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Everybody by now I think already is well aware of the fact that the domain industry is so full of opportunities. It has been really good to many people who got involved early on around the year 2000 and into 2001 as the dot com bubble burst and have become instant millionaires thanks to investing in domain names... Well, not really "instantly" like the next day but once they picked up a certain amount of domains it was clear that there would be a lot of money and big payouts down the road. The seeds were planted. They knew it... Some people have become multi-multi millionaires within a few years of being involved in the domain game within a relatively short wait period and few have even accumulated wealth well into hundreds of millions of dollars in the golden days chasing drops and buying out smaller players/porfolios. That is just great! Amazing visions and accomplishments.
The domain industry is so full of it... Big money... Big potential!!! Big everything. That is what you hear, right. But is it really? Well, that is what you hear everywhere you go it seems. Unfortunately, it's also full of some not so pleasant stuff too, such as lies, cheats, deceit and double standards. What are the lies you ask? It is all this talk by many of the hot shots of the industry for many years now about how domain name type in traffic being so valuable and the best type of traffic on the web and that it is so undervalued by the payouts within PPC. Is it really the best of the best?? Where exactly is the data to backup any of this claims --- can this be proved by anybody? Look, any legitimate traffic is good traffic! Good traffic is traffic that converts to signups and sales eventually. Good traffic is targeted traffic... Some generic domain traffic is anything but targeted traffic. You know it's the truth!
Domain holders have been playing up the press for years trying to push a certain agenda that domains have all this potential to convert visitors to clients or sales... Sure they do. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Once again, I say, any legitimate type of traffic does convert. Even from third tier PPC engines. If it didn't, they wouldn't be in business. But really, type in traffic is nothing special... Nothing ground breaking or anything to get excited about. It has been around forever since the internet was founded and it is still just traffic. It is not an exclusive stream of traffic or an unfiltered source of traffic. It's just traffic. It's mostly just people typing in a domain name looking for a certain website containing information or resources that are ready, willing and able to click on a link on your website and go from there. That is all... What is the big deal?
Some domains have certain value to them beyond the $7 or $8 reg fee because they generate free and organic traffic consistently and because they are short and memorable internet addresses perfect to setup a business on. Of course having a cool or memorable and relevant domain name is great as everything is about image this days and the domain name is certainly one of the most important variables. The generic keyword domains are desired by many of course... So they are in high demand which bumps up the value of some domains according to whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. What is the face value?? Is there any??? How do you go about determining an accurate valuation for a domain? It is really not so simple. Some people have come up with all this scientific ways and formulas to compare this and that and therefore my domain is equal so on and so on... Right!! They are just numbers... Random numbers.... Wishful numbers.
Yes, keyword domain names are strongly favored by the search engines... And by users who identify them and relate to them as there is a certain trust factor involved. Domain names have a lot of potential going for most of them but not even 90% if not more of all domains will ever be sold, well, maybe a small fraction of them will be at $10 - $100 but all of the rest and the majority never will be! Not at the ridiculous prices that some of the largest dot com domain holders have priced them at. Those guys have been playing up the press for years trying to make it look like all generic keyword domain names are the cream of the crop. Lies, I tell you... They are just domain names. The demand isn't there either. They are just pricing them high because they actually do not want to sell them. They want to hold on to them. They play hard to get. Just be careful guys, because that game doesn't work out so well at the end.. I am not suggesting that the industry is going to crash or anywhere near the "end" but the industry has changed. It is not what it used to be. People want the facts and transparency... The "it's got potential" argument is way way old.
Most domain investors will see a few reported high $xx,xxx sales or one mid $xxx,xxx sale per month and actually believe the hype that most generic domains are worth a ton of money! This keeps peoples hopes up that there may actually be a big pay day for them just because their domain is a generic. This gets people re-energized... It keeps the market going. Hahahaha.. So just because a few dozen domains sold per month or lets say even a hundred or two hundred... Heck, lets say one thousand... It means the industry is as strong and big as it is perceived to be? What about all the hundreds of thousands of domains that didn't sell?? What about all the tens of millions of domains that will never ever sell?? What about them?? Oh, right, you don't hear about the failures... Light only shines where there is success. What about all those generics that are for sale for 5, 6, 7 or 10+ years now and are still unsold? Yea... That is how it is. There isn't much talk about those. Don't forget about those, guys... You are welcome for reminder
It would be cool to publish a monthly report of all of the domains that go unsold... That wouldn't look so good eh?... Hmm... I wonder if I was to verify all of the reported sales or deals announced by some of the largest domain owners and brokerages evert week... DomainTools whois history is such a neat little feature... Hmmm.. OK, trust me on this, a lot of the sales that you see reported here and there are bogus but they manage to fly under the radar. I have noticed more than a few "screw ups" and "mistakes" as has been admitted up front by some of the larger players in the game here and there as well as brokers when the issue is pointed out. Deals that never happened. Deals that were actually done for much less behind the scenes. Lots of cheat and deceit, I tell you...
