Weekly Domain Sales Breakdown
Domain Sales for the week of June 10, 2013 to June 16, 2013
Afternic’s sales totaled $1,202,401.
The top public sale for the past week was Quif.com, which sold for $20,000.
The Specials category came in first, accounting for 13.0% of all domains sold in the past week, followed by Computers at 10.4%.
Below please find the list of highlighted public domain sales.
Want to see your names on this list? Join Afternic today.
How to prepare for a domain auction.
Whether you are in the market for a particular domain name, or looking to expand your domain portfolio, domain auctions offer a plethora of new investment opportunities worth exploring. Before you start purchasing domains, however, there a few steps you must take to properly prepare for your purchase and ensure that you’re making the most of your investment.
Know Your Budget
One of the greatest draws to a domain auction is the low prices. Whether the auction has low or no reserve prices, you have the chance to name your price and make an offer on a domain. But what happens when you find yourself in a bidding war? This is when knowing your budget is crucial. Your initial offer may be well under the amount you are willing to spend, but if the bidding continues to rise you must know your limit. Setting a budget for yourself, or for a particular domain, will help you to purchase a domain at the appropriate value.
Learn About Your Prospective Domain
Among the long list of domains available in an auction are expired domains, which for one reason or another, current owners have abandoned. While there’s nothing wrong with many expired domains, it is essential to obtain some background information on your prospective domain. Determining how old the domain is and its traffic potential are great starting points, but learning how the domain was originally used is also important. If the domain was used in an illegal manner, such as spamming, it will be difficult to recover its SEO potential should you choose to develop it after purchase.
Be Patient
In any transaction, both the buyer and the seller are anxious to complete the sale in a fast manner. However, this is normally not the case in a domain auction. Domain auctions often run for a specified period of time and each domain is open to any buyer throughout that time period. Unless there is a “Buy Now” option within the auction, you may be stuck watching for opposing bidders throughout the auction’s duration.
Weekly Domain Sales Breakdown
Domain Sales for the week of June 3, 2013 to June 9, 2013
Afternic’s sales totaled $1,103,800.
The top public sale for the past week was TheCompany.com, which sold for $37,500.
The Specials category came in first, accounting for 13.2% of all domains sold in the past week, followed by Computers at 10.8%.
Below please find the list of highlighted public domain sales.
Want to see your names on this list? Join Afternic today.
Employ your next best investment today!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has experienced a small decrease in percentage since January, and currently resides at 7.5%. In the last month, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000, indicating a growth trend for overall job opportunities. With the slow growth of the U.S. economy, and the projection that it will reach full employment by 2021, now is the ideal time to take advantage of Employable.com.
High Search Volume
When purchasing a new domain name, incredible search potential is a must. With over 126 million searches for terms related to “Employable” each month, Employable.com promises healthy traffic, indicating strong potential to generate a return on investment.
Growing Future Potential
As job openings grow in numbers and job seekers refer to increasing online postings to start their hunt for new career prospects, Employable.com presents the perfect opportunity to develop the next hub for job listings or helpful tips and advice on how to get hired. Although there are several established job sites, Employable.com offers a unique, keyword-rich domain name that with the proper development is sure to take off!
For more information, please contact Josh Martin at 781-839-2821 or by email at jmartin@afternic.com.
If you have considered selling your domain, you may have also thought about the possibility of domain leasing. While an outright sale might be your first choice, domain name leasing is an alternative that offers both advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the lease agreement, the leasee, and what you want out of the deal, leasing might be a viable avenue worth exploring in your quest to sell your domain name.
Pro: Leasing serves as a stepping stone for purchase.
As a seller, you want to make the highest possible profit on your domain sale. While it’s important to know the value of your domain and have an ideal selling price in mind, you’ll need to find a buyer who is willing and able to pay that price. By finding a buyer who equally values your domain, you’ll have the opportunity to make a great sale, but sometimes a few extras months to raise funds is necessary. So instead of walking away from purchase potential, allow the prospective buyers a lease to buy agreement that gives them time to come up with the appropriate amount of cash to buy the domain outright after the lease term.
Con: You cannot accept other offers for purchase.
