Buying “Expired” domains
I parooz the Internet’s “Expired Domain Lists” at least twice a week, looking for a “gem” that someone forgot to renew.
I call this the bone pile. People in charge of domains change jobs, change emails, die, move out of the country, retire, etc… and when they do, often those left behind to make sense of everything…. DON’T.
Half of the domain names I own, I purchased on either Godaddy.com, Snapnames.com or Namejet.com.
I have email blasts every morning showing the latest listings based on set criteria. It is amazing the domains I end up with, including the one you are reading on today, HoustonMarketingAgency.com.
You can place a bid and be included in and auction if no one else bids on the same domain. 80% of the time, I win the bid by being the only person bidding. When I do have to go to auction, most bidders do not have deep pockets so I end up with a valuable asset for a good price.
I base my buying decision on two things.
- Generic domain – is it generic and…
- Are People searching this name or phrase on Google.com.
Google provides a tool that allows you to enter in a word or phrase and see how many times it was searched the previous month. I then place my valuation on the domain based on the number of global searches.
Most of the times I get expired domains for less than $100.00. The most I ever paid was $8,100.00, which I was able to roll into a business sale the next day and increase the price by $25,000.00. This is rare but does happen. The majority of the domain names I purchase either go up for sale and/or are being monetized via Google Ads.
When looking for a potentially good domain, IF the search traffic is over 7500 a month AND it is an exact phrase match, then it is worth the money. With the right SEO and positioning, this could mean 7500 visits to your domain! What is that worth to you?
Steven Carr
“Houston” Domain Names for Sale
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Buying Domain Names – Owning your Niche and genre
Domain names are very inexpensive if you are registering them from a low cost registrar like GoDaddy.com. You can actually “Buy” discount pricing, which makes sense if you have over 70 domains.
For the sake of this post, lets say you are paying $10.00 a year per domain. If you have a good online market strategist, then they should have purchased a minimum of 20 domains that address your business genre, location and generic names developed with the help of Google’s AdWord Search Tool. This tool allows you to see what people are searching for using Google.com.
To use the tool, go to Google.com and click on Business Solutions. Then click on AdWords. Register and gain access to the Search Tools. Try it! It is addictive!
Example: HoustonJOBS.com – The number one search phrase is “Houston Jobs”. This is good because that is the domain name. First I would register it in most of the Top Level Domains (TLD’s) such as .com .net, .org, .Tv, .co, .info, .biz, etc…. Then look for the second and third most searched phrases and buy those as well. Each domain can be used in a different way to lead visitors to your primary site. I would only buy .com’s for secondary phrased domains.
If I could have, I would have bought JobsHouston.com, JobsinHouston.com, HoustonJOB.com and several other variations. Using GoDaddy tools, you can actually forward these for free AND create custom title, description and keywords in a “Masked” manner to take the accidential Internet visitor to your primary site.
I purchased over 35 domains for the Houston “Restaurant” industry. Many I have purchased over the years are almost as good as my HoustonRestaurants.com, including HoustonFood.com, HoustonCuisine.com, HoustonDiner.com, HoustonCafes.com, HoustonRestaurantGuide.com and Houstoncooks.com (Cooks was searched twice as much as Chefs – don’t figure).
Again, dominate your genre and CONTROL the ownership of the best domains with the goal of each one to provide a path to the primary or, at the least, a good link.
Steven Carr
Houston Marketing Agency
Effective SEO
Today’s Search Engine Optimization is changing and morphing into a moving target, so why keep a full time staff member on hand when a “hired gun” can do the work for less money and less aggravation. If they don’t get results, you disengage them from their services and find a contractor that can meet you needs!
Two things to consider and make arrangements for:
First, ask for documentation on what they have done. I would require this on a monthly basis. If you are riding high at number one, what are they doing to keep you there? Are they coasting or working on other related content pages and links, or domains for your market niche and genre. (This assumes you have other domains to control your niche market, which you better have! :-) )
Second, Password Management. All SEO jocks (and jockets) have to have your primary FTP or Admin Username and Password. This will have to managed and changed immediately if you discontinue their services, either staff or contract.
I hope and pray if you are hosting at a Registrar like GoDaddy.com, that you have a separate hosting account from your primary domain account. Never ever give the domain name keys to the kids. It is amazing how easy it is to change email addresses on domains, giving a sub-contractor total control over your destiny. Be careful!
Steven Carr
Houston Marketing Agency
Domain Management is critical
It is so vitally important to have a team appointed to your comany’s domain name management.
If your marketing team is worth their $$$, you should own at lease 40-50 really good domains to capture the key searches leading to your web site. Managing them all is the key to success.
Case in point, a recent domain name in the Houston Real Estate market expired because the owner of the firm had passed away and no one was monitoring his email. This domain was very valuable and had been branded for years. It expired and was sold at auction by NameJet.com. The new owner is the legal owner but might still have to retain legal counsel to not only prove ownership but to deal with the attorney acting on behalf of the estate.
With a high profile domain, you can actually hire most registrars to look after the domain and be sure to pay at least ten years in advance. You save money and lock in your brand for the long term.