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Strong Argument for Ad Sales

Elliot Silver
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A comm0n response to an advertising inquiry I’ve made numerous times for my websites is, “we already do our Internet advertising on Google.” Sure, Google can be a very effective source of leads, but it can also be expensive and might not send the most targeted traffic, depending on the Adwords campaign.

One of the best ways to close an advertising deal on a website or blog is to discuss the direct navigation traffic. It’s important to point out to a potential advertiser that direct navigation traffic can’t be purchased like traditional media buys. Visitors to a particular website that directly navigate, generally do so because they know what they want, and they either know they can get it at a particular website or they assume this. Companies who want to reach out to these visitors need to advertise directly on that website. In my brief experience, I have found this to be a compelling argument, and the same can be made by any domain owner whose domain name receives type-in traffic.

I was thrilled when traffic to TropicalBirds.com grew to over 90% search engine-based. It meant that I was doing something right in terms of SEO, and I was happy that people were visiting because of it. However, an advertiser could easily buy some of   this traffic simply by advertising on Google. However, direct navigation can’t be bought because it completely bypasses Google and Yahoo. IMO, this is a great deal closer.

Why I am Not Following Moniker Auction at TRAFFIC

Elliot Silver
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I wrote a post this morning about why I am not attending TRAFFIC in San Jose. I was planning to watch the Moniker TRAFFIC auction this evening, however.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this will happen. I checked in on WebmasterRadio.FM and the auction wasn’t beaing streamed over the radio. I visited Domaining.com and UStream.tv hoping to find a video feed – no dice.

I did find the page on Snapnames where I can download the software – but I don’t operate on a laptop with Windows, the first requirement of the auction software. I’ve mentioned this before, but it still hasn’t been fixed.

I am not a big auction buyer, and I suppose if I planned to bid I would have gone through other channels. However, it’s disappointing – although it does free up 3 hours I had initially set aside.

Why I am Not at TRAFFIC

Elliot Silver
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One of the most common questions I was asked during the waning hours of the GeoDomain Expo was whether I planned to attend TRAFFIC up the road in Silicon Valley. As you can see from the title of this post, I am not at TRAFFIC, and there are a couple of reasons.

The first and foremost reason was that I went directly to Burbank for some ad sales following the show in San Diego. It was a 3 hour train ride along the Pacific Coast, and it was a great opportunity to catch up on some rest and to think about many of the things I learned at the Geo Expo. I must say, the Expo gave me added confidence in the area of ad sales, and I have 3 pending deals, two of which may be big deals.

The second reason I didn’t attend TRAFFIC this time was the price. Sure, I could have spent the money on my flight to San Jose, hotel rooms, and TRAFFIC ticket, but in this economy, I am cutting costs. It was more pertinent to my growing business to visit Burbank than it was to attend the show. I also plan to attend TRAFFIC in New York, and I look forward to seeing many of the same people who are now at the show.

BTW, don’t forget to tune in to the Moniker auction later on today. Now it’s time for some follow-up emails!

2009 GeoDomain Expo Recap

Elliot Silver
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The financially troubled newspaper industry met at the Newspaper Association of America’s annual conference in San Diego the second week in April, and Associated Cities held its annual GeoDomain Expo in San Diego from April 23-25.   I think the GeoDomain Expo was quite a bit more upbeat! I attended my first GeoDomain Expo last year, and it was one of the most informative domain conferences I had attended, and this one was even better.

Nearly all of the industry leaders and many of their top employees attended the conference, and a large number of them participated on the panels. Most of the panelists provided great tips and advice, rather than self-promoting product advertorials, which I think provided more value to attendees, since these guys are out in the trenches and are happy to share what is working for them. This is probably the hallmark of the GeoDomain Expo.

On the development panel in which I participated, I learned a tactic from Shaun Pilfold (Kelowna.com), which could end up actually paying for the entire show once I integrate it onto my sites. I can’t remember learning something usable like this at other domain conferences, so this really stood out for me. I was also given a couple other valuable pieces of advice about sales from Shaun and his company’s General Manager, Mark Huttram, and I am going to focus on finding people who can execute.

