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Would you use domain parking to monetize AtomicWarrior.com?

Bob Angus — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:17:54 +0000

Yesterday, I discussed how to use the huge open directory project, DMOZ.org, to find deals on domain names. The example I used was Atomic Warrior, a website that still gets decent traffic even though it had not been updated since July 2005. I may be able to purchase the domain from the owner for a bargain price (unless he reads this post). If I were to make a deal, then the question is… should I use domain parking to monetize the domain?

Apply standard domain name analysis

Domain parking revenue comes 100% from type in traffic. Therefore, the domain name should have either generic keyword value, brand value, or something intangible that would lead someone to type in “atomicwarrior.”

Here is my quick analysis based each value factor (on a scale of 1-no value to 5-very valuable):

Keyword value – 2. Each keyword is generic. However, there are two keywords combined and they are not obviously related. Plus, “atomic” is only used as a retro term.
Brand value – 1. None at this time, unless Comedy Central develops a spoof animated series about an anti-hero, space ninja who is tasked with infiltrating Spacely Space Sprockets headquarters.
Intangible – 1. Or maybe I can do my own YouTube video about a space ninja who takes down the Spacely Space Sprockets mega-corporation.

Past traffic is not an indicator of future traffic

A fair amount of traffic still goes to the website, even though nothing has been updated in years. Plus, the site has some backlinks which could help drive traffic initially. So, I should be able to make a small profit no matter how bad the domain name is, right?

Not likely. Even if I optimize the keywords, the people who are visiting the website are there for that exhilarating “Atomic Warrior” community experience. Additionally, the traffic is not sustainable as those backlinks are likely to dwindle over time.

The Verdict: No Parking Zone

If I were to purchase Atomic Warrior, I would not park it. The long term type in traffic is not significant and the current traffic would have a horrible click through rate. For more information on this subject, I recommend reading DomainerPro’s post, Monetizing Domain Names of Former Websites Can Be a Challenge.

The best bet to monetize a domain like AtomicWarrior.com is to develop and rejuvenate it as a video game community. That is actually something I am interested in and would have fun doing.

Or I will have to buy a ninja costume for my YouTube video.

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Discover Domain Name Deals using DMOZ

Bob Angus — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:34:50 +0000

There are many sources where you can find domain names to add to your web real estate empire. Domain forums, drop auction providers, and aftermarket selling services offer you a never-ending supply of domains to purchase. Then the key is to find the bargains. I came across a tip from DomainerPro and DomainersGazette for another great source for a good deal on a domain… DMOZ.org.

Find neglected websites

You have surfed to websites that have decent domain names, but that have not been updated since 2004. Many site owners have the best intentions to make money online and then let their website die on the vine when they realize it is not easy money. DMOZ.org is such a comprehensive directory that it contains thousands of links to now abandoned websites.

Simply drill down into a niche or category that interests you. Then surf to sites that have domain names that have potential. Within 30 minutes, you are bound to find 5-10 neglected websites that have decent traffic (check their Alexa statistics).

For example, I searched video game fan sites and came across Atomic Warrior. The home page displayed the latest gaming news… from July 2005. I did find a forum on the site that had traffic as recently as June 2007. So there is potential to pick up traffic again quickly if I come to the rescue.

Getting a bargain

Next you have to locate the owner of the site and make them an offer. DomainTools offers a great WHOIS service that gives you standard domain information and a nice indicator of availability for that domain name and related domains.

Contact the owner and make them an offer. Again, many of these owners have been out of the online business for awhile. So they may not be in tune with current domain name values. You can usually offer a low price to take the domain off their hands and they will be happy to sell it to you at a below market rate.

A negotiating tip

I also have an extra tip to help you avoid making a bad, non-starter bid. When evaluating the abandoned website, I like to identify other elements of the site that may factor into the negotiation.

Did the owner spend money on software licenses like vBulletin or are they using free blogging software?
Is there premium content which may have been purchased?
Are they monetizing their trickle of traffic with Google AdSense?

