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ESPN Goes Local; Gets Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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6

ESPNI read that ESPN is going local in a variety of sports markets, and I noticed that they bought many of the domain names they will need to expand their online presence and protect the brand.   ESPN first went local in Chicago in April, and is known locally as ESPN Chicago, and they are planning to enter the Boston market in September. Assuming they find success, they will presumably continue to expand locally, in addition to radio stations they own in many large markets.

Although the network uses the ESPN.com URL for its Chicago site, they forward ESPNChicago.com to that preferred URL: ESPN.Go.com/Chicago. They also own many other domain names for markets in which they may have expansion plans. Some of the local domain names were purchased many years prior as part of the local ESPN radio network, while others have been purchased more recently. I did a quick scan of some of the bigger sports markets, and it looks like ESPN was on top of their domain registrations before making their announcement.

ESPNBoston.com – Registered 2005
ESPNChicago.com – Registered 1999
ESPNNewYork.com – Registered 2007
ESPNSeattle.com – Registered 2008
ESPNDallas.com – Registered 2007
ESPNDenver.com – Registered 2006
ESPNPhiladelphia.com – Registered 2009
ESPNMiami.com – Registered 2008 – Not owned by ESPN
ESPNNewOrleans.com – Registered 2009 – Not owned by ESPN
ESPNLosAngeles.com – Registered 2009
ESPNDenver.com – Registered 2006
ESPNDetroit.com – Registered 2007
ESPNSanFrancisco.com – Registered 2009
ESPNStLouis.com – Registered 2008
ESPNTampa.com – Registered 2009
Many more…

This is a credit to ESPN’s marketing smarts, because I have seen other companies decide that they are only going to use their primary URL and not worry about the local URLs. Unfortunately, when human nature takes over and people type-in what they assume will be the URL, they come across a domain name that isn’t owned by the company. In the end, the company ends up spending thousands of dollars purchasing the domain names from their cybersquatting owners, or they spend even more money on UDRP filings and other litigation.

Buying these domain names for $10/each now could save thousands of dollars in the future. Even if they don’t expand in all of those markets, they are still protecting the brand at a relatively low cost.

2010 Domain Conferences I Plan to Attend

Elliot Silver
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1

I enjoy going to domain conferences for a number of reasons, and Andrew’s analysis of domain industry conferences got me thinking about which ones I will attend in 2010, even though the current year hasn’t concluded yet. In 2009, I attended DomainFest, GeoDomain Expo, and TRAFFIC Amsterdam, all of which were great shows. The next domain conference I plan to attend is TRAFFIC New York in October.

I haven’t committed to attend any domain conferences in 2010 yet, but I am beginning to plan my conference schedule. Because of the expense of travel (conference, hotel, transportation) and the amount of time I am dedicating to building out my operational websites, I think I am going to cut back next year.

Here are the shows I plan to attend. Which shows will you be attending?

Domainer Mardi Gras
When: February 11-13
Where: New Orleans
Cost: $795 Early bird through October 15
Why: I heard the conference last year was fantastic, and it will be a great opportunity to see friends and colleagues in a more relaxed atmosphere. I love New Orleans, flights from New York aren’t too expensive, and hotel rooms are reasonably priced. I also know the people who organize the conference are down to earth, fun people, who know how to have a good time.

GeoDomain Expo
When: April 28-30
Where: New Orleans (During Jazz Fest and Heritage Festival)
Cost: Under $1,000 (not yet released)
Why: The Geo Domain Expo is the premier conference for geodomain developers and owners who want to build out their domain names. The conference is a great place to get to know the leading developers in more of an intimate setting than other conferences.

TRAFFIC
When: TBD
Where: TBD
Cost: Under $1,500 (not yet released)
Why: I am going to attend either one of the European or Asian TRAFFIC shows in 2010. It’s a great opportunity to meet other domain investors who I wouldn’t ordinarily see in the US.

Big Cat Coffees is Great!

Elliot Silver
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5

Big Cat CoffeesI don’t dedicate a lot of space on my blog to non-domain related posts, but I want to let you know about a great company I found online. I actually didn’t find it, but a friend from high school messaged me about it on Facebook when I mentioned something about coffee.

My wife and I ordered several boxes of Keurig coffee k-cups from BigCatCoffees.com yesterday morning, and despite the fact that we ordered enough to qualify for free shipping, they sent us the box overnight. I expected to receive it in a few days because they covered the shipping price, but they still sent it to us ASAP. Not only this, but their prices are also much better than buying them in store. Instead of paying $9.99 for a pack of 18, we paid $10.95 for 24 cups.

BCC has a huge selection of coffee and tea, too. If you use a k-cup machine for your coffee or tea, you should check out Big Cat Coffees the next time you want to place an order.

As you can probably tell, there is no affiliate link here and I wasn’t compensated to post this – just a happy customer 🙂

Use Caution With “Generic” Terms

Elliot Silver
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5

I have found that when a domain investor owns domain names with generic terms, like NewHouses.com for example, they are generally free and clear of trademark issues, aside from when a bullying company wants the domain name and is willing to take legal action to fight for it. However, there are many terms out there that may seem like they’re generic, when in fact they are protected terms that are often vigorously defended by trademark holders.

I am not a lawyer and don’t pretend to be one, so take this with a grain of salt. However, I believe that in order to keep a trademark active, the trademark holder must protect its ownership of the mark, so that others can’t claim it’s free to use by anyone. For example, while Google loves that people are “Googling,” they need to protect that term from becoming public domain and prevent others from using it.

