead of writing a blog post right now, I want you to share something with me and the other people who read my blog. I’d like you to share your story about how you became a domain investor.

There are a number of public figures in our industry, many of whom have interesting stories about how they became domain investors and were the first pioneers of a relatively new industry. However, there are many interesting stories that haven’t really been shared yet, and I’d love to hear about them.

I am interested in learning how you came across the industry and what made you interested in domain investments. I am looking forward to seeing your replies… please don’t be shy!

AOL Just Protecting Its Brand

Elliot Silver

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August 20, 2009

20

Ad.com

Last month at an engagement party, I met a friend of a friend who works for Advertising.com. After brief introductions and small talk, he mentioned that he works for Ad.com. Knowing that Ad.com had just sold at Moniker’s auction for 7 figures, I inquired further, and he mentioned that his company is actually Advertising.com, but everyone calls it Ad.com. Therein lies the problem.

In most cases, when a company or famous person has become known by a nickname, and that nickname or moniker becomes just as famous as the person (and clearly associated with the company or person), that company or person may be able to legally claim common law rights to that nickname or term.

Michael Jordan was known as “Air Jordan” because of his leaping and dunking ability. During his playing days, Nike introduced the Air Jordan brand, and I believe it is still one of their most famous brands. Had Michael Jordan not been known as “Air Jordan,” the term “air jordan” would probably be worthless unless someone else used that term famously. Like Jordan, Advertising.com became known as Ad.com internally and externally, and many people associate the term Ad.com with Advertising.com. However, unlike the term “air jordan,” the term and domain name “Ad.com” has significant value besides its usage by Advertising.com.

As an entrepreneur and marketer, I can commiserate with all parties involved in the situation. The current Ad.com domain owner just wants the sale completed as expected, Moniker/Oversee.net wants the commission they are rightfully owed, Skenzo is worried that they are going to have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to the purchase price to protect their new investment, and AOL wants to protect the brand they believe is rightfully theirs.

As a domain investor on the other hand, I am very concerned by this move by AOL, and it will make me more vigilant about researching the domain names I buy and develop.

Why a Generic Domain is Important

Elliot Silver

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August 20, 2009

4

Earlier, I discussed in detail why I think generic domain names are so important, and I would now like to provide a real world example of the importance.

My wife and I are looking to re-do our kitchen and bathroom floors. Black slate looks cool, but it’s difficult to clean and we want to give our kitchen a fresh look. While at dinner with friends on Friday, we saw that they had black granite flooring that my wife and I both liked. We decided that we were going to look into new flooring options, and our first to stops were HomeDepot.com and Lowes.com, both of which did not have the type of flooring that we want.

Since we haven’t done much renovation other than wood floors from Home Depot, we don’t really know many home improvement or renovation stores in New York, and I haven’t owned or needed a phone book in about 8 years. That said, my first step in searching for granite floor tile were Google searches for “granite floor tiles,” “granite floor tile,” and “granite flooring.”

Had any of these domain names been owned by a flooring company, it’s likely they would have ranked fairly high in Google, since the term isn’t ultra competitive. Fortunately for the existing companies (well, the 5 highest ranking companies anyway), the keyword domain names, GraniteFloorTiles.com, GraniteFloorTile.com, and GraniteFlooring.com aren’t developed.

People often look at generic domain names for their type-in visitor value. Although this is important, it isn’t the primary reason why I like generic domain names. Based on my development experiences, I have found that keyword domain names generally rank very well in the search engines (Bing moreso than Google), while their competitors with more brandable domain names don’t rank nearly as well.

I may or may not have bought my granite tiles from GraniteFlooring.com, but when all things considered are equal and I don’t have any brand loyalty to a local store, it makes things easier for the company to rank well organically and not have to consistently pay for visitors through SEM, which can be useful but requires continued investment. Generic domain names aren’t the answer, but they make finding the answer much easier.

DomainInvesting.com

Affiliate Domain Development

Good Value Drop Auctions

Guest Post: End User Follow Up

How Did You Become a Domain Investor?

AOL Just Protecting Its Brand

Why a Generic Domain is Important

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