Does Commuter Traffic Become Domain Type-In Traffic?

I wonder what percentage of commuters notice the domain name references on billboard advertisements and business signs? Of the percentage that do notice, how many actually retain the proper URL and visit the website at a later time or date?

We've all heard of expired domain names and the traffic they can receive from existing links that still point to the domain. But what about type-in traffic from outdated advertising material?

Does this exist at all and if so, is significant type-in traffic generated from outdated billboards, magazines, or even vacant business that didn't remove their signs when they closed shop?

Case in point, the photo (top left) shows a vacant building formerly used by a lending company. The lending company may be gone but the signs are not. Rather impressive signs I might add. Despite closing for some unknown reason, they obviously understood the value of promoting their company and website to the traffic passing by.

What's even more intriguing and not evident from these photos is the fact that this building is located on W150th Street,  less than 100 feet away and in plain view of all traffic on I-71, just south of

Cleveland, Ohio. Between the street and highway, I estimate that at least 250,000 people drive by these signs every day. That’s a conservative guesstimate, it may be significantly higher but I have no documentation to back it up.

Some of these daily commuters are in the market for a mortgage or personal loan which probably increases the likelihood of them noticing these rather distinct signs as they pass by. Perhaps they make a mental note and jump online to check it out as soon as they get home or to the office. I’m sure it happens but how often? That’s what I’d like to know.

Here’s the kicker that may inspire you to try and find out for yourself. At the time of this post, the domain name you see in these photos doesn’t resolve at all. It doesn’t expire until 2011 and appears to be under the control of a web design company which was probably hired by the lending company. I sent out a few emails to the design company and to an individual who I believe was the owner of the lending company. I didn't receive a reply. That was the extent of my attempt to acquire it, mostly due to time constraints.

It seems a shame that this potential traffic, both highly targeted and mortgage related, is being met with a “page cannot be displayed” error. Without setting up a testing period it’s impossible to know how much type in traffic the domain receives and therefore impossible to assign a value to it. If it does receive significant traffic, how valuable would this domain be to another mortgage broker if the current traffic was redirected to their existing site?

There are a lot of unknowns when trying to acquire and monetize a domain like this. You have no control over how long the references to the domain will stay in place. Imagine buying this particular domain and having the building's owner take down the signs the following month.

If anyone follows through with this and acquires this domain, I'd love to hear how it works out for you.

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Domain Flipping Revealed

Earlier this week, Namepros.com member Randomo revealed that he sold exactly 1,700 domains in 2007 mostly through quick turnaround sales (domain flipping). At first glance, 1,700 domain sales would seem to equate to easy profits but a closer look at the numbers reveals that flipping domains is, in fact, hard work.

First off, in order to sell 1,700 domains in a year, one would have to average just under 5 domain sales per day (7 days a week). Flipping 5 domains a day is one thing, getting high sales amounts for all of them is another. Randomo was kind enough to disclose that his average selling price was 3 to 5 times registration cost. This exact amount is open to interpretation but when totaled up, it appears that he was able to generate somewhere between 50k and 70k in revenues through domain flipping. These are my estimates based off the information provided.

To determine profitability we need to factor in the acquisition costs for the 1,700 domains that were sold. Again, the exact figures were not provided but I can safely assume a minimum of 12k if all domains were bought at standard registration fees and perhaps as high as 22k if the average domain acquisition cost was $12.95. Deducting the acquisition costs reveals the domain sales profits to be somewhere between 28k and 58k. This is a very wide range but it should be helpful in determining a worst case and best case earnings scenario.

The last factor we’ll consider when it comes to domain flipping is time. After all, these domains don’t find themselves. Once registered, it also takes time to market and sell them. Receiving payment and transferring domains to a buyer’s account isn’t always the smooth transaction that one would hope for. Randomo estimates that on average, he spends between 3 to 6 hours a day domaining. That comes out to 4.5 hours a day or roughly 1642 hours a year.

