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.

Parking Companies

There are a large number of companies that monetize traffic using pay-per-click advertising, including:

* ActiveAudience
* Bodis
* GoDaddy Cash Parking
* DomainHop
* DomainSpa
* Domain Sponsor
* Dotzup
* Fabulous
* Goldkey
* iMonetize
* NameDrive
* Parked
* ParkingDots
* Parking Panel
* RevenueDirect
* Sedo
* SmartName
* TrafficZ
* Traffic Valet

Your results will vary between parking companies due to a variety of factors including the advertising network used, fraud mechanisms, number of bidders on a particular keyword or keyphrase.

Differences Between Parking Companies

Let’s get one thing straight: not all parking companies are the same!

Yes, they pretty much get their ad feeds from the same popular ad networks. However, their rules about how you can lay out your pages, where you can place ads, whether, and the extent to which, you can add or modify page content, can vary widely. And that’s not to mention the differences in terms of payouts.

For example, some companies allow the home page of your domain to display a page that lists a number of topics (but not ads) and it’s only when a visitor clicks on a topic that they are taken to a page where ads may be viewed. In other words, making money with such companies requires a two‐step conversion. The visitor must click on a topic, and then on one of the ads before you generate any income. However, that does not necessarily mean that you should avoid working with such parking companies. In some cases, they may actually generate more conversions and income than another parking company that allows ads to be displayed on the home page of your domain. I’ve certainly experienced this with some of my domain names.

Parking Strategy

Don’t rely on just one parking company. Sign up for as many parking companies as you can and move your portfolio around to see what works best. Even if you have a highly converting domain, earning you a lot of money, don’t accept that this is as good as it can be. You never really know how “high is high” without trying lots of different things.

You really need to test, test, test in order to work out what works best.

Tips For Choosing A Parking Company

1. Are they talked about in a positive light on popular domain forums?
2. Do they have a track record of paying their customers on time?
3. Do they have staff in industry forums that respond to posts?

Some of the more popular companies that answer “yes” to these questions include Parked, Sedo, Fabulous and NameDrive.

Who Should I Park With?

Parking Companies

There are a large number of companies that monetize traffic using pay-per-click advertising, including:

•    ActiveAudience
•    Bodis
•    GoDaddy Cash Parking
•    DomainHop
•    DomainSpa
•    Domain Sponsor
•    Dotzup
•    Fabulous
•    Goldkey
•    iMonetize
•    NameDrive
•    Parked
•    ParkingDots
•    Parking Panel
•    RevenueDirect
•    Sedo
•    SmartName
•    TrafficZ
•    Traffic Valet

Your results will vary between parking companies due to a variety of factors including the advertising network used, fraud mechanisms, number of bidders on a particular keyword or keyphrase.

Differences Between Parking Companies

Let’s get one thing straight: not all parking companies are the same!

Yes, they pretty much get their ad feeds from the same popular ad networks. However, their rules about how you can lay out your pages, where you can place ads, whether, and the extent to which, you can add or modify page content, can vary widely. And that’s not to mention the differences in terms of payouts.

For example, some companies allow the home page of your domain to display a page that lists a number of topics (but not ads) and it’s only when a visitor clicks on a topic that they are taken to a page where ads may be viewed. In other words, making money with such companies requires a two‐step conversion. The visitor must click on a topic, and then on one of the ads before you generate any income. However, that does not necessarily mean that you should avoid working with such parking companies. In some cases, they may actually generate more conversions and income than another parking company that allows ads to be displayed on the home page of your domain. I’ve certainly experienced this with some of my domain names.

Parking Strategy

Don’t rely on just one parking company. Sign up for as many parking companies as you can and move your portfolio around to see what works best. Even if you have a highly converting domain, earning you a lot of money, don’t accept that this is as good as it can be. You never really know how “high is high” without trying lots of different things.

You really need to test, test, test in order to work out what works best.

Tips For Choosing A Parking Company

1.    Are they talked about in a positive light on popular domain forums?
2.    Do they have a track record of paying their customers on time?
3.    Do they have staff in industry forums that respond to posts?

Some of the more popular companies that answer “yes” to these questions include Parked, Sedo, Fabulous and NameDrive.

Sedo

Sedo (Search Engine for Domain Offers) has more than 500,000 members with domains in 21 languages. Its CEO, Tim Schumacher heads up 160 employees in 25 countries.

Corporate

Sedo is a subsidiary company of the AdLINK Internet Media AG under the United Internet AG.

History

Sedo was founded in 1999 in Cologne, Germany by university students Tim Schumacher, Marius Würzner, Ulrich Priesner and Ulrich Essmann.

Parking

Sedo provides services for domain owners such as listing domains for sale through straight sales, auctions, and parking. An account is free to park your domains and there are fees if you want to sell your domains.

Benefits of using Sedo include:

•    Negotiating directly with people who visit your parking page and are interested in purchasing your domain.
•    Revenue through their pay per click program,
•    Choose one keyword for each parked domain (reviewed and approved by Sedo)
•    Commission based affiliate program.

There is no minimum requirement to join Sedo and take advantage of the services offered by the company. The interface is user friendly and easy to use. You can receive payment through paypal, check, or a wire transfer into an account you have setup.

Sedo Pro

Sedo Pro is a professional parking service for serious domainers. It’s based on an application process and analysis of your domain name portfolio with regard to the quality of traffic.

You must “have a minimum of 200 domains or $200/ month in domain parking earnings in order to join”. In order to apply you will need a Sedo Pro referral code. If you would like a Sedo Pro referral code then please email support with a subject of “Sedo Pro Code” and we will email you one.