Emma-Julie Fox
writes for Pitstop
Media Inc, a Vancouver company that provides SEO
services to businesses across North America. If you would like to invite the
author to write on your blog too please contact www.pitstopmedia.com
Amateurs at creating
websites and people who have no knowledge about website creation usually turn
to free blogging platforms like Blogspot and Wordpress. They are excellent
practice ground for setting up pages, laying out content, familiarizing oneself
with basic dashboard tools, trying out Google Analytics and Adwords, et cetera.
For those who intend
to monetize their websites though, they soon realize that having their own
domains is much better than having the name of the web host stamped into their
URLs. What's more, web savvy individuals and Internet entrepreneurs generally
regard web hosted domains as inferior to personalized and owned domains.
cottoncandysellers.com
sounds more
professional and more credible as an online store than
cottoncandysellers.blogspot.com
When they reach that
point in time, entrepreneurs who are interested in monetizing websites
typically start buying domain names.
Why Would People Buy Domain Names?
Selecting a domain
name is not an easy matter. Yes, businesses can simply choose to make their
business names their domains, but it's strategic to select a domain name containing
vital keywords commonly searched for in Google and other major search engine. Even
though it is considered old-fashioned to include keywords in domain names,
evidence shows that it still helps in making a website rank—and most of the
cleverly composed domain names are already purchased by domain sellers. People
also buy domain names when the one they want already exists.
Some of the most
successful domain sellers today are GoDaddy.com (founded by Rob Parsons), Name.com (founded by Bill Mushkin), Oversee.net (founded by Lawrence Ng), and Domainate.com (founded by Sharon Hayes and Steve Jones). If you're still starting out though, hurry
up and research in-demand keywords that have the potential of becoming domain
names.
Steps for Making a Sale
This leads us to the
first thing you should do in order to secure sales of domain names:
1.
Acquire
domain names that are valuable and can be easily monetized, advertised, and
optimized. You're basically opening a store of sorts, and the merchandise you
sell are the domain names you've registered with ICANN. Know that there is a
constant race among domain sellers and resellers to purchase very valuable and
keyword-perfect domain names.
Generic vs. Brand
As mentioned above, domain buyers have the option to register their
business/brand name to the ICANN themselves and use it as their domain name, or
purchase a generic, keyword-rich domain from domain sellers. The benefits of
the former are obvious: branding and easy recognition and recall. You want to
make a sale though, so you have to convince people that it will be a wise
investment to purchase your domain names.
2.
Park your
acquired domains soon after you buy them. Parking is basically assigning a dummy page
for the domain so that it will go live, and won't be stolen or squatted on by
other domain buyers.
Domain
parking is offered by web hosts. You can find a web host that allows you to register
unlimited domain names under your account. You can take it a step further and
develop the domain by putting blog posts, images, and other content. This may
increase the appeal of the domain to potential buyers.
3.
Find
end-users who are likely to have an interest in your domain names. There's a
good chance that you will have buyers who turn out to be resellers, and if that
happens, wouldn't you be dismayed that somebody else will gain a higher profit
from the domain you made?
Take
some time to research for end-users. Search for related domains (variations of
general keywords, plural/singular form, long/short domains, etc...) and
identify the ones that are most likely to benefit from the domain you're trying
to sell. You can even include advertisers that are frequently appearing in the
websites you've shortlisted.
4.
Let
prospective buyers see the value and potential of your domain names. If they
want to promote their brand and proceed with it as their domain name, you can
still make a sale by convincing them to purchase the domains and use them as
redirect pages.
Most of the time businesses and companies prefer the brand-oriented
domain name though, but in the event that they choose keyword-oriented domains,
you should be ready for the chance to make a sale.
Cite the good points of the domain and what buyers may be able to
accomplish with it. Build up their
excitement and make them see why they shouldn't pass on this opportunity. If
you acquired the domain from a previous owner, run it through WHOIS and Archive.org
to get a feel of its previous performance, appearance, statistics, etc... You
may find out something worth mentioning in your pitch.
5.
It is
important that you sell a domain as quickly as possible. It's not just about
making a buck. If a domain is parked too long, visitors and search engines
might view whatever's in there (advertisements, graphics, Lorem Ipsum, et
cetera) to be the actual content of the website. This can have an adverse
effect to your buyers, and to your reputation as well as the seller.
The best selling point
of a domain seller or domain service company is its reputation in the business.
Domain services that withstood tough challenges over the years prove to be
trustworthy, while those
that can diversify their portfolios tend to be the most
resilient and successful. It will take time to secure this level of confidence
from the public, but just remember that everyone starts out small. If you do
things right early on, you'll have a firm foundation to build your credibility
on.