In many cases, you will find a bare bones website. But if there is something of perceived value, then it is likely that you will need to offer more for the domain.

Hmmmmm. Now what should I offer for Atomic Warrior?

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5 Tips to Negotiate with Domain Name Buyers for Higher Profits

Bob Angus — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:43:06 +0000

Are you selling a domain name? Did you put your domain portfolio up for sale through Moniker or post it on Sitepoint Marketplace? Do you have visions of big profits from flipping websites you have quickly built up? Great. Now, you need to be prepared to negotiate with buyers. Your negotiation skills help you get the price that you want or even higher. Plus, the buyer is happy with what they paid and are likely to do profitable business with you in the future.

Here are 5 tips that I have found invaluable when negotiating with domain name and website buyers.

1. The Low Ball Bid

Most deals start with the seller asking for a high price and the buyer offering an insanely low bid. Do not get offended or put off by a low ball offer. If somebody has made the effort to make a bid, then they are interested in your property.

The key is to identify one or more elements of your domain that the buyer values. For example, do they own a portfolio of other domains in your niche? If so, then you have something in common to build on. You can move forward with the negotiation by demonstrating your value, not just haggling price.

2. Moving Forward Based on Value

When you ask questions or research other properties owned by the buyer, you can identify what is important to them. This approach helps significantly during the negotiation or when you run into a roadblock. You have to ask how/what/why questions to diffuse any roadblocks and turn them around to increase the value to the buyer. This process is what salespeople call objection handling.

DomainerPro.com had a good example in his How to Negotiate Domain Name Prices post.

Countering Bluffs: I would add that you should learn to recognize and counter the most common bluffs that buyers use. If a buyer says, “I can’t go any higher,” don’t give in, and don’t call him a liar either. Instead counter with a reasoned argument like, “I understand what you’re saying, but this domain name will ultimately save you money by bringing you targeted leads. The extra money is worth it.”

3. Always Answer Questions

Potential buyers will always have questions about your domain. You will receive even more questions when you are selling an entire website. It is important that you answer these questions thoroughly and quickly. The buyer is asking for details so that they can better value what they are willing to pay. More likely than not, a detailed response from you will help increase the final selling price.

4. Always Answer Questions Honestly

Do not play games with buyers. If you think that you can maximize your selling price by lying and by sayging that your website is not an auto-generated, blackhat SEO quickie, then you are fooling yourself. Buyers know all the tricks and will bail on a deal if you try to snow them. It is okay to be honest. A quickie, no-effort website will not get top dollar, but then again it shouldn’t.

5. Build Relationships for the Future

If you are interested in making money online through a repeatable domain flipping process, then you need to establish and grow relationships. The more key, trusted connections that you have, the more profitable and repeatable you domaining business will be. Just like any business.

Do not burn bridges by weaseling over $100 or even $1000. A single solid relationship can help your business profit 10 or 20 times that. Keep providing value and sharing with your partners and they will return the favor in spades over the long run.

Do you have any other negotiation insights or stories that others can learn from?

5 steps to maximize domain parking revenue

Bob Angus — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 06:06:19 +0000

The result you are shooting for from your domain name parking activity is revenue. That is it. You can’t – and should never even want to – do PPC arbitrage. Plus, the only investment expense is the annual domain name fee itself. Most domain parking services are free. So optimizing for ROI is a really simple equation. Just focus on the top line – revenue.

Here are five basic steps to drive your domain name parking revenue:

Select a high traffic domain name
Use a .com TLD
Optimize keywords
Use multiple landing pages
Don’t take a flat rate

Select a high traffic domain name
Domain parking revenue is first and foremost about type-in traffic. Therefore, the best way to get any sizable traffic is to choose a domain name based on keywords or phrases that someone is likely to just type in, rather than do a keyword search on a search engine.

What works best? First, think like someone doing a keyword search. You can use common keyword selection tools to come up with ideas, identify common misspells, and estimate the potential success of your domain. Second, single word and short phrase domains get the highest type-in traffic. Based on those two criteria, my ultimatetoilets.com domain is doomed if I stick with domain parking.

