| LED Digest 2342: Inside the Domain Name Game |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Registration from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. February 7, 2007 Issue no. 2342 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Best Practices for Testimonials ==-- ~ Terri Zwierzynski "...just ask them up front to indicate how they would like to be identified." ~ GJ Berg "Based on my privacy policy I could not identify a customer publicly." --== Is My Computer a Spambot? ==-- ~ Tom Aman "[Does] your computer always use the same IP address?" --== Profiting from Domains ==-- ~ Anonymous "There are top parked sites that make well over $100,000 per year..." ~ David Yancey "...some clarification of terms seems in order." ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Terri Zwierzynski Subject: Testimonials > If we agree that more detailed customer information is > more likely to affect new customers, how much information > can we post without contacting the customer? - Chuck Donner, LED Digest 2340 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1736/55/ I'm assuming that the customer isn't explicitly responding to a call for testimonials, but rather that they have sent a spontaneous "thanks for the good job" email. In which case I would never assume I have permission to post their testimonial *at all* without asking. If on the other hand they are responding to a call for testimonials, then just ask them upfront to indicate how they would like to be identified. Terri Zwierzynski Resources for the Solo Entrepreneur Lifestyle http://www.solo-e.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: GJ Berg Subject: Testimonials How detailed one can be in listing a client's identification may also be governed by what information and policies are either explicitly stated in a site / company's privacy policy, or may be mandated by local / national legislation. Based on my privacy policy -- http://icebergpix.com/privacy.html -- I could not identify a customer publicly. So, I would first contact the customer to see about using their comments (or modify my privacy policy to state that statements about the quality of product and/or service could be used). GJ Berg -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Tom Aman Subject: Spambots > When I tried to click on [a link at Technorati.com] I was > sent to a page which said that my computer... had sent > comment spam on two recent occasions... What do I do next? - Donald Nelson, LED Digest 2341 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1737/55/ First, be aware that no single anti-virus program is guaranteed to find 100% of virus / trojan / etc. software that may be on your system and some are better than others. In the PC World reviews in January 2006, Symantec Norton AntiVirus ranked 5th (bear in mind their ratings include other factors besides the ability to find malware), you can read the article at http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,124475/article.html. Even the top ranked product did not achieve 100% in everything. I would suggest you look for another anti-virus program, either free or with a free trial, that you can download, install and run a scan with it just to satisfy yourself that your system really is clean. Additionally, I would scan with Adaware and Spybot to be really sure. Then, contact Technorati to tell them you are reasonably certain that your system is clean. One other thought. Is your Internet connection one that will ensure your computer always uses the same IP address? If you don't know for sure, check with your ISP, because it may not even be your system that sent the spam. Tom Aman http://www.cyberspyder.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: [ Name Withheld ] Subject: On the Domain Speculation Industry The Other End of the Click - Part 2 of 2 Part 1: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1737/55/ When I do provide a domain price to someone, I usually hear that my price is too high for my generic domain. A frequent comment is that "you paid no more than $60 for the domain. I will give you what you paid for it." Hmm, that is persuasive. I might have paid $70,000 for my condo rental 20 years ago, but it's worth $450,000 now. Umm, well, let-me-think, sure, that sounds fair... I will let you have my condo for $70,000, gosh, that is what I paid for it. I often reply to the guys that want the domain for what I paid for it, that if they owned sex.com would they sell it to me $60 as that is what they paid for it. I rarely hear back. > People that purchase expired domains generally do so > because of the resale value of the domain, or the fact that > they can "park" domains that have links and traffic, and > make money from them. Since their investment is only > about $12 a year on average, they only need to make > about $.03 a day for the domain to pay for itself. - Chris Nielsen, LED Digest 2337 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1731/55/ I sometimes hear that since I haven't developed a site out, that I am cybersquatting. I own quite a few domains in a specific area of interest that I have, and one day I am going to build them out as a hobby, I just don't have the time now. Does that mean that I am cybersquatting? duh... There are top parked sites that make well over $100,000 per year (not mine) for just having a good name and people typing that URL in to go to the site. Obviously most sites earn well below that amount. Due to the domain parking model, I get quite a few inquiries for domains that say they "will pay me 8 times earnings for x domain." You can tell the buyer is more sophisticated, but the times-gross purchasing formula doesn't always account for the value of the domain name itself; it only recognizes the dollar value of traffic currently generated; which on a parked site is usually only a fraction of what a built out site can generate. > So as a digest are we pro-domain vultures or against? - Glenn "Omodiende" Reitz, LED Digest 2339 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1735/55/ BTW, I did try to register vulture.com but some f#$%### cybersquatter took it from me... Umm, Glenn's comment is like the judge in a case directing the jury by saying, "It is your job to decide if this despicable man, this man with a long history of crimes against humanity, a man who should be hung, a man who is wasting space on this earth, is guilty... or, in only a miscarriage of truth, honesty, virtue and reason, is <laugh> not guilty." Gosh, I am guilty of having the foresight to control thousands of pieces of Internet real estate and allowing those properties to generate income for me. Others may be guilty of realizing this too late in the game... Here are the top 25 sales for 2006 1. Diamond.com $7,500,000 2. Vodka.com $3,000,000 3. Cameras.com $1,500,000 4. NAV.no $717,978 5. On.com $635,000 6. AntiSpyware.com $550,000 6.Macau.com $550,000 8. Gays.com $500,000 8.Wrestling.com $500,0006 