direct navigation

Sedo UK Nora Nanayakkara 1

Direct Navigation

Nora NanayakkaraBusiness Development Director

Sedo.co.uk

A4U ExpoLondon

“The Largest Untapped Market forPaid Search Advertisers and Affiliate Marketers”


Seite: 2 7. April 2023

So what is the Secondary Market?

Registered domains

Expired domains

Domain trade

Domain parking

12 million domains for sale at Sedo

27,000 domain transactions in 2007 (17500 in 2006)

£37,048,960 transaction value in 2007 (60% up on 2006)


Secondary Market Statistics

Average Sales Price .com 2006: £1664

2007: £2563

Average Sales Price .co.uk 2006: £2047

2007:

Domain parking

12 million domains for sale at Sedo

27000 domain transactions in 2007 (17500 in 2006)

£37,048,960 transaction value in 2007 (60% up on 2006)


Seite: 4 7. April 2023

How can domains help Affiliates and Marketeers?

SEO Relevance

Keyword domains

Direct Navigation

Branding

Campaigns

Appreciating Assets

Traffic


First, a few background premises:

Domain names are not just about your brand name

Descriptive “Direct Navigation” domain names receive

targeted traffic

Every campaign involves a domain name

Domain Names as a Marketing Tool?

Should domain names be part of your marketing mix?


“Direct Navigation is the largest untapped market for paid search

advertisers and agencies.”

“The best kind of traffic for websites.”


Why are “Direct Navigation” Domain Names important?

“Approximately 10% of all PPC traffic* derives from Direct

Navigation portals”

-Susquehanna Financial Group

*Or a total of about $1 billion in 2007...


So, what is Direct Navigation anyway?

“Searching” via descriptive domain names

Keyword search = Keyword Domain + Extension


Do people really search via domain names?

- WebSideStory Research:

“Over 64% of users arrived at sites by direct navigation, compared to 35% via search engines and links.”

- Some users don’t distinguish between search bar and browser navigation bar:

Ex: Top Searches on Yahoo.com:

- Some browsers auto-complete (add “www” and “.com”)

4 times as much as“Paris Hilton”!


Direct Navigation Domain Names: A Spectrum of Uses

Dom

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Traffi

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Ren

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Buy

Dom

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Gen

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Traffic

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Traffic

& Brand


TRAFFIC

Books.com B&N

PC.com Intel

Loans.com B of A

RentalCar.com Enterprise

VERTICAL

Lycopene.org Heinz Ketchup

Baby.com P&G

Meningitis.com Chiron Vaccines

BRAND

Shopping.com DealTime & Epinions

Diamond.com Ice.com

WebHosting.com DynamicWeb.com

Why do Marketers Purchase Domain Names?


The Economics of Domain Traffic

The “Old Way”: Buy the Traffic via Google AdWords

WiFi.com

15,000 visitors

10% CTR

1,500 visitors

Google

$1,500

Sedo

$1,200

Domain Owner

$700

Advertiser pays $1,500 for 1,500 visitors

Domain Owner gets $700, Sedo $500, Google $300


The Economics of Domain Traffic

The “New Way”: Buy or Lease the Domain via Sedo

WiFi.com

15,000 visitors

10% CTR

1,500 visitors

Google

$1,500

Sedo

$1,200

Domain Owner

$1,000

Advertiser pays $1,500 for 15,000 visitors

Domain Owner gets $1,000, Sedo $500, Google $0

$1,500 $1,000Option 1: Lease:

Option 2: Buy the domain for $350,000:

- ROI in about 2 years- Domain is an asset, not an expense

- You’ll have the domain forever


- Generic

- Descriptive

Role of Descriptive Domains in Purchase Funnel

- Branded

- Product-specific

Keywords Used:


Generic Terms Account for Majority of Search Activity

ComScore Study: “Generic product search terms (e.g. “camera,” “plasma television” or “PDA phone”)

accounted for more than 70 percent of total search volume, while trademarked retailer terms (e.g. “Best Buy,”

“Gateway.com”) accounted for 20 percent and specific product terms (e.g. “Canon digital camcorder,” “HP

notebook nx9010”) accounted for 10 percent”

Your domain strategy must also encompass generic

category terms!

Use direct navigation domains to reach customers early

on in the purchase consideration funnel


Baby.com: A Well-implemented Advertising Vortal

A good first stop for those new to the category (early on in purchase consideration funnel!)

Premium domain adds to credibility and perception of independence

Focus is on education and information

Branding and introduction of company products is secondary


Rebrand on a Generic Descriptive Domain?

“By 1999, within 15 months of changing our name to WebHosting.com, we had registered over 150,000 domain

names for tens of thousands of hosting customers in over 140 countries around the world. We were on track to surpass $10 million in annual sales, handily exceeding my predictions of 2

1/2 years earlier. Our headcount grew to approximately 100 staff and we were moving offices on an annual basis to

accommodate our constant expansion.”

An extreme measure, but the benefits can be tremendous!

Example of DynamicWeb.com rebranding as Webhosting.com:


Like well-known brand names, descriptive domain names have an immediate recognition factor that generates increased CTR

Users assume sites with premium one-word .coms have greater credibility

Keyword repetition: title, description, URL

“ClubMed had a 33% lift using keyword sub-domains...”

Instant Recognition: Which ad would you click on?

