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Teaching About the Value of Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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7

I got together with some of my former colleagues a couple nights ago at a memorial party for a colleague who died suddenly last week. We were discussing the progress of my former group, and we started discussing the Internet strategy they have and where it’s headed.

They are in the process of launching a new stand alone product website (their first stand alone site), although they were only able to acquire domain names that are variations of the product’s name (for example MyProduct.com, ProductOnline.com, MyProductOnline.com…etc). I asked why they didn’t go out and buy the straight up Product name from its current owner, and they didn’t really have an answer other than the fact that it’s owned by someone else.

This got my mind turning.   Here is a group at a huge company that has seen tremendous growth, are about to launch a serious Internet campaign/website, yet they don’t really understand the value of domain names and what it would mean to own the Product.com domain name.   I assume many companies are in a similar position, and educating them is difficult.

I would imagine a numbers argument would be the way to educate them, showing that the Product.com domain gets a % of traffic (intended visitors) which could be lost if they don’t search to find the correct website.   Figuring out the lost business as a result of not owning the domain name should be the amount of money they could/would pay to acquire it.   However, once the site is launched, it’s unlikely that the owner would sell it, especially if he is fearful of a litigious response.

How do you educate people about the value of domain names?

Incorporate What You Know Into Your Business

Elliot Silver
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15

As the saying goes, “the shoemaker’s son has no shoes,” similar can be said about the development of some of my websites. I am a trained Direct Marketer, but I sometimes forget even the most basic direct marketing principles when building my websites and my blog’s brand. If I was looking at some of my websites from a marketing point of view instead of a domain owner, there would probably be significant changes.

Through my involvement in the domain industry, I have learned quite a bit about forums.   I am a member of several public and private domain and Internet discussion forums, and there are things about each forum that are cool, and things I find annoying. However, on most of my sites (with the exception of TropicalBirds.com), I have no forums at all.   I know that forums are a great way to interact, and they can also drive traffic (and repeat traffic) to a website, helping to gain trust and build a community.

With all that said, I decided to launch a Burbank, California forum yesterday on Burbank.com – with help from Kevin @ BigTicketDomains.com.   Using a customized Simple Machines forum, Kevin was able to set up a forum for me that can be used by Burbank residents and visitors.   There are still a few tweaks I need to make, but I think this is going to be a smart move in the long run.

The point of this is that you should think about your own background when building your websites.   If there are certain things you’ve learned in business or from your hobbies, you should consider incorporating them on your website.   Think about think things you would want to see if you were a user of your website, and make it happen.   If you enjoy using a particular feature, chances are good that others will as well.

Tap into your own background and knowledge when developing.   Sometimes lessons you’ve learned can be adapted and adopted by your websites.

Flying to Korea to Track Down a Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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7

The New York Times has a neat article today about how Mike Iskandar traveled to Korea from his home in Ohio in order to acquire a domain name that was the perfect fit for his website, LifeProfit.com. Iskandar’s journey wasn’t as easy as flying to Korea to buy the name though, and it was a ballsy move.

I think this was a smart tactic, albeit risky for a number of reasons.   It goes to show that if you really want or need a domain name (or really anything else important to you or your business), there’s nothing like a personal conversation.

VisitPuertoRico.com: Great Trafficz Lander

Elliot Silver
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4

I was watching the World Baseball Classic yesterday and saw the Dominican Republic vs. Panama game in Puerto Rico.   Behind home plate, there was a url being advertised: GoPuertoRico.com.   Personally, I am not a huge fan of most call to action domain names, but I really don’t like this one, because the keyword phrase “Go Puerto Rico” doesn’t exactly make sense.

I decided to take a look at some similar sites, including PuertoRico.com and VisitPuertoRico.com. Both sites look professionally done, and I was intrigued by the “inquire about this domain name” link found on the second site.   The link took me to Most Wanted Domains, so I knew it was one of Mike‘s great domain names. If you don’t know already, Mike has one of the nicest privately owned domain portfolios assembled.

After a bit more searching around the site, I saw that it is a custom-built Trafficz site.   I really like what they did for Mike, and it goes to show that if you have a great domain name that gets traffic, you might want to ask your parking provider to build a custom site.   Not only can you build something that’s more likely to be listed in search engines, you will also create a nice looking site that is compelling to click through for more information.

Thumbs up to Trafficz and to Mike on this one.

Disclaimers, Disclosures & Conflicts of Interest

Elliot Silver
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6

Let’s face it.   As domain investors, we are a part of a small community, where nearly all of us are connected in some way. Some companies have partnerships, many people are close friends with others, and some people have known others via forums, chat board and industry functions for years.

No matter what someone writes nor where they write it, there will always be some sort of conflict of interest due to friendships, partnerships and other relationships. With that said, it’s important as shrewd business people and entrepreneurs to see where conflicts of interest exist and to note them in the back of our minds.

Just about all of us have created our own path to get to this little known industry.   Using the same gut instinct that brought us here, we should also use it to determine if someone’s blog post, news article or other public statement is self serving or if its going to be genuinely in the interest of the industry. I have found that while some posts may appear to be self serving at first glance, the content of the post is actually helpful and informative.

For the most part, most of the public domainers (those who keep a public profile) do so to help and encourage others.   While some might have conflicts of interest, people shouldn’t be so quick to publicly knock that person down simply because of a known overlapping business entity or relationship.

It’s difficult or impossible to not have any conflicts in certain posts that I make (especially those where I interview friends or discuss products/services I use), and it would be ridiculous if I had to put a disclaimer in every post.   We need to use more common sense before being so critical and judgmental.

Advertising Age Weighs in on gTLD

Elliot Silver
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0

Advertising industry publication Advertising Age weighed in on the impact of the proposed gTLDs today. Although I would have thought an article about the creative possibilities of new gTLDs would have been more appropriate for Ad Age to cover, they focused on the costs associated with gTLDs – both in terms of applying for a gTLD and the cost of brand protection.

While their advice about research is smart, surmising that an up and coming energy drink company would could use a new gTLD (.powerdrink is their example) is pretty far fetched.   I can’t imagine a new brand spending $150k+ to apply for a gTLD such as this – not including costs of managing their registry.

I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered before gTLDs are approved, and Ad Age is correct in advising that their readers look into the implications of new gTLDs.   For readers of my blog, I will be posting an interview with Antony Van Couvering in the next few days, which should provide some good insight into new gTLDs.

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