Dnforum

Dnforum.com

DNForum is one of the most popular domain name forums on the Internet. It’s a must read for any serious domainer.

History

DNForum was started by Dan Gessler, a teenager in Virginia, USA. In 2002, the website was averaging around 12,000 banner views a day and around 750 unique visitors a day.

Dan sold in the forum, reportedly for a few thousand dollars, to Greg Ricks from Texas. In a controversial move, Greg introduced paid memberships. The result was an increase in revenue with many of the DNF faithful staying on board.

In 2003 the forum was purchased by Adam Dicker, who still maintains it today under the name DotComGod.

Source: WebhostingTalk

Drop Cycle

Also known as a Domain Name Life Cycle or The Drop.

OVT Matcher

OVT Matcher allows you to import lists of domain names and see if they are present in the Overture results for Jan, Feb and March 2007.

Advantages:

* You can work offline without an internet connection.
* Very fast.
* Automatically extracts domain names from drop catching lists.
* You can export data to the clipboard or text formats such as csv.

Cost: US$199 with free updates.

Location: OVTMatcher

Clickstream Data

A clickstream is an electronic log or record of a users Internet activity. It includes HTTP data such as URL’s visited, browser type, how long a user accessed a web page, referrer details etc. ISP’s typically do not sell your name, but do identify you as a specific user.

Many ISP’s resell clickstream data to Internet marketing companies. The price per user, per month has been reported as US$0.40 cents.

Sources: Seeking Alpha and Clickstream data mart

Typo Domains

Typo domains and the practice known as “typosquatting” is the registration of common misspelled domain names. For example, “mortgeges.com” instead of “mortgages.com”.

Some typo domains can generate a lot of type-in traffic but they may not be a good long term investment. Depending on the domain name, there could be several issues ranging from potential trademark and legal issues, through to national security issues.

Trend Watching

Trend watching is a long term strategy and can be very lucrative.

The concept is that you anticipate what domains are going to become popular and register them first. To watch trends successfully, you need good sources and a very creative mind.

The most effective way to start trend watching is to pick a few niches that you are comfortable with. Then subscribe to a few blogs, press release sites and other intelligence sources, then read, read and read! Watch for new standards, technologies, and emerging products. Once you hear of a current trend, quickly buy up relevant domains. Remember that not all trends will pan out and it is important to diversify your holdings so that you are not focusing too heavily on one trend.

When it comes to trend watching, you need to be very careful about the possibility of infringing on trademarks. If you think a domain name could have trademark implications, then don’t register it.

Marchex Model

The Marchex Model came about when the company Marchex Inc, paid $164 million for 100,000 high-quality hand selected domains from Yun Ye. It was reported at the time that the names were generating $19 million in annual revenue. This makes the purchase price approximately 8.6 times the revenue.

The Marchex investment strategy was to:

a) obtain a number of high quality domains in the $1k to $5k range

b) leverage the type it in traffic

While the four figure purchase price eliminates the casual domainer, Marchex face higher risks. However its possible for them to receive significantly higher returns.

Domain Name Aftermarket

The domain name aftermarket is a marketplace in the form of a website, where domain owners can list their domains and buyers can purchase them. Think of it as an eBay for domainers.

Aftermarket Charges

The company that runs the aftermarket usually charges the seller a portion of the sale price. There are many different pricing models, however this one is the most common. Typically buyers do not pay any fees, but they do have to register with the aftermarket provider.

Quite often, the aftermarket provider allows the seller to add optional features to increase the exposure of their listed domain name.

What Should I Buy?

That’s the big question! It depends on how much money you have and what your own risk profile is.

For example, if you run an ecommerce site selling widgets and you happen to come across a widget domain name that has traffic coming to it, you should consider buying it. Why? Because you could divert the traffic to your main widget site. This practice is often cheaper and more effective than advertising. Not only could it increase your sales, customer lists etc.. but you have an asset at the end of it!

Who Are Some Reputable Aftermarket Providers?

Both Sedo and Afternic are good places to start.

When visiting an aftermarket website, use the search box to enter a keyword that you have an interest in. You will then get a list showing the domains for sale that include your keyword. If you are interested in a domain from the list, bid on it and try to negotiate with the owner of the domain.

Before making an offer you should study the market in detail. You do not want to overpay but you also do not want to bid too low because you may not even get a reply from the seller. Some aftermarket providers such as Sedo, give the domain name owner to cut off negotiations, so bid too low, expecting that it will be a lengthy negotiation process.

Volume Buying

Volume buying typically involves using a computer program to automatically search for available domains that meet a specific criteria. Domains are then purchased as a result of this search and tested. Of course, domain name registrars have an advantage here as they can taste domain names and return them within the 5-day refund period. As such, it costs them virtually nothing.

The average domainer simply cannot do this without custom developed research tools. Those that you can “buy off the shelf” on Internet web sites are simply not going to work effectively.

As more and more domain investors are using automated volume buying tools, the best domains are taken quickly. However, if you are creative with your keywords and criteria, you could still find a good deal.

TrafficZ

Established in 2001, TrafficZ is one of the older parking companies around. It’s company, Thought Convergence, Inc is based in California, USA. TrafficZ uses Overture/Yahoo as its advertising feed.

Advantages:

•    One click landing pages (subject to domain qualification)
•    5% of referral income
•    Statistics are excellent
•    Automatic optimization or you can manually configure
•    Domain for sale sign
•    Pop ups are optional
•    Payments via Paypal or cheque with a minimum payout of US$25.
•    Min wire transfer is US$5,000 per month to international clients.

TrafficZ has a minimum of 50 domains for interested members but they will make exceptions if you have a unique and high traffic domain name.