Using my guesstimated figures and translating them into an hourly wage, the best case scenario would have Randomo earning approximately $35 dollars an hour for his domain flipping efforts. The worst case scenario would still be pulling in $17 an hour. Either way, I believe the data shows that domain flipping, while profitable, does require work and is not a quick path to easy riches. Having said that, don’t discount the current and future value associated with the list of domain buyers that he has built through his efforts. That’s a valuable asset that’s hard to place a value on.

Many other factors were revealed in the Namepros thread namely, the types of domains sold as well as a list of the locations they were sold at. Visit the domain flipping thread for more details.

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Tips for finding brandable domain names

Not everyone is looking for keyword rich, generic domain names. Many Internet startups are looking for a simple, catchy name or phrase to build their online identity around. Brandable, web 2.0 style domain names have gained popularity in recent years mostly due to the explosion of social-networking sites.

A majority of today’s social-networking sites have catchy, nonsensical domain names. On the surface, it may seem an easy task to create long lists of available web 2.0 domains. In truth, finding an available, yet memorable domain name can be a real chore.

Finding the right brandable domain name requires a lot of creativity and also a bit of luck.

I’ve found the following resources to be of great use when brainstorming for brandables.

1. http://www.dotomator.com

Dotomator.com creates unique domains by combining different categories of word lists to make short, brandable domains. I’ve messed around with many different combinations and found many of the domains to be available. The word lists can also be used outside the dotomator platform to help you create your own terms. Additional inspiration for brandable domain names can be found using ther web 2.0 domain generator. The tool creates names one at a time and adds them to a column on the right side. These names can be used as is, if available, or further altered by changing key letters within the names to come up with completely new terms.

2. http://www.makewords.com

Makewords.com is another domain name generator which uses a very sophisticated interface that delivers surprisingly good results. In addition to brandable domains, Makewords.com can create hundreds of keyword rich names using a user supplied word and combining it with a number of keyword theme categories. They’ve also created a new domain search tool at http://www.randomainer.com which looks promising but I haven’t had a chance to give it a full test drive yet.

3. http://www.hackslash.net

This is a straightforward web 2.0 domain name generator that presents the user with 15 terms at a time. There are no user input variables and many of the terms include numerals. The main advantage of this tool is the speed in which it generates the names. Click the “make more” button and you’re instantly presented with 15 more names. Click it long enough and you’ll find plenty of catchy, memorable names. The disadvantage is that you’ll have to copy the terms you like into notepad and check them for availability at another site.

Hopefully these resources come in handy the next time you're looking for that perfect web 2.0 style brandable domain name.

 

Not another Domain Name Blog!

Wait! Don't go! I'm sure your bookmarks are probably already bursting with domain related blogs but I promise, I intend to be different and most importantly, I'm giving away potentially valuable domain names for free.

There's no sense in me reinventing the wheel. After all, there are already much more talented writers blogging about the domain name industry. Domainers such as Frank Schilling, Sahar Sarid, Jay Westerdal, and Elliot J. Silver are doing a remarkable job covering the domain name industry's news, trends, events and sales.

There's no way I'm cracking that lineup. Therefore, I'm going to have to resort to bribery to gain readership and to keep you coming back for more.

Do your part by bookmarking the Available Domain Names Blog and I'll promise to regularly post quality domain names that are available for registration. I'm talking good, commerce orientated domain names with relevant keywords. I'll also mix in some web 2.0 style brandable domains and other names that I consider to have development or resale potential.

Let me provide some background on these domains. My niche in the domain space is helping domain name investors quickly build out their domain portfolios with commercially viable, end-user orientated domain names. My client list is small, anonymous (don't ask), and has remained unchanged for a couple of years now and by all indications, will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

During my daily routine, I find hundreds of quality domain names. Not all of them fit the criteria my clients are looking for. Rather than keeping them to myself, I plan on using this blog as a channel to share them with the rest of you. By doing so, hopefully I can develop some good karma within the domain community which in turn will open up other doors of opportunity within this great industry.

So that's the plan and the basis for the Available Domain Names Blog. In addition to the domain lists, I also plan on making occasional posts on domain related news and other items that I think might be of interest to domainers. I'll try not to let that stuff get in the way of the meat and potatoes as I know folks really just want the lists.

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