DOMAINERS CAN WIN WITH INDEPENDENCE
May 28th, 2009 Posted in Aftermarket, Business Sector, DomainNewsWire, General Domain News(To Dub-A with A Nod to DomainNameWire.com)
As usual, Andrew Allemann’s article on threats to the domain industry is important and thought-provoking. I’m sure a lot of readers who depend solely on typeins to value their domains had to get up out of their chairs and dash to the “Holey Seat”.
I’ve never been sold on utilizing parking/landing pages as the sole value in a domain. I’ve had offers for domains I own giving me 10 year multiples, WITHOUT taking into consideration that the domain is a category killer, or a definitive brand. You can’t just give a domain a value based on “quick cash coming in because lots of people are using “name direction” in their browser field.
When you own generic descriptive domains, even longtails, those domains have value beyond “typein” traffic where in the past, many domainers have become very rich. However, I know a lot of those domainers played games with TMs and typos, which just diminishes the importance of a legitimate domain name and muddies our industry image.
Now companies are coming after domain owners who have owned domain phrases years before the company even existed, or rolled out a new product. Reverse hijacking will be a big topic in 2010. Domainers, now more than ever, have to be vigilant.
I agree about supporting the ICA. We need a voice to represent us legally. However, we also need more than the ICA, because the reality is, (here comes the 50th time I’ve said this), that the true value in a domain is represented by the sale to an enduser, or the full buildout of that domain as a working website by the domainer (thereby becoming an “enduser”. Not a minisite, but a company-based, producing prodservs site such as Wifi.com, or Chocolate/s.com, Burbank.com, Business.com and thousands of others. Minisites are valuable, and have their place, and are probably “gateway drugs…. errr… gateway paths” to making a domain evolve from a wimpy landing page, to a minisite, to a powerful category killer website, even with longtails.
So domainers’ focus (if they aren’t already endusers) should be on creating a property they can sell to an enduser at some point. Like an acquisition, domainers should see their domains as this type of asset.
Relying on Google, Yahoo/MS is a waste of time. I’d spend more time building up affiliate relationships with relevant prodservs to my domain, and if you sell just one high-yield product, with even a 5% refcomm on that sale could beat CPC payouts parking the domain.
I’d start with minisites, AEIOU.com, NoParking.com, Webuild.com, WhyPark.com, Devhub, and others that the industry deems respectable. Put up affiliate links, storefronts, other refcomm opp links, and just let Google and Yahoo feel the “pinch” of losing the revenue that domainers provide them.
Domainers, in force, can play their game deadly too. I wouldn’t give any ad provider the keys to my success. Strategic thinking in the face of the barriers you write about is imperative. Can we do it?
I think we can, by forming a non-profit PR organization for domain investing. It really is the future for all of us. Promote every sale of a domain to an enduser company with NR’s weekly, or twice weekly. Get INTO THE FACE of the business sector. Show them we’re united, and we’re a force to be dealt with.
We aren’t pawns, serfs, slaves, wimps, losers, and cowards. We are domainers. Time to unite and bring the fight back to those who would attempt to rip us off.
I wonder what power 10 million domains owned and parked by thousands of domainers can have over Google/Yahoo profits if we all just, for one day, changed our NS to nothing. We send out a NR, stating a “Worldwide Domainer Protest” Day, and then everyone just do a global NS change to nothing, or to some low level search site.
I’m just crazy dreaming, but I hate injustice, and what your article describes is just that… Most domainers I’ve met are great people, working hard, investing in the system, and true entrepreneurs. We’re BUSINESS PEOPLE, and we bring a lot of money to a lot of related businesses.
Ask yourself this question:
WHAT WOULD GOOGLE DO WITHOUT DOMAINERS? What if they got zero, nada, zip revenue from our end? I guarantee Google would feel that and see the damage, because the numbers don’t lie. If we could just organize a one day “no google day”, the tune would change quickly in the Google board room.