Another panel had participants from data providers and directory development companies. While the directory panel might seem like an advertorial at first glance, it was great because there are so many options that companies are using and it’s helpful to know what’s out there and how they can be used. These are things that developers need to know about and can help new developers build a site quickly.

One of the primary undertones of the conference was that the time has come for entrepreneurial geodomain companies to take advantage of weakness in the newspaper publishing business, in order to take market share and become local market leaders. During one of the lunches, Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates spoke about the opportunity we now have, and I was inspired by his saying that it is the time for entrepreneurs to make strong financial bets on geodomain names and to trust in the business models because we are likely to succeed. I think this is great advice, and it’s something I am analyzing right now.   I think it’s better to invest in yourself and your business plan, and I have been doing that in the last few months.

In terms of networking, I think the geodomain industry offers great opportunities because everyone is approachable and down to earth. No matter where I was at the Catamaran, it was easy to meet people, and I was able to meet with a number of people who I haven’t met before.

Just a few other notes from the conference:

I want to highlight NewOrleans.com for its fantastic website and brand they are building. Aside from NYC, New Orleans is my favorite city in the US, and it’s great to see what the team is doing with their site.

I am looking forward to participating on the newly elected Associated Cities transitional board. Despite the fear that there could be political overtones at the conference, I didn’t detect any of it at all.

My top 5 choices for next year’s conference are New Orleans, Dallas, West Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

I am in Burbank for the next couple of days, and it’s time to get some business done!

Thank you to Mark and the great team at SanDiego.com for hosting the conference. It was well executed and the city of San Diego is beautiful. Big thanks also to AC Executive Director Patrick Carelton as well. Despite the short time between confirming that the show would happen and the date of the show, the team pulled it off.

She’s a Bonehead!

Elliot Silver
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I apologize in advance because I can’t use the specific brand or domain name in this story, but I wanted to share a funny story with you about how some brand managers just don’t take domain names as seriously as they should.

After the party at the GeoDomain Expo, I went out to drinks with some friends at a Jazz restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego (which is a very cool area if you’ve never been). As we were wrapping up our drinks on the patio, a lady came over to the table and started talking to us, and my friend asked if she was attending the conference. She said she wasn’t, and that she worked for “XYZ Company,” which we all know is the the leading brand in the “ABC industry.”

Ironically, my friend happens to own the ABC industry’s category defining domain name, and he mentioned it to her. She was excited about that, and she said that she was a Marketing Manager for the company and they should definitely discuss how they can work together. As luck would have it, she just changed her purse and didn’t have business cards, but she wanted to give my friend her contact information.

My friend said that sounded great and we waited outside on the patio for a few minutes when she went in to the restaurant. After a couple of minutes, I went in and saw the woman dancing by the piano, clearly not even thinking about that category defining domain name that was just mentioned to her. This was a bonehead move and one that could cost them dearly, because it’s without a doubt the best category domain name in her industry.

Protect Your Brand

Elliot Silver
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A local city website from my hometown began following one of my websites on Twitter the other day. I had never heard of this city site, and they have a unique/brandable URL – which I won’t give away for their privacy, but it was something to the effect of CyaInNewton.com. Since I hadn’t heard of their site nor visited before, I decided I would have a look, and I saw that it was a fully developed city portal.

I wanted to check to see if there was more than one site in their network, and while I wasn’t surprised that there weren’t others, I was surprised that they didn’t buy other domain names to go along with their branding, ie CyaInNewYork.com or even neighboring cities like CyaInNatick.com…etc. These domain names are available for their competitors and/or anyone else who wants to grab them at registration fee. I think this is a big mistake.

This company isn’t a domain investment or speculative company, where they are hoping someone else will like their idea and decide to buy it at a premium. They are growing an actual brand on one domain name, and the logical way to grow once terminal velocity is reached is to extend to different markets. While the domain names are available to register now, they might not be in a few months. Although they might have common law trademark rights, getting the domain names they want could be expensive.

I am going to send them a DM and recommend that they grab their brand domain names in other markets. While they may not plan to grow to those markets, it can’t hurt to protect the brand they are working hard to promote.

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