Australian Domain Name Blog

I haven’t posted for a while so I thought I’d add an update. Looks like I am up past the 240 mark domain wise and I have been dabbling in the aftermarket. It appears as if I have brokered a valuable domain (90K – not mine) to a potential partner that may be setting up a business and developing the name with them.

I have also identified a few prime targets locally for sale. Now it’s the age old problem of finding the funds to buy these names and develop them. I have spent over 3.5K on new registrations alone this year and I haven’t done as much work as I should have, but domains are a moment in time. I have already missed a couple of batches I had my eye on to local domainers and from now on I have promised myself to avoid the pain and heart ache of loosing such good names.

Oh well, another domain lesson learnt. Reg while you can.

I can tell you what insipres me in two words. Domain Names.

Why domain names? Because of the potent marketing vehicles they represent. I love optimising and ranking Web Pages and Websites, domains facilitate this. Good domains only add to the hard work I do to garner traffic from the search engine’s. How about Increased CTR from the serps, increased CTR on the site, increased return visits due the the memorable domain it is, as well as the guaranteed risk-free new customers typing my domain name into the address bar to have a look and see if there is a site there.

This is only really the beginning. Domain names open doors and allow you to compete with long-established and dominant market players. A good domain name is and always will be prestegious, this will only grow over time as the World becomes more educated about this potent new media that is far from new. Man’s Real New Friend (and Woman’s too )

Good generic names are usually only found in the aftermarket (still possible in certain ccTLD’s and what I call weird extensions). A good generic name includes the ‘Billboard Test’, is it Billboard memorable?

If yes it’s time to explore the plural and combinations if over one word. Sometimes both may be available in .com and your extension of choice, if it is good, register them all and 301 redirect what you do not use to the domains you do use as a manner of practice.

Keyword Research, Spray & Pray and Brainstorming are the three main methods I use to find good generic domain names. I also find watching TV and exposure to other Media Types encourages out of the box thinking, new ideas and sometimes you can get the scoop on something before it happens.

Another excellent method is leveraging your relationship with friends and collegues to get an insight into their Industry and what they would do online if they had an unlimited budget, what they think is hot online and other random questions to glean competitive and tips for good domains or niches to expore now or in the future.

I also find maintaining a file with all your domain research inside, pref a xls spreadsheet to be very valuable – expecially search counts over time. I group mine via Keyword and include search count data to compare with down the track and ensure the data is normalised to some degree (I also use other methods to nomalise search counts). From these files I remove the domains as I register them and keep a central web site that is password protected that hosts links to the sites I build out based on niche.

Most of my generic names are .com.au and they are easy to find but most are not ROI positive via PPC so many ramain unregistered. Naturally I expect this to change rapidly over the next year as both regulations relax and Internet facilities in Australia improve.

All in all if you are willing to do the research, either aftermarket domains, expired domains, or lot’s of new domain names quality generics are still available.

A note about availablilty..

Good quality domains held by the World’s larger domainers are certainly not for sale and are valued well in excess of 100 times yearly revenue. These domain names are simply not for sale. The cost of selling them far exceeds the known growth factor so many domainers and companies are continually achieving.

Personally I have around 50 names I would never sell due to either future potential, names sake or the fact the domains will attract so much search traffic if developed correctly.

For those of you that don’t know me you’ll soon realise that I like to explore all the areas of a point before drawing conclusion (read:I have a short attention span and am easily distracted). So just bare with my posts as I am setting the scene for my point and I will eventually get to it, somehow.

Keyword Research Technique
Start at Overture or favourite most trusted accurate Keyword Tool. Scrape all results and strip off the search counts, keeping a copy to compare to at a later date (one spreadsheet per project helps) is recommended. Then run these KW’s through a bulk check for the domain registration and you are away.

Domain registrars have API tools that you can ‘plug’ into and auto mate the above processes, also using your own tool and rolling it into one package is recommended and it will save you time and cashflow in the long run, the two most critical elements of domaining.

Spray and Pray
Using your KW lists above (yes, save them too), strip out the main KW, or replace it with another (topically related, or otherwise) and add it to your bulk domain check tool and find some weird and wonderful combinations. Remember the plural and stemming.

This methos couples well with domain kiting or domain tasting which is a great way to ‘sample’ domains, however this space like all Real Estate is fast exhausting.

Brainstorming
After a while going full-time mad at it you will most likely start dreaming domains and registering them in your sleep (I do and it’s sad but true). Like anything it becomes a second nature and a learnt skill. An eye for branding and knowledge of marketing really helps too. Soon you’ll be checking all sorts of combinations and start to get a feel for the landscape around you and your competition and other domainers in your area.

A good method is to just give someone you know a piece of paper and get them to jot down ideas for profitable niches and ideas they would have/implement. Use the environment around you to help achieve your goals. If you put enough ‘feelers’ out with positive intentions, you will soon reap the rewards.

Putting it all together..

By approaching a given problem; how will people find my business via a keyboard – now and in the future as search counts grow and the online landscape changes? You uncover new niches and ideas to grow your business. New keywords to consider and learn more about your customers and what they are researching, buying, looking for?

You could do this for thousands of niches across the web right now, start with high search counts, high value areas and work your way back to the point where the domains become available. Or travel the fast track and secure yourself a big name in the aftermarket and start playing with traffic straight away.

If you mix keyword research with some good spray and pray and brainstorm you will own and manage a small amount of owned traffic and unlimited business potential. As the Web grows and commerce and software becomes more powerful, readily available and cheaper the future for a domaining shines bright.

It’s interesting how the fundamental building blocks of the Internet have been ignored by big business and many businesses today. With a cost to entry so low and such obvious returns on investment, one wonders how long the collateral damage from the first bubble bursting will last.

Happy Hunting

A few basic tips.

Make sure you fully explore your ‘name space’ and secure all related domain names, relevant ccTLD extensions and combinations of your business name.

The next step (usually my first) is to explore what generic domain names are available under the various verticals and niches that your products/services fall within.

An example might be if you are a plumbing supply company, register all the associate tap, faucet, toilet, etc domains available. Also make sure you register the .com, .com.au and even .net.au if you’d like to keep competitiors at bay. With any names like this 301 redirect them at your main web site and visitors and search engines will not get lost along the way and this will ensure all links register to the right website and type-in traffic is directed to the right place. Just one lost visitor can make the difference between sucess and failure, especially with big ticket items.

Other important areas to expore (especially for the future) are the local macinations of your keyword(s). Naturally these searches are also likely to draw an amount of offline business and sales in the right niches.

Own it, don’t rent it…

Owning your name space is very important and will put your business in an excellent position for future developments in Keyword Usage and keep competitors at bay. Good names maintain higher CTR (Click Through Rates) and draw more traffic from Search Engine Listings as they are ontopic.

This is a great way to build your business and keep your competition at bay while preparing for the future.

Once you really do the research you will need to devote around $250 – $2000 (and more depending) to protect your name space and prepare your business for the future. Another way to look at it is buy a keyword domain instead of a Keyword on a search engine results page. Build a memorable name and a business instead of feeding endless money into a PPC advertising campaign.

Soon we explore how to find good generic names and also look into some basic research methods to locate domains as well as normalise keyword data and look at web site analytics and metrics to watch.