Use a .com TLD
The TLD (top level domain) also has a significant impact on traffic. Domains ending in .com receive the most type-in traffic by a wide margin. Someone looking for Bob Angus is significantly more likely to type in bobangus.com than bobangus.net or the “personal” bobangus.name. The only extra consideration would be country-specific TLDs like .co.uk or the new .mobi TLD for mobile sites.

Optimize keywords
Take advantage of your keyword research again by providing a list of relevant keywords to your domain parking service. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about what they may have been looking for when typing in your domain. By presenting information that visitors want upfront, you reduce the number of clicks before clicking on an ad. This leads to greater conversion rates… and more revenue.

For services like Domain Sponsor, these keywords define your high-level advertisement categories and help further with the automatic optimization process. Until I put in keywords for ultimatebathroom.com, the automatic category selections displayed were all poker and gambling-related items. What do you think my conversion rate was for that? Zilch.

Use multiple landing pages
Cycling multiple landing pages and even custom ones helps you test what works and feeds the advertisement optimization engine. Some domain parking landing pages are completely lame. Assume that visitors are internet savvy. They recognize a link farm or lame site right away and quickly move on without clicking one of your ads. Similar to keywords, you can use a landing page design that shows you care why the visitor is on your site and that you are trying to add value.

Don’t take a flat rate
Your revenues come from pay-per-click advertisements. Just like Google Adsense, you should get paid more for ads presented based on popular keywords. Mortgage-related ads pay out more than ads for potpourri candles. Don’t accept a flat PPC fee from you domain parking service. Make sure that you are getting paid based on a percentage of the total advertising revenue.

Once you get these basics down, the next step is start buying a ton of domain names. And don’t fall into the “all the good domains are taken” mindset. With a little effort, you can capture some significant income.

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Domain parking is SO easy

Bob Angus — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:59:26 +0000

I currently have a few of my domains parked while I build out the design and content for the sites. Domain parking is the easiest money you can make with your domains and it is the basis for a pure domain real estate business model. I am using Revenue.net’s Domain Sponsor service for both ultimatebathroom.com and ultimatetoilets.com. Feel free to check out either page to see how I’ve set them up.

Domain Sponsor is by far the best service that I’ve found to help generate some very small revenue rather than posting an under construction page while I am in development mode. There are other good services like Google Adsense for domains. Or every web hosting provider has a partner that provides domain parking for free.

What is domain parking?

Domain parking is simply an advertising program to monetize type-in traffic visiting your site. Your traffic comes entirely by someone typing in your domain – no Google Adwords or search engine traffic allowed. Based on that, you are not going to see a whole lot of folks hitting your site, even if you have a really common domain name.

Visitors are redirected to a page containing relevant advertising listings and keyword links. These ads and links are pushed by the service and are targeted to the predicted interests of the visitor. Over time the domain parking service further optimizes the ads based on the number of clicks and the payout. The domain owner is then paid via a classic pay-per-click model.

How do I make real money?

“So domain parking is incredibly easy, but I can’t see how you can make any real money.” Well, you really can’t make significant “quit your day job” revenue on an individual site basis. Then again, you can at least cover the annual cost of owning your domain for absolutely zero effort.

For me, I’ve made a whole $3.50 over the past 6 months on ultimatebathroom.com and ultimatetoilets.com – not even close to covering my fees with Go Daddy. Then again, those are terrible domain names to get type-in traffic. I am even amazed that I’ve gotten the 15-20 visits a month (about 1/3 are international).

However, there are domain real estate businesses that are playing a numbers game. If you own thousands of domains, you only have to net $10-$20 per year for each domain to grow a pretty easy nest egg. Additionally, these high volume domain owners are typically using domain parking as an enabler. They make some easy money while trying to sell the domains on the aftermarket. Plus, they can identify sites with real potential for building out and launching, or at least sites that should have a higher resale value.

I will share more on how to optimize your results if you are venturing into the domain real estate business, why Domain Sponsor is the best provider, and how I’ve customized my landing pages in future posts.