Get tough, people! Most domainers have shown their grit by just BECOMING domain investors. Don’t lose heart, don’t panic. Focus on selling and building out your portfolio.
Share your brains with the domain industry for a solution.
You have the answers, you just have to fight for them.
4 Responses to “DOMAINERS CAN WIN WITH INDEPENDENCE”
By Scott Alliy on May 28, 2009
I’ve been screaming for domainers to spread the news of their domain success to the broader market / public sector with each success.
I’ve been releasing domain name related Pr via our company PR site AddPR.com (a Google News source) for years.
Issue is that most domainers are truly just in it for the money. writing News is work and publicizing their success means spending money. They are not into spending money only making money and that simple fact makes one question the legitimacy of most domainers as true industry practicioners.
Like many long time domainers I am guilty of seeing the domain industry and wanting it to be more powerful but after ten years all I see is a handful of dedicated practitioners and a mass of flippers selling names not to end users but to each other via forums and auctions.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Man are we seeing the same thing? I was already seeing this stagnant pool forming back in 2004 and hoped others would see it too. I think a domainer has to be hungry and dedicated and deeply invested to want to offensively capture this new ground on which your theory is ripe. Now — where to start?
By Helder on May 28, 2009
I totally agree Stephen, when i worked in internet marketing, i use to tell people stop worrying about pleasing google and their rules, don’t let google run your websites and blogs. Google doesn’t own internet, people own internet, internet is a web, connected by links, made by people, i use to tell people, you probably have found more interesting and quality sites through links, going from one site to another, than with search engine.
And that’s how it was before SE, people interacted and were linking to each others, and that’s how things worked, and that’s how it should be, building relationships, linking, adding value, we’re not slaves to google or any other SE. They think they own internet, but they don’t, they gained importance, and they have given a lot to internet, no doubt, but that doesn’t mean they have control or own internet.
It only depends on people, internet is a web to link people, to connect people.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Absolutely, Helder. There needs to be a new groundswell, almost like an oak tree dropping an acorn and that acorn taking to seed quickly – let’s get a new domain “oak tree” growing!
By Scott Alliy on May 28, 2009
Correction handful might (probably is an underestimate) of the number of truly practicing domainers. I will add this though. That number of dedicated domainers that have done anything with domains (besides parking) and our industries lack of cohesiveness as a unit are quite insufficient to create the type of buzz necessary to get the masses attention much less move them towards a decision to act.
I personally watch TV commercial after commercial made by high paid advertisers containing calls to action for which the domain name is still available. This confirms my belief that the masses don’t get domain names and aren’t likely to see the light anytime soon IMO.
What I will strongly agree are statements this article relating to the fact that as an industry we (all domainers) must get together and act together to educate and promote awareness of the correct use of and thus true value of domain name ownership and application if we wish to grow the industry reputation and number of successful domainers.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Thanks Scott — excellent logic and thoughtful response
By Dr Altaf on Jun 15, 2009
W are really confused by many domain gurus.Some time they tought not to buy i or e prefixed names, while they booked and later many names with prefices/sufices like e & i.
Recently they said domain market is booming, This is the life time chance to grab opprtunity. Now in a month or less time they say , domain era is over, How? Recently they said all ads will be online and paper ads will be vanished, now same ppl said domain prospect is over. Are we confused?
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
No, I don’t think the overall domain community is confused. The domain era isn’t “over”, and I think what you read was referring to more of the “old style” of domaining is over, and a new style of domain investing and monetization is here. That’s what I believe, and I think investing in domains is still the best and most solid and safe investment anyone can make, as long as they know the business BEFORE they buy any domains. Part of becoming a domain investor is the time and money spent to learning the domain industry so you don’t make mistakes. Purchase an ebook (I have a few I’ve reviewed listed on my blog), or hire a domain consulting firm, like Successclick or DomainConsultant.com, or Elliotsblog and Rob Sequin. Don’t be disheartened. Many of us are making tens of thousands of $$$ a month and the future looks bright for domain sales and monetization!