8. Bike.com $500,000 8. Blue.com $500,000 12. Sex.net $454,500 13. Templates.com $450,000 14. WirelessPhone.com $355,000 15. FunGames.com $350,000 16. Hotels.eu $329,509 17. Jasmin.com $310,250 18.Cafe.com $300,000 18.Blackjack.de $300,000 18. Brown.com $300,000 21. CD.com $277,750 22. POS.com $252,500 23. Malta.com $250,000 24. Mortage.com (typo) $242,400 25. Ant.com $241,200 Anonymous -------- new post - same topic -------- From: David Yancey Subject: Domain hoarders In LED # 2339, Glenn Reitz uses the term "domain vultures" to describe people who register domain names so they can then exploit their Pay Per Click potential. In another article, Steve Birk uses the long-time favorite derogatory term "cybersquatters" to describe those who register a name hoping to hold up some huge company when it wakes up to realize part of its branding campaign is under the control of someone who happened not to be so slow on his feet. In fact, this topic is called "domain hoarders", reflecting the view of the vast majority of web folk, namely, that one should not be "allowed" to register a name unless they have some immediate use for it. Before debating the various domain practices, some clarification of terms seems in order. Few, in my long experience with this subject, stop to consider the case of an established business that needs to secure names *now* to protect its future commercial interests. Few consider that someone who plans a new web-based business or publication MUST think of, not just one, but possibly numerous names to help ensure that the business has the best possible chances for successful promotion, not just when it launches, but going forward as it grows. And many seem to forget that if one does not register their *own* name, *even if there is no site for it planned in the near future*, there is a very strong chance it will be taken by someone else. I hold "davidyancey.com", for example, but won't use it probably until I can retire and finally finish two books about this crazy industry. So I am "hoarding" that name, right? Please... Similarly, if one thinks of a potentially good commercial idea for a web business, but is not sure how to or when to raise the capital and team to do it, it is simply intelligent to go ahead and secure the name ahead of time. Most of the names I hold are in this category. Am I a cybersquatter simply for thinking of something first? To the contrary, I would be fiscally irresponsible to my financial partners if I did not take action to protect our future business prospects. If one has an idea for a new product, the rules say that one needs to patent it to protect it, even if it takes years to bring it to market. Indeed, a very large proportion of patents today are obtained by big companies who have no intent of ever developing them -- they simply want to keep them out of the hands of competitors. There are probably more than two million domain names registered for just this very reason; no one can know the precise number. You can see this practice when a name you type in "redirects" to another. Type in "www.22graphic.com", "www.tootoographic.com" and they will resolve to our "www.22gshop.com" front page, for example. We also hold a dozen "22" and brand-specific names for future product lines. To imply that this practice is OK for huge corporations, but should not be allowed for small holders is of course absurd. As Tracy Coyle points out in #2339 [ http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1735/55/ ], securing a name in advance of needing it is simply following the oldest rule in smart retailing: get a good location or you're finished before you begin. And, just as in real estate, properties needed for the future of a business, or simple in anticipation of a rise in market value, are quite normally turned into parking lots. And why not earn some token income until one is ready to really develop the thing? If you don't like the fact that millions of these possibly useful "corner cyberlots" are being held in just this way (mainly) by a few hundred or so cyber property speculators, then you should blame not them for being normal small-time capitalists, but Google and Yahoo for creating the PPC nightmare that caused this ugly practice to be profitable. "Milking" the value of a mess of iffy domain names is simply free enterprise, and cannot be prevented any more than we could stop some real estate investor from buying out Farmer Joe's family farm in the hope that a superhighway will someday be routed by it. Today, reports verify that millions of seniors and millions more not-so-seniors are actively thinking about having or planning a web-based business someday. As LED readers will witness, it can take years to move from this grand vision to the actual steps of building an epublication or estore. If these millions of people think they can wait until they are ready to start to register the optimal domain name, they are in for a rude awakening. Similarly, those who have a name in mind that is available, but who resent the idea that they will need to pay a registrar for possibly 10 years or more to get it and hang onto it, should realize that this is simply how this business works. There are numerous ways to secure and hold a registration that do NOT require one to deal with the expensive registrars. Don't assume that the name you want will become available some day, either: thanks to www.snapnames.com and its big registrar partners, expired names are now *first* made available to those who are prepared to bid for them, and only then, if they are not "snapped" up, are released to the general public. Anyone can join the SnapNames service, but should be prepared to pay well above the "normal" rates for a first-time registration. In short, then, if "your" best name is gone, then you need to take steps now to secure an acceptable alternative, because those are disappearing fast, too. If you know someone hoping to make a retirement living online, or hoping to start a new web site, you owe it to them to explain these harsh realities now, not after they are disappointed. Here's a free resource for tracking the domain registry industry: http://www.dnjournal.com/ A useful free site for WHOIS queries and for researching and tracking domain names is www.domaintools.com And keep in mind that, as perhaps the greatest expert on names and keywords might have written: "a rose.com is a rose.net is a rose.co.uk is a we-got-roses-for-ya.com" -- or maybe not. David Yancey http://www.tootoographic.com (or, www.22graphic.com, or www.22gshop.com - take your pick!) ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains The Archives: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/126/120/ Subscribe: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/52/77/ Unsubscribe, Change Email, or Hold / Resume Delivery: http://www.led-digest.com/content/category/4/17/86/ (c) Copyright 1995-2007 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." - Dalai Lama |
