Oversee.net CEO dispels five myths in the domain name industry.
Today at DOMAINfest in New York, Oversee.net CEO Jeff Kupietzky tried to dispel 5 myths about the domain name industry.
1. The PPC Market is Dead
-Oversee.net now has 1 million domain names.
-28% rise in visitors year-to-date on their portfolio
-15% increase in revenue per click
Kupietzky says the market is “maturing”, but not dead.
Opportunty: Buy traffic names and lower prices, partner with those investing in development and alternative monetization.
2. Mainstreet has Come and Gone
-CNBC dedicated 5 minutes to airtime in middle of day to an interview with Kupietzky about domains. “It’s really the beginning of mainstreet paying attention”.
-Major media organizations will have live television feed at auction this afternoon.
Opportunity: bring more information about our sales to the public. Bring more transparency on price and data to encourage more buyers.
3. There’s a trade-off between content and monetization
-Thinking is if I add content (develop my domains) I give up on my PPC revenue
-Example is Degrees.com, which Oversee.net owns
-Barrier to get good content has decreased substantially. Examples include AOL, Associated Content, DemandMedia, Epik
-Oversee.net progressing from one word category-killer .com domains, now moving to profitably developing domains with three words in other TLDs.
Opportunity: Invest in build-outs that provide value to end users and advertisers.
4. Mobile apps will kill domains space
People forget there are two main purposes of domain name: address locator, but also a brand. More focus on brand than address locator. Brand value is very important. Need to find a way to leverage the trend of move to apps.
LowFares.com has one million registered users. Oversee.net just launched a mobile application for LowFares.com.
Opportunity: Look for category-defining brands, invest in new medium
5. There are no good domains left
There are plenty of domains available in secondary market (aftermarket). Example BoardGames.com, which was bought for $450,000. Owning the brand name, which will be a hub for online and offline gaming, this domain was a bargain.
Still lots of domains being bought on one platform and then flipped for a lot more within a year.
Opportunity: Buy more, co-develop, partnerships for acquisition and development.
Kellie says
#5 is very timely for me and I hope to be addressing this issue at SXSW 2011 in March. I submitted a proposal entitled “All The Good Domains Are Taken, Now What?” where I plan to explore options, including approaching domain holders to buy in the aftermarket.
Henry says
A very insighful piece. Right on, I might add particularly about the three word domain names.
What many domainers tend to forget is, whether two or three words name, if it’s a product or service that people are looking for or searching for, they will find you. There are many three word names that generate more searches than their two word, and in some cases, one word counterparts. It’s all about targeting. Develop them and you will have a goldmine.
Regards,
Henry.
Kevin says
Excellent points!
You have to innovate ideas and monetization strategies non-stop in today’s competitive enviroment.
David J Castello says
#4 could not be more true.
Mike says
@Kellie, thats outstanding. good luck w/ your proposal!
len says
Re: How are you able to move to brand when you can’t use a trademark. Just like in App’s it will hit computers too.
credit hire says
great post
proves again why this is the number 1 domain news site imho
cheers
Tom says
Myth #6: Parking companies are still a good investment. (NOT:)