THE DOMAINING WORLD - GET IN THE GAME (FOR NEWBIES)

The domain business is booming and presents an exciting world but Newbies beware...like any other business it requires great attention to detail and a certain business acumen.

Dan McCullough of DomainCounts.com who is an experienced Domainer has contributed the following with some very useful information to avoid the many pitfalls.

A Domain is a Domain is a Domain...

Many of you newcomers are sitting with your wallets open and credit cards at the ready. Why not pocket the Credit Cards for a moment.Take your time, you are already mostly way late to the Type-in dance.
 

Type-in Domains

Type-ins are domains that get traffic/visitors (directly in the URL address bar) without any need for search engines. There are a few types of type-in domains. High profile generic words like Hospital.com , Cars.com , Music.com without much struggle, you can see that those types of names are valuable because for as long as the internet resembles today, those names will bring in type-in traffic . These types of names rarely ever drop anymore, especially in the DotCom extension.

Those names (high profile generic DotComs that is) are long gone...the registration rights to them are already owned; if you want them, you need to contact the owners with cash in hand...lots and lots of cash.These are for the most part the names you see in the Press Releases.

Developed Type-ins

Next we have the type-in domains that only get type-ins because the names were once registered before and had been developed websites...SmithsCandy.com type names. When a company or individual builds a website it generates traffic through the search engines.

As the business grows in terms of customers/visitors, surfers bookmark the site or just recall the address and type-in the URL when they wish to go back to the site. If the company then goes out of business or simply forgets to renew the domain, domainers and "cybersquatters" are at liberty use drop services to try to capture the name once it actually drops.

Most drop services now run Auctions. If the service captures the name at drop, then they hold an auction...you simply need to bid more than the next bidder to get the name. However, charges of corruption run wild in the auction scene just as they do with the orginal online auction house - Ebay. It is best to read up on all the domain drops and auction services to see what people are saying about each.

The drop and Auction scene is still popular though .. you can find drops and auction lists all over. Here are a few to get you started:

Typo Domains

Pretty self explanatory...typo names get type-in traffic because someone typed in the wrong letters to a word they already know, for example, Gogle.com instead of Google.com. Riding the coattails of an established company can get you C&D letters, a lawsuit or you may be lucky for them they not to care much and turn a blind eye. By and large though, this is risky business and most companies will send you a C&D and request transfer of the name to prevent unauthorised profiting on their Trademark.

There are plenty of generic Typo names that wont get you in any trouble...I own CreditCounsler.com for example...and I am building a small site on the Typo to gain more traffic than it would receive on just type-ins. On average, a parked Typo does not earn much to speak about but with a little development, it can make $xx...of course, the more pages, the more money.

Keyword Domains

Keyword domains may or may not have type-in traffic. The main thing to bear in mind when looking for keyword domains...is to locate Keywords that have high search value. You can use a tool like Word Tracker or Overture Suggestion Tool which provides search results without extension.

You need to make sure that your keywords have have good marketability and that the terms are actually being searched. Take aluminum fishing boats for example...the Overture Suggestion Tool shows that roughly 4,000 searches were done in the month prior to my wrting which confirms that there is a market (people actually searching for Aluminum, Fishing Boats)...not a huge amount, but there is a market for them.

Even without Type-ins, Keyword domains hold value because they make great domains for developing in the search engines because the SE's give a certain amount of weight to the domain name...(is it reflective of the search) , and because of image .if you sell or want to promote Aluminum Fishing Boats... then the name you want is AluminumFishingBoats.com not OurFamilyBoatsSale.com.

The nice thing about Keyword domains is you can still register them in a wide range of extensions .Net , .Info , .Pro , .Ws , .Biz,.Org. Keyword domains do sell in the domain aftermarket (after registration), from investors to end users.

Extensions

Extensions do matter when it comes to resale value and propspects for development:

DotCom is the most popular, the most recognizable extension and generally has the most type-ins; the exception in some instances being CCTLDS (Country Code extensions such as, DotDE, DotUS, DotCODotUK etc...).

DotDe is the country code for Germany and the DotDE address is used and is extremely popular in Germany. So it holds value for Companies outside of Germany wanting to wrap tehmselves in the German brand.

Generally, next in value (depending upon a number of variables...you will slowly learn), are:

-DotNet/DotInfo

-DotBiz

Followed by CCTLDS such as:

-DotDE

-DotUS

-DotCODotUK

Traffic

Traffic is what makes the internet go round and for the advertisers to open their wallet. The more on target your traffic, the higher it's value to the advertisers and the more they'll be willing to pay .This is really what it's all about...TRAFFIC...and it isnt always about the most traffic either...other variables count:

Quality of Traffic (generic or targeted);

Origin of Traffic (geo-location);

Amount of Traffic;

Amount advertisers are willing to pay for the traffic.

Development

Some find it easier to simply develop their domains...this is the main path I have taken and many others are following suite. The reason is that, if you have a type-in domain that makes $5 a month parked...you would need 100 other domains just like it to make $500 a month because each domain only has one access point...MyDomain.com.

But, what if you took MyDomain.com, built a website and simply developed 100 pages of good content and could make $5 on each of those pages. Another thing to bear in mind is that with the developed site 100 pages are available for ranking by Google but most wont rank parked pages.

The advertisors do not care where the traffic comes from as long as it is quality targetted traffic. ..the better targetted traffic is, the more advertisers will pay. To capitalise here, you will need to learn basic web devlopment as well as basic SEO.

Opportunities Abound

So while you may not be able to open up your wallet and purchase Airlines.com, one can certainly register Airlines.ws and monitize it through development.

One can also play the Typo game successfully...many can relate to this niche as they come naturally in using any keyboard. It may very well present a rewarding niche for some of us to find quality Typo names that can generate income.

What of CCTLDs: You can invest in country code domains (ccTLDS) such as DotCn (CHINA) as a another niche market but a few questions are in order: Is China really about to break open...are they increasing their openess in general to the business world...is online trade in China increasing?

If one is satisfied with the answers then one could set about seeking to exploit this market fairly inexpensively. DOTIn (India) is is a very huge market and is worth considering.

Investments can be made in high quality keywords in alternative extensions. The question is...does DotInfo make sense to you and what is your perception of its value to others?

DotPro has many restrictions but in recent times there has been a general relaxation of those rules. The time may be right to be a "first mover" with this extension. DotWs is considered an odd ball but I have done quite well with some developed names.

The Domain business is far more than just Cars.com type domains...you can make a few bucks from domaining as a hobby, or you can make a living and build wealth through a variety of ways...the opportunities are there...but there are no shortcuts.

It requires a strong work ethic to research, a good understanding of Domaining and the patience to register the right domains.

The foregoing are just a few of the basics ...something to get you thinking about instead, of dreaming of registering the next million dollar name .. the odds are; its just not going to happen...and definitely won't happen if the basics are not understood and the proper research done.

Good Luck!!