effective_domaining_strategies-jeremy_wright.ppt

1001 Domain Buying Tips Jeremy Wright, CEO, [email_address]

Secret Formula for the PERFECT Domain

1-99: Domain Basics

100-199: Domain SEO Tips
One hyphen rarely hurts, two isn’t pretty, 3+ is evil
Consider buying entire sites (not just domains) for SEO value
If you’re buying within an industry, look for a common “footprint” (“Powered by WordPress” for blogs, or use an OLDER version # to find older blogs)
Don’t be afraid to buy a half dozen secondary, descriptive, domains and either 301 them or push to them using in-content links (extra 3 hours can mean 15-20% traffic lift)
Resources:
SMX Advanced sessionon buying domains for SEO http://www.localseoguide.com/smx-advanced-seo-domain-buying/

201-249: Typability = Findability = Traffic
A single hyphen hurts two-word domains as much as it helps, so your call
Avoid double letters ( www.toppartners.com … is that one P or two? … If you have to explain the spelling, find a new domain)
Use .com’s as primary domain, but buy others and redirect / use in-content deep links from other domains
Don’t mis-spell unless it helps with branding
Check the right spelling/hyphenated versions to make sure your domain is safe ( www.play-girlz.com is our girl gaming blog … if you don’t spell it right it’s NSFW!)
Resources:
Patrick O’Keefe’s Guide to Domain Buying: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/buy-ultimate-domain-name/2/

250-499: Good Domain Branding
Develop a set of “descriptive” words for your coverage (in celebs we use “news, groupie, fan, etc” and consider appending to the core subject of what the domain is for
Build a whiteboard full of names about your industry (short and punchy) and use www.instantdomainsearch.com to quickly see if dozens of variations are available
Words in other languages work better than you might think
Try not to misspell domains
There is branding, descriptiveness and SEO – you often have to choose 2 of them as priorities
Resources
NetSubstance Domain Suggestion Tool: www.netsubstance.com

500-749: Domain Age Matters
Older is better than younger
Don’t change the subject of the site
Don’t change the URL structure
Don’t change the registrant information
Think like an old domain (ie: NO SEO PRINCIPLES)
Resources:
Jim Boynkin’s Buying Old Sites: http://www.jimboykin.com/screw-the-sandbox-buy-and-old-site/
Shoemoney on Buying Sites for Domaining: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMuM7umhIdk

750-849: Using Data to Choose Between Domains
Having 2 great domain options is one of the worst challenges
Use MATH to solve the problem!
Assign values to each of the criteria YOU use to buy domains
Assign a dollar value to the domain you could live with
Multiply that by the “lift” of the second domain
If it costs more than the “lift”, or if won’t drive more traffic, or if growing it wouldn’t be more expensive, buy the original domain

850-899: Where to Find Good Domains
Sitepoint Marketplace ( www.sitepoint.com/marketplace )
Domain suggestion tools:
http://domain-suggestions.domaintools.com/
http://www.domainit.com/domain-suggest-tool.mhtml
www.nametumbler.com
www.domainsbot.com
http://www.bustaname.com/
Auction houses:
Moniker
Sedo
Afternic
GreatDomains
Resources:
Domain Name Goldrush Series @ Sitepoint: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/name-goldrush-1-rules-play/

900-949: Domain Mailing Lists
Find regular sellers of domain names, most of them maintain a mailing list of 50-500 people
Judge the quality of the domains before paying the price for them (some are free, some are upwards of 250$/year)
If you get a good domain a month, it’s worth the price of admission
Don’t be afraid to ask a larger Sedo seller if they maintain a mailing list
If you’re AT ALL interested in a domain on a mailing list, snatch it up. The worst that’ll happen is you sell it to someone else for the same price

950-1000: Tips for Buying Domains / Sites
Lowball but don’t offend
Make the seller state a price, but assume he’ll go for half of it
Counter, counter, counter
Have contracts and such READY for when you get a deal – don’t allow cold feet to set in
When transferring domains, use a trust to avoid triggering engines that the domain has changed hands
Consider what you can afford (hint: it’s probably more than you think)
Eg: Cost to get a new site to 10K pageviews/month using CPC? 1000$/month for 6 months… So a site doing 10K pageviews could be worth 6K to YOU.
Resources:
http://seoroi.com/seo-roi-quality/buying-sites-use-trusts-beneficial-title/
http://www.seodiva.net/2008/09/17/buying-an-old-domain-name/

1001: Find a Domain You’re HAPPY With
Cause switching’s a bitch

Get in Touch
This deck: http://www.ensight.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/pubcon-domaining.ppt
Email: [email_address]
Twitter: @jeremywright
Skype: jeremy_wright
Cell: 416 726 3602
www.b5media.com – global blog network
www.bizzia.com – leading business content
www.starked.com – entertainment and celebrity news

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