Domain Asset Management

Domain Asset Management and New TLDs Driving Leads Through Smart Domain Development Victor H. Pitts, Vice President, Moniker and SnapNames

Domain Experience Since 1995
Moniker.com - more than 2.7M domains under management, with more than 4 million throughout the Oversee Aftermarket and Registrar Division
7 th largest Registrar, plus a network of more than 100 ICANN accredited registrars
Domain sales, escrow, appraisal
First to sell a domain for more than $1M and $2M (Wallstreet.com, Autos.com); more than $100 million in domain sales
Stealth Acquisition specialist
Invented the Domain Appraisal - 460K appraisals to date, IRS Accepted, used for lending and donation
One of the first to monetize domain traffic in 2000
Focus is on Domain Asset Management – Typical client owns 100+ domains
Clients include – Major League Baseball, NHL, Lions Gate Films, Incisivemedia/Jupitermedia, Marchex, and Yahoo!
Host of Domain Masters, every Wednesday at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST –WebmasterRadio.fm
Presented by: Victor H. Pitts Vice President Moniker and SnapNames

Why domains matter
Domains have been continually growing to more than 177 million worldwide
At the same time, aftermarket sales values have been increasing by approximately 20% year-over-year
Upward trend continues showing that even in down or flat markets, domains are increasing in numbers and value
Why?

Why domains matter
Domains are assets that are both collectible and revenue producing
Each domain is unique – no two are exactly alike
Hold an inherent ability to attract traffic
Direct navigation traffic accounts for 10-15% of revenue for Google and Yahoo

Why domains matter
Domains are equal parts pathway and destination … they are both the avenue and the storefront of the internet
Creates the first impression online; Primary way an online consumer interacts with your brand or brand extension
Also the primary way, they locate your online store

Why domains matter
What are the shingles
you hang online doing
to attract business
and convince
people to enter
the store?

How domains can help attract traffic and drive leads
Help define and reposition brand promise
Improve search optimization and search marketing
Counter balance search using direct navigation
Offer an easy way to initiate social media marketing and other engagement techniques

Impact on brand
What are your highest converting keywords associated with your brand (a.k.a., “category killers”)?
Do you own those domains or can competitors move in on your territory and start aligning key attributes with their brand?
Are you making sure people who are looking for you can find you? Lock in traffic and protect your brand associations by registering typos, nicknames, country code TLDs for all regions you operate in and other derivatives.

Impact on brand
Case studies:
ToddlerToys.com =
Toys.com =
CreamCheese.com =
Underwear.com =
Microsft.com =

Improving SEO and SEM
Tie goes to the domain
All things being equal, the domain you use could be the tie breaker to get your site ranked higher
Case Study: Tropical Birds
TropicalBirds.com is a somewhat new site
Outranks the Honolulu Zoo, several aviaries and hundreds of bird/pet stores
Forces others to spend ad dollars for paid listings

Significantly improved inbound link juice
Most people still use your web address to provide links
Which of these links would provide better signal to search engines for the term “spices”?
“ Visit Penzeys.com for the best prices”
“ Visit TheSpiceHouse.com for the best prices”

Consider going “retro”
Keyword domains available on the aftermarket offer additional benefits
Age (unexpired domains)
Page Rank
Link strength
Properly redirected , domains with these attributes can transfer or lend strength to your newer or lower ranked domain

Consider going “retro”
Be sure to do your research
Previous black-hat techniques or bad inbound links associated with the domain could do more harm than good
If research checks out, be careful about updating too much – could get you sandboxed (however, this is widely debated)

Increase response on search marketing ads
Marketing experts we work with recommend testing the domain you use, as well as the rest of the ad
Depending on your product or target audience, display domain does have an impact on response
For example, if you’re in the business of getting travelors to Egypt, which domain is more likely to pull better results?
Egypt.Travel
KensingtonTours.com

No way to really know unless you test first
Best for rebranding strategy or new brands
Google compliance: Will need unique content, if selected domain is not the main website

Counter balance with direct navigation
More than 70% of internet users type in keywords directly into their browser to get to their destination
At more than 4%, direct navigation converts at twice the rate of regular search traffic
Advertisers, such as Garden State Life Insurance, are increasing ad placements on parked sites, and getting better conversions at cheaper rates

Visitor is engaged and clearly has an expressed interest in subject
Makes sense to own keyword domains, cut out the middle man and block the competition
Provides constantly renewing source of interested parties who have self-selected your topic – no bidding required, no budget cap to cut you off
After initial investment, only cost is renewal fee

Three ways to use direct navigation
Simple redirects to main site:
Books.com = BarnsAndNobel.com
Gift.com = JCPenny.com
TennisShoes.com = KSwiss.com
Verticle portals
Baby.com = Johnson & Johnson
Asthma.com = GlaxoSmithKlein
NoFleas.com = Bayer

Three ways to use direct navigation
Re-brand entire company/site
OberonGames.com = iPlay.com
WBZL.com = SouthFlorida.com

Get your visitor engaged
Category Killer keyword domains are well positioned to be used as social networking sites
Case Study: Skateboards.com
Active site
User generated content is free and fresh
Videos, photos, stories
Forums and chat rooms
Site is profitable without any external advertising … all current traffic is direct navigation

Portal site positions your brand as the subject matter expert
Case study: Baby.com
Informational site requires investment and maintenance
Pay off can be significant
Word of mouth increases brand strength

Landing pages can create unique connections
Case study: Jet Blue’s HappyJetting.com
Short-term content, less robust and less maintenance than full portal
Usually funny or lighthearted
Obvious lead generators … sign up for mailing list, download wall paper, play games

What’s the value of a domain?
Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.com
Savings in CPC
Monthly visitors: 10,000
Cost per click on key term: $3.98*
Monthly savings in CPC: $39,800
Annual savings in CPC: $477,600
*Per SpyFu.com Dec. 19, 2008

New Revenue
Monthly visitors: 10,000
Typical conversion rate on website: 2%*
Estimated new customers monthly: 200
Estimated new customers annually: 2400
Average profit per new customer: $100-$250*
Estimated profit from new domain: $240,000-$600,000
*Variable data – assumptions made to show potential. Actual values will vary depending on specific profit margin and conversion rate.

Overview
Estimated annual value (revenue or CPC): $500,000
Years to reach ROI: 5
Value of 5 year investment: $2.5 million
Current asking price: $???
How much will the financial services industry segment spend in advertising this year? $1.1 billion in display only Q1 & Q2 2008.

Ways to acquire domains
Registration – most single-word and two-word premium domains are gone
Aftermarket is new primary market
Live Domain Auctions
Two main online sales platforms
Auctions
Listing services
Expired and Deleting domain services
Private brokerage and stealth acquisitions

Questions?

Domain Asset Management

by Vong on Aug 11, 2009

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