BONUS # 1


• Absolute FM – Absolute.co.uk

• Bank Of America - Loans.com

• Dove – Campaignforrealbeauty.co.uk

• PizzaHut – Pastahut.co.uk• New Reg – Car.co.uk• Car Phone Warehouse –

Mobiles.co.uk• Times – News.co.uk• Sedo – Domain.co.uk• Sainsburys – Taste.co.uk• Ariel –

Coldisthenewhot.co.uk• Energy Saving Trust –

Saveenergy.co.uk

Examples• Bayer - WonderDrug.com • Barnes & Noble - Books.com • Boeing - NewAirplane.com • BK - HaveItYourWay.com • BK -SubservientChicken.com • Calvin Klein - Bras.com • Calvin Klein -

Underwear.com • Campbell's - MySoup.com • Arrid Deodorant -

WetnessProtectionProgram.com

• Citibank - StudentLoan.com• King Casino – King.com• Nurofen – Pain.co.uk• Mars – Pets.co.uk (Whiskas,

Sheba, Pedigree)• Dairy Council – Milk.co.uk

BONUS # 2


Better conversion rate: specific domains can be an exact match to

the niche that the user’s looking for

Easier tracking: how many people visited the domain from that

campaign?

Brand association: Bank of America is “Loans”

Brand disassociation: RestlessLegs.com is an independent

information source, not a pharma company sales pitch.

Why use campaign-specific domains?BONUS # 2

ClickZ: “78% of Ad Agencies preferred Campaign-Specific URLs...”


BONUS # 2

If it’s worth more than $10,don’t do this!

Why use campaign-specific domains?


Better Organic Search Engine Placement

Results for „Kreuzfahrten“on Google.de

kreuzfahrten.de is #1

Results for „Cruises“on Google.co.uk

Cruises.co.uk is #1

BONUS # 3


Most people still link with your domain name:

“I buy domains at Sedo.com”

“I found a WiFi provider at Wifi.com”

Therefore, if your domain contains your keywords, you automatically

generate many incoming keyword links

Google interprets that as your site being a popular source for info on

keyword

It’s not a guarantee, but there is solid evidence it helps!

BONUS # 3

Better Organic Search Engine Placement


Putting it all together: A Portfolio of “Direct Navigation” Domains

Goal: “Own” your niche: All domains and SE placements for the most

relevant keywords (use keyword generation tools)

Why: Perpetual stream of targeted traffic Excellent organic search engine listings Better CTR on search engine ads and organic listings More granular tracking of ad campaigns Increased credibility Better conversion-to-sale


Trailers.co.uk

ToolChests.co.uk

LogSplitters.co.uk

HedgeTrimmers.co.uk

ConcreteMixers.co.uk

Generators.co.ukWelders.co.uk

Bandsaws.co.uk

Domain Portfolio: ToolsOnline.com£2.5 Million in sales from 30 Direct Nav Domains!

Nearly all sites are ranked #1 or #2 in Google.co.uk The domain portfolio is the only marketing spend!


1. Identify your top keywords in each market

2. Develop a list of 200-300 target domains by pairing keyword + extension

3. Immediately register anything that’s still available!

4. Go to the secondary market (try eg. www.Sedo.co.uk) to acquire any registered domains

5. Determine your offer value based upon the value of the traffic

6. Protect your purchase using an Escrow service (Sedo, Escrow.com, etc...)

Start Building your Domain Portfolio Today!

Or, try the easy way: Visit www.sedo.co.uk/broker or contact me at [email protected] for assistance:

1) Coming up with a list of domains to buy2) Determining how much to offer for those domains3) Anonymously negotiating a purchase and securely transferring

ownership


A Peek on the Other Side of the Fence...

What’s it like to be a domain investor?


Domain Investing: How much money can be made?

THE ANATOMY OF AN “AVERAGE” 500 DOMAIN PORTFOLIO:

ANNUAL INCOME:

PARKING

$4/ domain = $2,000 from parking

SELLING

$1,800 avg. selling price * 2% turnover = $18,000 in sales

TOTAL INCOME

$20,000

ANNUAL COSTS:

REGISTRATION COSTS

$8/ domain = $4,000 reg fees

INVENTORY RENEWAL

2% turnover * $200 cost of acquisition= $2,000 in sales

TOTAL COSTS

$6,000

ANNUAL PROFIT = $14,000ROI CALC: $140,000/ $100,000 = 140%

(Assuming 10% discount rate, perpetuity)


PRE-REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS W/ DOMAINS:

Getting started in Domain Investing

1) Requires intelligent domain selection and HARD WORK

2) You’re a bit late to the game (and competing against big $ and technology), so focus on untapped new areas (“long bets”) and niches where you have special expertise

3) Park your domains to make money from the traffic without developing a website (see www.sedoparking.com to learn more)

4) Browse domain marketplaces for bargains you can “flip”

5) Find more domain investing tips at www.sedo.com/invest


World’s largest domain marketplace with over 11.5 Million domains listed for sale

The average domain currently sells for around €1,500.

Our highest value domain sale was Vodka.com for $3 million.

Over 4 million direct navigation portals in thousands of verticals

About 700,000 members from dozens of countries buy and sell through Sedo

Nearly 2,500 domains are sold through Sedo each month

Offices in London, Cologne (Germany), and Boston (USA)

Also offer assistance with domain valuation, consultation on selecting appropriate domain names, domain acquisition, domain brokerage, and domain escrow/ transfer services

Some Quick Facts about Sedo

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