As for the double standards... Well... What can I tell you about this subject or problem. There are a lot of them. Some of the biggest trademark offenders are companies that are perceived to be the sweethearts and darlings of the industry. People are just scared to come out and confront them or talk about the issues at hand. Also many of the individuals who ***** and moan about others who own trademark domains, trying to make it look like they are the "good guys" in the public eye when in fact most of them themselves own typos and clear violation trademark domains. They themselves would snap up a typo domain name that has the potential to earn money if it was available on the cheap and not for 5x years revenue as most sellers would like to have, or if they were to discover that it was available for a $7 registration fee... They would grab it and by the thousands!! The Hypocrisy... Doesn't surprise me but it is funny. Lets keep it real guys... Lets try to be sincere for a change. Say it how it is. No more hiding. No more sugarcoating.
Stakes are high... Time to come out and do what's right but who am I to tell other people how to run their business? No no.. You don't have to listen to me, all I ask is that you take the information that is available to you and try to understand it in order to run your business better or more efficiently... You see, all of the problems I write about affect us all. You, me, Google, Parking companies, Registrars, etc. We are all in this business together. If you don't think it somehow effects you directly --- you need to snap out of the all-is-well domain spell that whoever put on you! The industry is not that big... It is a very small and immature and will never ever be accepted by the mainstream... The industry is controlled by only a few dozen companies and maybe a few hundred professionals. There are thousands of newbies that come and go every month but only a few hundred serious investors and true pioneers who have the most to gain but also the most to lose.
Oh so you think just because the same few hundred domainers show up at a few conferences at a hotel every few month's each and every year with their family it makes the industry somehow grow or look more legit? Nope... Look, the conferences have their place, it's nice to have, they are good to do business and meet your peers as well as generate some media buzz a few times per year which is good for certain peoples egos and to raise your profile...and no I don't have anything against the conferences or meets. I am all for them but I tell it how it is. I should note that I never attended any of the conferences because I already know everything I need to know about the domain game and so on and "domaining" doesn't even account for 1% of my income or business in the past few years. I was offered free passes to a bunch of the conferences more than once and I kindly declined. For the industry to continue to grow in this "tough" times and down times...what does it have to do in order to move in the right direction?? Tough question... Well, the industry has to clean up the TM infringement problems that exist as well as become more transparent... Those are the two obvious hot topics and most important issues that keep getting buried.
Do I love the domain industry? You damn right. It is a a pretty amazing industry... Do I have a lot of faith and confidence in the industry?? Hmm... I'm not really sure. Is there really any major players leading a reform or trying to get to the next step? There has been attempts, but all failed, quiet miserably at that. Is there any potential or brighter days ahead if we let things just transpire on their own?? Hmm.... Not looking so good. Don't get me wrong... Some parts of the domain industry are still hot and some really not. There is so many people holding onto thousands of generic domains when in fact only 5% of that portfolio is generating revenue, and the rest of the domains are just worthless domains.. So what if they are generics?? You can't sell them. You can't make anything with them with parking... What good are they? People renew this type of domains for years I have noticed... What is the point?? Sheesh.
The domain industry can still continue to grow but people have to realize that not all traffic is equal. Not all domains are equal either. Each and every domain is unique and should be judged individually. Greed has to be taken out of the equation and people have to come to their senses. It's 2009... Outlook isn't so good for the immediate future. You can deny it all day and as much as you want but that is how I see it. Less parking revenues.. Less sales... Lots of critical and unresolved issues... Not enough interest in the domain industry from mainstream as has been promised or dreamed up by certain people. Come on...It is all there. People need to wake up and do something about it before it is too late. The industry is a pretty fragile industry... Always have and always will be. If you don't understand why it's so risky this days and why the future is so dark like never before... Well, I leave you with two words: reality check.
The domain industry is so full of it... Big money... Big potential!!! Big everything. That is what you hear, right. But is it really? Well, that is what you hear everywhere you go it seems. Unfortunately, it's also full of some not so pleasant stuff too, such as lies, cheats, deceit and double standards. What are the lies you ask? It is all this talk by many of the hot shots of the industry for many years now about how domain name type in traffic being so valuable and the best type of traffic on the web and that it is so undervalued by the payouts within PPC. Is it really the best of the best?? Where exactly is the data to backup any of this claims --- can this be proved by anybody? Look, any legitimate traffic is good traffic! Good traffic is traffic that converts to signups and sales eventually. Good traffic is targeted traffic... Some generic domain traffic is anything but targeted traffic. You know it's the truth!
Domain holders have been playing up the press for years trying to push a certain agenda that domains have all this potential to convert visitors to clients or sales... Sure they do. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Once again, I say, any legitimate type of traffic does convert. Even from third tier PPC engines. If it didn't, they wouldn't be in business. But really, type in traffic is nothing special... Nothing ground breaking or anything to get excited about. It has been around forever since the internet was founded and it is still just traffic. It is not an exclusive stream of traffic or an unfiltered source of traffic. It's just traffic. It's mostly just people typing in a domain name looking for a certain website containing information or resources that are ready, willing and able to click on a link on your website and go from there. That is all... What is the big deal?