Unless you’ve included clauses in the lease agreement that allow you to break the lease to sell to a higher bidder, you are stuck in your current lease situation. Even if a new buyer presents an offer you can’t refuse, you’ve already made a commitment to your leasee and if they have intent to purchase at the end of your leasing term you’re not missing out on a sale completely.
Pro: With new development, your domain gains more exposure.
While you remain the sole owner of your domain through the entire term of the lease, your leasee will have the rights to develop your domain in the way they choose. By correctly developing the site and working to draw traffic to it through SEO or PPC campaigns, your domain will gain more visibility and credibility. This will be especially beneficial should the leasee back out at any time, which will give you the opportunity to put it back on the market.
Con: Domain development may harm your domain’s value.
Domain development does offer the opportunity to increase visibility, but it also runs the risk of damaging your domain’s “reputation.” If your leasee develops the domain in an inappropriate manner, whether including illegal material or spam, your domain runs the risk of losing value. In order to avoid this, you should include a clause in the lease agreement that prevents the leasee from incorporating any damaging material on your domain.
Find your next buyer in two simple steps.
If you’re looking to complete a fast and profitable domain sale, you’ll need a proactive selling approach. Instead of sitting back and waiting for your next buyer to approach you with an offer, it’s beneficial for you to conduct a bit of your own research in order to locate potential prospects.
Research Who’s Paying for Rank
When it comes to gaining a positive search engine ranking, companies have two options available to them. They can choose to pursue an organic strategy, hoping that their SEO efforts will help them to rise naturally in the search rankings, or they may utilize a pay-per-click strategy that allows them to choose what keyword searches they would like to be visible for. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but most companies would probably prefer an organic approach if it were to work successfully.
Not every company is fortunate enough to earn high page rank and a great click through rate organically though, and this is where the PPC approach can come in and provide an alternative method of visibility. If the domain you are trying to sell fits a particular keyword, you should be searching that term to see what companies are using PPC for search placement. For example, if you own DogWalkers.com, you will want to Google “Dog Walkers” to determine what businesses are paying for ad space on that search query.
If these companies are willing to invest in a PPC advertising campaign, they might also be willing to make an investment in a keyword-rich domain that would benefit their organic approach.
Prospect on LinkedIn
This same search approach is beneficial on LinkedIn as well. Whether you focus on companies that incorporate your domain’s keyword in their company name, or in their description, you’ll want to add them to potential prospects.
Sticking with the earlier example of “Dog Walkers,” you have the same opportunity on LinkedIn to search for both companies and groups that match that term. Companies who incorporate “Dog Walkers” into their title will appear at the top of your search, where you can click to see more information and potentially find a contact worth following up with. You’ll also find groups that will include followers that are both in the “industry” or interested in the product or service.
Both of these outlets offer a perfect chance to find potential buyers that have a stronger buying potential than any random buyer that you might approach.
Weekly Domain Sales Breakdown
Domain Sales for the week of May 20, 2013 to June 2, 2013
Afternic’s sales totaled $2,267,480.
The top public sale for the past week was Woi.com, which sold for $35,000.
The Specials category came in first, accounting for 13.4% of all domains sold in the past week, followed by Computers at 10.8%.
Below please find the list of highlighted public domain sales.
Want to see your names on this list? Join Afternic today.
The benefits of tapping into the new gTLD web space.
While no one can be certain how the internet, or its users, will react to the launch and development of the new gTLDs, we can be sure that the new extensions offer a plethora of new possibilities worth exploring. Whether you’ve applied for an extension yourself, or hope to take advantage of an open gTLD after launch, you’ll want to leverage one of the many benefits that come with your new gTLD.
Simplify Your Online Real Estate
If you’re lucky enough to acquire your brand extension, such as .Apple for example, you have the opportunity to compile all of your online real estate under one extension. Continuing with the idea of .Apple, one might consider all of their sub-brands under this extension, so iPod.Apple, iPad.Apple, or iPhone.Apple, might be the domains of the near future. By “housing” all of your sub-brands under a common extension, you have the chance to simplify your digital footprint, making it even easier for consumers to find you online.