In fact, I read something unrelated to domain names, but backs this claim up. In reference to Bud Light’s proposed “Fan Cans” with college athletic team colors, Vince Sweeney, Vice Chancellor at University of Wisconsin said, “If you don’t protect your trademarks, you eventually lose them, so we felt it was important to at least communicate to them that we didn’t think it was an appropriate tact.”

That said, there are terms being used by many people in domain sales threads that are actually protected by the owners of those trademarks. One of the most commonly used terms that I believe people don’t realize is a trademark is “Realtor,” which is a trademark of the National Association of Realtors. This organization protects the term “Realtor,” and has many rules about how the term can be used, especially when it comes to domain names and websites.

Additionally, there are terms are protected in some countries, but generic in other countries and free to use in advertising materials, including domain names.   Some of these terms include Band Aid, Yellow Pages, Kleenex, Yo Yo, Escalator, Aspirin, Thermos, and many others. There are also terms that are free to use for some types of products and services, but others are protected by brand owners who are borderline over-protective.

While some people might think it’s unreasonable to do trademark searches before buying every single domain name, it can save the domain investor from registering infringing domain names – especially when the objective is re-sale rather than development.

Last night, I received a huge list of domain names for sale, with nearly all of them containing the name of a popular brand. The owner claimed that the brand name was his last name, and that the company had never contacted him about the domain names. Perhaps it was okay for him to own the domain name, although some of the names were clearly related to the brand rather than him (they contained the brand name + product type), but they wouldn’t be okay for me to own since I have no relation to the brand name or to the brand.

It costs under $10 to buy a domain name, but if you buy a domain name that infringes upon a company’s trademark, it can cost thousands of dollars to defend, and some companies don’t care as much about the infringing domain name as they care about making an example out of the domain registrant.

5 Tips to Get Direct Advertising Deals

Elliot Silver
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In my opinion, people who develop websites that aren’t selling products or offering a special service should strive to bring on advertisers directly in lieu of pay per click advertising or Adsense. Forget about ad networks, cut out the middle man, and you will greatly increase your revenues.

The first step is arguably the most difficult – building a website with unique content that ranks well in search engines and has consistent, growing traffic. I believe that once this has been accomplished, getting advertisers to directly place banners or links on your website is where you will make the most revenue. If your site is bringing targeted traffic, there are advertisers who would like the attention of this traffic.

Here are 5 tips to getting direct advertising deals:

1) Do a Google search for 10-15 keyword phrases related to your website and identify the companies that are paying for advertising on the top and side of Google. Don’t just use the most obvious searches. Search for complimentary services as well, since those advertisers might be interested in advertising on your site as well. For my blog, I would search for keywords such as hosting, web development…etc. Visit those advertisers’ websites, and on the About Us or Management page, find the person responsible for Marketing/Advertising and call him to let him know about your website and rates.

2) Scout out your competitors’ websites to see who is advertising directly on those sites, and see how your site stacks up on public analytics websites such as Alexa and Compete. Compare your PageRank and search engine positioning with theirs. Find out what they charge, and based on the ranking comparison, price your advertisements accordingly. Create a pitch sheet with these stats, your website’s traffic, and email the Marketing/Advertising Manager for those companies and tell them about your website and competitive rates.

3) Learn about the leaders for the industry in which your website is located. See if they operate affiliate programs, and if so, sign up for those programs and add their banners prominently on your website. Depending on the performance of those banners, set your direct advertising rates accordingly to make sure you aren’t losing money by going direct. Reach out to some of the smaller companies who compete with the affiliate companies on your site, to let them know you’d prefer to go direct with them and will take down their competitors’ banners.

4) If your website is in an industry in which you do business, speak with your Account Representative or someone at the company that works with you, and let them know you are looking to bring on advertisers on your related website. Either offer them special deals in exchange for customer incentives or do some sort of product trade if they aren’t able/willing to pay for advertising. Eventually competitors will follow suit if your website has targeted traffic.

5) Probably the easiest way is to add an easy to see “Advertise” link, allowing site visitors to easily contact you about advertising opportunities. Make sure you have a form to get enough information about who is inquiring, and make sure you contact them ASAP – preferably by phone. Tell the potential advertiser your goals for the site as well as the analytics, and share your passion for whatever the website is about.

City .com Domain Names for Sale

Elliot Silver
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8

Most people who frequently read my blog, know I like city .com domain names. In fact, my companies own and operate Burbank.com, Lowell.com and Newburyport.com, and I’ve discussed why I like them many times on the blog. Just about all good to great city .com domain names are developed and are virtually unattainable (unless you have significant means).

In fact, before I acquired Burbank.com, I reached out to many of the owners of undeveloped or under-developed city .com domain names and offered a lot more money than I would feel comfortable doing now given the economy, and I was still rejected.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen some great city .com names for sale at very good prices. Since I have my hands full developing and maintaining my own city .com websites, I am not making any more geodomain acquisitions at the moment, so I want to share these with you if you haven’t seen them for sale. If any of the names are of interest, get in touch with Toby Clements ASAP. None of these are owned by me and I have not been compensated for this post.

Tacoma.com
$110,000 – financing not available

NewRochelle.com
$47,000 – financing available

RanchoCucamonga.com
$90,000 – financing available

Versailles.com
$35,000 – financing available

BalHarbour.com
$40,000 – financing available

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