Develop a domain to increase its value

There are a lot of domains out there that are good, but can’t stand on their own two feet. These are often names that sell in the $xx-$xxx range. When I see a domain that obviously isn’t worth a lot but has potential, I often recommend the owner develop it.

You might wonder if this ruins the point of domaining in the first place. Domain investors sell names, not sites, right? Wrong. Just like one might paint and furnish a new home to make it look more attractive to buyers, setting up a site on a domain can prove its worth to buyers.

The site in question does not have to be a niche leader, but should provide useful information, look good, and receive a decent amount of traffic. But most importantly, they should market the name and prove to the buyer that it has useful applications.

Is domain parking a thing of the past?

Ever visit a domain only to find a page full of ads? Known as domain parking, the placement of PPC (pay-per-click) ads on traffic-rich domain names has always been a popular source of revenue for domainers.

With the modernization of the Internet and the evolution of a much savvier group of users that is less likely to click ads, many domainers have complained about a fall in parking earnings.
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Michael Moore misses out on movie domain

Yesterday, American documentary maker Michael Moore presented his latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, at the Venice film festival. The tag line of the movie is “Capitalism is evil, and you cannot regulate evil.”

Moore already owns capitalismalovestory.com, but could did not register capitalismisevil.com. Not only does it match the central theme of the movie, but is catchy and so controversial everyone will remember it.

I think it would have made a better name than capitalismalovestory.com, but after the movie premiere, a slick domainer registered and parked it. He is currently accepting offers from interested buyers.

The lesson here? Think outside the box when it comes to brand management and online identity. Don’t just register your business or site name only. For example, if I lived in Kent and owned a plumbing business named Ed’s Plumbing, I’d be sure to register not only edsplumbing.com, but also kentplumbing.com.

Source | The Domains

Photo | Flickr