Become Easily Searchable
By consolidating all of your web space under one particular brand extension, you will also improve your searchability. The common extensions will help to provide an easily navigable experience for users, simplifying the way we search. There is even the chance that the way we search will be changing. Instead of referring predominantly to popular search engines, such as Google or Bing, the new gTLDs have potential to create their own search engines. So instead of searching for iPod.Apple, you might refer to the Apple search page and then search for the iPod extension.
As the internet grows exponentially, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to trust every website you stumble upon. A lot of factors enter into gaining consumers trust on your website, one of which is your domain name. Domains that are long and hyphenated might send a red flag to customers, and cause them to search elsewhere for what they are looking for. The new gTLDs, however, have the potential to offer more consumer security. Using a brand name extension, with multiple sub-brands, will earn you credibility and in turn allow consumers to feel more comfortable about the information you offer on your website.
Are your advertorials hurting your SEO?
Yesterday Matt Cutts posted a new video on YouTube reiterating Google’s policies on Advertorials. While Google has not changed anything in their Advertorial policies recently, the WebSpam team, led by Matt Cutts, has noticed an increase in companies and individuals who violate the standing guidelines. As Cutts mentions, Google strives to create an internet atmosphere that is fair to everyone. However, in an effort to ensure a level playing field for all, Google’s consequences are sometimes detrimental to a business’ success online. So rather than getting caught unaware of the guidelines that rule one of the most essential search engines of the web, it’s best to learn and understand what the experts have to offer.
In the opening minute of Cutts new video he explains what an “Advertorial” is. Since many of us are familiar with the term editorial, he uses that as a point of reference, emphasizing that an Advertorial (or Native Advertising) is very similar to editorial content. The difference being that advertorial content is actually paid content.
This small detail presents the very problem of Google’s current predicament. Many content publishers are either subconsciously, or purposefully, excluding full disclosure that particular posts are paid. If “people” – search engines and readers – are unaware of what they are reading, it simply is not fair. Therefore, Cutts suggests the following two guidelines:
In order to provide the appropriate disclosure to these audiences, articles should be clear and include the proper labels, such as “Advertisement” or “Sponsored,” directly in the article. By recognizing payment and publishing these captions, Google will have no reason to flag content for being misrepresentative.
On the other hand, people who continue to ignore this will be vulnerable to the deletion of inadequately displayed content and also the loss of other content, should their misuse of the search engine policies persist.
Make a profit by mastering the domain sale.
If selling was a one way street, completing a domain sale would be infinitely easier. Unfortunately, selling requires more than making the decision that you’re ready to sell one or more domains. Since buyers are crucial to a successful domain sale, taking their perspective into consideration can be a huge advantage in making a profit on the sale of your domains.
Target a Specific End User
While it’s tempting to try to attract any and all potential buyers, this approach will not be very effective in selling your domain in a quick and efficient manner. If you’re serious about selling your domain and making a profit when doing so, you’ll want to search for buyers who have a related need, which will mean targeting a specific end user. If your domain fits a particular industry or niche market, take the time to conduct your own research and find out which individuals could benefit the most from your domain.
Promote Where Buyers Are Looking
Of course you can post your domain everywhere, but it will only be helpful if it’s visible to buyers. If, for example, you post on your personal blog about your domain being for sale, but your blog is about pet care and the domain is targeted towards landscapers, chances are you are not reaching the right audience. A better resource to take advantage of would be a domainer’s blog. Someone in the domaining industry, that attracts the attention of both domain sellers and buyers, will have a better chance of spreading the word to the right people who actually have buying potential.
Another great promotional tool today is social media. The use of hashtags, such as “#domains,” provides you with the perfect opportunity to get your domain sale noticed in the right conversations and puts you in front of more promising buyers.
Utilize Domain Selling Tools
In addition to promoting your domain on your social networks, there are numerous buying and selling platforms online that provide a greater opportunity for your domain’s visibility. By listing your domain or domain portfolio on a domain marketplace site, such as Afternic, you can increase awareness about your domains for sale. You can also target specific end users, as mentioned earlier, by categorizing and pricing your domain so interested buyers can narrow results to exactly what they are looking for.
