domain asset management

Domain Asset Management and New TLDs Driving Leads Through Smart Domain Development

Victor H. Pitts, Vice President, Moniker and SnapNames

Domain Experience Since 1995

Moniker.com - more than 2.7M domains under management, with more than 4 million throughout the Oversee Aftermarket and Registrar Division

7th largest Registrar, plus a network of more than 100 ICANN accredited registrars

Domain sales, escrow, appraisal

First to sell a domain for more than $1M and $2M (Wallstreet.com, Autos.com); more than $100 million in domain sales

Stealth Acquisition specialist

Invented the Domain Appraisal - 460K appraisals to date, IRS Accepted, used for lending and donation

One of the first to monetize domain traffic in 2000

Focus is on Domain Asset Management – Typical client owns 100+ domains

Clients include – Major League Baseball, NHL, Lions Gate Films, Incisivemedia/Jupitermedia, Marchex, and Yahoo!

Host of Domain Masters, every Wednesday at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST –WebmasterRadio.fm

Presented by:

Victor H. PittsVice President Moniker and SnapNames

Why domains matter Domains have been continually growing to more

than 177 million worldwide At the same time, aftermarket sales values have

been increasing by approximately 20% year-over-year

Upward trend continues showing that even in down or flat markets, domains are increasing in numbers and value

Why?

Why domains matter Domains are assets that are both collectible and

revenue producing Each domain is unique – no two are exactly alike Hold an inherent ability

to attract traffic Direct navigation traffic

accounts for 10-15% of revenue for Googleand Yahoo

Why domains matter Domains are equal parts pathway and

destination … they are both the avenue and the storefront of the internet

Creates the first impression online; Primary way an online consumer interacts with your brand or brand extension

Also the primary way,they locateyour online store

Why domains matter

What are the shingles

you hang online doing

to attract business

and convince

people to enter

the store?

How domains can helpattract traffic and drive leadsHelp define and reposition brand promise Improve search optimization and search

marketingCounter balance search using direct

navigationOffer an easy way to initiate social media

marketing and other engagement techniques

Impact on brand What are your highest converting keywords associated

with your brand (a.k.a., “category killers”)?

Do you own those domains or can competitors move in on your territory and start aligning key attributes with their brand?

Are you making sure people who are looking for you can find you? Lock in traffic and protect your brand associations by registering typos, nicknames, country code TLDs for all regions you operate in and other derivatives.

Impact on brand

Case studies: ToddlerToys.com =

Toys.com =

CreamCheese.com =

Underwear.com =

Microsft.com =

Improving SEO and SEMTie goes to the domain All things being equal, the domain you use could

be the tie breaker to get your site ranked higher Case Study: Tropical Birds TropicalBirds.com is a somewhat new site Outranks the Honolulu Zoo, several aviaries and

hundreds of bird/pet stores Forces others to spend ad dollars for paid

listings

Improving SEO and SEM

Improving SEO and SEMSignificantly improved inbound link juice Most people still use your web address to

provide links

Which of these links would provide better signal to search engines for the term “spices”?

“Visit Penzeys.com for the best prices”

“Visit TheSpiceHouse.com for the best prices”

Improving SEO and SEMConsider going “retro” Keyword domains available on the aftermarket

offer additional benefits Age (unexpired domains) Page Rank Link strength

Properly redirected, domains with these attributes can transfer or lend strength to your newer or lower ranked domain

Improving SEO and SEMConsider going “retro” Be sure to do your research Previous black-hat techniques or bad inbound

links associated with the domain could do more harm than good

If research checks out, be careful about updating too much – could get you sandboxed (however, this is widely debated)

Improving SEO and SEMIncrease response on search marketing ads Marketing experts we work with recommend testing

the domain you use, as well as the rest of the ad

Depending on your product or target audience, display domain does have an impact on response

For example, if you’re in the business of getting travelors to Egypt, which domain is more likely to pull better results?

Egypt.Travel KensingtonTours.com

Improving SEO and SEM No way to really

know unless you test first

Best for rebranding strategy or new brands

Google compliance: Will need unique content, if selected domain is not the main website

Improving SEO and SEM

Counter balance withdirect navigation

More than 70% of internet users type in keywords directly into their browser to get to their destination

At more than 4%, direct navigation converts at twice the rate of regular search traffic

Advertisers, such as Garden State Life Insurance, are increasing ad placements on parked sites, and getting better conversions at cheaper rates


Visitor is engaged and clearly has an expressed interest in subject

Makes sense to own keyword domains, cut out the middle man and block the competition

Provides constantly renewing source of interested parties who have self-selected your topic – no bidding required, no budget cap to cut you off

After initial investment, only cost is renewal fee


Three ways to use direct navigation Simple redirects to main site:

Books.com = BarnsAndNobel.com Gift.com = JCPenny.com TennisShoes.com = KSwiss.com

Verticle portals Baby.com = Johnson & Johnson Asthma.com = GlaxoSmithKlein NoFleas.com = Bayer


Three ways to use direct navigation Re-brand entire company/site

OberonGames.com = iPlay.com WBZL.com = SouthFlorida.com

Get your visitor engaged Category Killer keyword domains are well

positioned to be used as social networking sites Case Study: Skateboards.com

Active site User generated content is free and fresh

Videos, photos, stories Forums and chat rooms

Site is profitable without any external advertising … all current traffic is direct navigation

Get your visitor engagedPortal site positions your brand as the

subject matter expert

Case study: Baby.com

Informational site requires investment and maintenance

Pay off can be significant

Word of mouth increases brand strength

Get your visitor engagedLanding pages can create unique

connections

Case study: Jet Blue’s HappyJetting.com Short-term content, less robust and less

maintenance than full portal

Usually funny or lighthearted

Obvious lead generators … sign up for mailing list, download wall paper, play games

What’s the value of a domain?Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.comSavings in CPC Monthly visitors: 10,000 Cost per click on key term: $3.98* Monthly savings in CPC: $39,800 Annual savings in CPC: $477,600

*Per SpyFu.com Dec. 19, 2008

What’s the value of a domain?Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.comNew Revenue Monthly visitors: 10,000 Typical conversion rate on website: 2%* Estimated new customers monthly: 200 Estimated new customers annually: 2400 Average profit per new customer: $100-$250* Estimated profit from new domain: $240,000-$600,000

*Variable data – assumptions made to show potential. Actual values will vary depending on specific profit margin and conversion rate.

What’s the value of a domain?Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.com

Overview Estimated annual value (revenue or CPC):

$500,000 Years to reach ROI: 5 Value of 5 year investment: $2.5

million Current asking price: $???

How much will the financial services industry segment spend in advertising this year? $1.1 billion in display only Q1 & Q2 2008.

Ways to acquire domains Registration – most single-word and two-word

premium domains are gone Aftermarket is new primary market

Live Domain Auctions Two main online sales platforms

Auctions Listing services

Expired and Deleting domain services Private brokerage and stealth acquisitions

Questions?

domain asset management

Business