New topical online domain stores try a different tact to sell domain names.
Most online domain name marketplaces are generic in nature, letting customers search or navigate to the category of their choosing. Does it make sense to have online marketplaces specific to a particular category, too?
A handful of entrepreneurs and domainers think so.
Last week David Bleaman sent me information about YellowShow.com, a site where small businesses can purchase their geo-targeted domain names. The site has over 4,000 domain names listed, ranging from AkronAcupuncturist.com to WichitaVehicles.com.
Elsewhere, Page Howe’s JoeDomains has released six (yes, six) niche domain name stores. Looking for green domains? He’s got you covered at GreenDomainNames.com. Sports domains? There’s a store for that, too. Howe also launched stores for Web 2.0 domains, .tv, bargains, and even — get this — Names for Domainers.
Do niche domain stores work? I can see some cases where they make perfect sense. A few months ago I was brainstorming “green” names for a project and could certainly see myself using a site like GreenDomainNames.com.
At the same time, getting inside the head of the typical end user buying a domain name is a different ball game. Hopefully these entrepreneurs can report back in the future with success stories.
lol I thought the site was called “yellow snow” XD geo targeted domains have always been a good idea, and will continue to be. However it only works on a premium level. No one cares about cities with low populations, and no one cares about obscure practices. CITYDOCTOR.com or CITY LAWYER.com = $$MONEY$$ / TOWNACUPUNCTURE.COM OR SMALLTOWNDOORS.COM = rubbish
I agree with Barry above.
Also, who can argue with niche stores? The problem is the inventory in said stores.
Barry,
Most of the cities that are shown on Yellow Show have populations of at least 150,000 – 200,000, and in many cases half a million to a million people. Though Yellow Show has many popular directory categories, such as Dentists, Roofers, Electricians, Mortgage Brokers, Landscapers, Insurance Agents, Advertising, etc, I respectively disagree with you that “no one cares about obscure practices.” If I was searching for a doctor for my child, I would not type in “City Doctor”. I would type in “City Pediatrician”. The same is true if I were looking for a doctor to have a mole removed. I would type in “City Dermatologist” and not “City Doctor”. With that said, we do also have “City Doctor” domains, like OaklandDoctor.com should a local doctor (regardless of specialty) choose to promote himself/herself with these keywords.
Andrew, thank you for letting your readers know about Yellow Show. If anyone has names that fall within the parameters listed on the site, please send them over and we will list them for free.
David
Thanks for the heads-up Andrew. Anybody know what software they’re using to power the niche domain stores? I like the look & feel of GreenDomainNames.com + these other sites.
I don’t think geo targeted domains are necessarily where it’s at, but I do like generic shopping sites, such as:
BeachMall
BeachStore
BeachMarket
BeachStuff
BeachShop
You get the picture:) Yes, I like “beach” stuff, and I’m seeing more and more beach-oriented specialty sites pop up over the last year and a half…must be profitable.
Regarding the “green” domains, they should take-off strongly once the “Cash for Caulkers”, i.e. “Retrofit for Recovery Act” gets passed. I believe the House passed the bill, and now it’s sitting in committee in the Senate. It’ll be a huge boost for green domains.
Interesting story. Never knew domainers were selling domains by niche or interested in doing this. Green domains? Alternative energy domains too! Fascinating. This is all new stuff to me. I should look into it.
The development of the app has made the niche more important. People like content specifically catered to them. The trick with super specific keywords is your business can change. I say grab a brandable domain name and build your niche website on that so if your niche shifts you wont have to rebrand.
Using complete guesswork and no real intention of major success, i setup a niche domain site back in January (2010) – 3d Domain Names. The dot com was taken, so i just grabbed a quick dot info to simply be able to list some of my names as to just have something somewhere to be able to show people.
I made a few friends along the way and agreed to list their 3d names on my site as well. I presently have almost 1,000 names in total on my site and i get visitors all day long. There have a been a handful of sales throughout, but i personally think the reason it is not more is simply because my niche is still only just maturing, not because the idea of a niche domain wouldn’t be more successful.
I think the concept makes total and complete sense and can be applied to any domain industry. Honestly, it surprises me that it hasn’t been fully executed in the past.
Cool article with some helpful links. Thanks 🙂
I certainly think the game is wide open for niche targeting. Rather than trying to compete on price stores that sell domain names should have been targeting other needs more closely a long time ago. However I think we were all a little seduced into trying to be godaddy which was never going to work.