Some domains have certain value to them beyond the $7 or $8 reg fee because they generate free and organic traffic consistently and because they are short and memorable internet addresses perfect to setup a business on. Of course having a cool or memorable and relevant domain name is great as everything is about image this days and the domain name is certainly one of the most important variables. The generic keyword domains are desired by many of course... So they are in high demand which bumps up the value of some domains according to whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. What is the face value?? Is there any??? How do you go about determining an accurate valuation for a domain? It is really not so simple. Some people have come up with all this scientific ways and formulas to compare this and that and therefore my domain is equal so on and so on... Right!! They are just numbers... Random numbers.... Wishful numbers.
Yes, keyword domain names are strongly favored by the search engines... And by users who identify them and relate to them as there is a certain trust factor involved. Domain names have a lot of potential going for most of them but not even 90% if not more of all domains will ever be sold, well, maybe a small fraction of them will be at $10 - $100 but all of the rest and the majority never will be! Not at the ridiculous prices that some of the largest dot com domain holders have priced them at. Those guys have been playing up the press for years trying to make it look like all generic keyword domain names are the cream of the crop. Lies, I tell you... They are just domain names. The demand isn't there either. They are just pricing them high because they actually do not want to sell them. They want to hold on to them. They play hard to get. Just be careful guys, because that game doesn't work out so well at the end.. I am not suggesting that the industry is going to crash or anywhere near the "end" but the industry has changed. It is not what it used to be. People want the facts and transparency... The "it's got potential" argument is way way old.
Most domain investors will see a few reported high $xx,xxx sales or one mid $xxx,xxx sale per month and actually believe the hype that most generic domains are worth a ton of money! This keeps peoples hopes up that there may actually be a big pay day for them just because their domain is a generic. This gets people re-energized... It keeps the market going. Hahahaha.. So just because a few dozen domains sold per month or lets say even a hundred or two hundred... Heck, lets say one thousand... It means the industry is as strong and big as it is perceived to be? What about all the hundreds of thousands of domains that didn't sell?? What about all the tens of millions of domains that will never ever sell?? What about them?? Oh, right, you don't hear about the failures... Light only shines where there is success. What about all those generics that are for sale for 5, 6, 7 or 10+ years now and are still unsold? Yea... That is how it is. There isn't much talk about those. Don't forget about those, guys... You are welcome for reminder
It would be cool to publish a monthly report of all of the domains that go unsold... That wouldn't look so good eh?... Hmm... I wonder if I was to verify all of the reported sales or deals announced by some of the largest domain owners and brokerages evert week... DomainTools whois history is such a neat little feature... Hmmm.. OK, trust me on this, a lot of the sales that you see reported here and there are bogus but they manage to fly under the radar. I have noticed more than a few "screw ups" and "mistakes" as has been admitted up front by some of the larger players in the game here and there as well as brokers when the issue is pointed out. Deals that never happened. Deals that were actually done for much less behind the scenes. Lots of cheat and deceit, I tell you...
As for the double standards... Well... What can I tell you about this subject or problem. There are a lot of them. Some of the biggest trademark offenders are companies that are perceived to be the sweethearts and darlings of the industry. People are just scared to come out and confront them or talk about the issues at hand. Also many of the individuals who ***** and moan about others who own trademark domains, trying to make it look like they are the "good guys" in the public eye when in fact most of them themselves own typos and clear violation trademark domains. They themselves would snap up a typo domain name that has the potential to earn money if it was available on the cheap and not for 5x years revenue as most sellers would like to have, or if they were to discover that it was available for a $7 registration fee... They would grab it and by the thousands!! The Hypocrisy... Doesn't surprise me but it is funny. Lets keep it real guys... Lets try to be sincere for a change. Say it how it is. No more hiding. No more sugarcoating.
Stakes are high... Time to come out and do what's right but who am I to tell other people how to run their business? No no.. You don't have to listen to me, all I ask is that you take the information that is available to you and try to understand it in order to run your business better or more efficiently... You see, all of the problems I write about affect us all. You, me, Google, Parking companies, Registrars, etc. We are all in this business together. If you don't think it somehow effects you directly --- you need to snap out of the all-is-well domain spell that whoever put on you! The industry is not that big... It is a very small and immature and will never ever be accepted by the mainstream... The industry is controlled by only a few dozen companies and maybe a few hundred professionals. There are thousands of newbies that come and go every month but only a few hundred serious investors and true pioneers who have the most to gain but also the most to lose.
Oh so you think just because the same few hundred domainers show up at a few conferences at a hotel every few month's each and every year with their family it makes the industry somehow grow or look more legit? Nope... Look, the conferences have their place, it's nice to have, they are good to do business and meet your peers as well as generate some media buzz a few times per year which is good for certain peoples egos and to raise your profile...and no I don't have anything against the conferences or meets. I am all for them but I tell it how it is. I should note that I never attended any of the conferences because I already know everything I need to know about the domain game and so on and "domaining" doesn't even account for 1% of my income or business in the past few years. I was offered free passes to a bunch of the conferences more than once and I kindly declined. For the industry to continue to grow in this "tough" times and down times...what does it have to do in order to move in the right direction?? Tough question... Well, the industry has to clean up the TM infringement problems that exist as well as become more transparent... Those are the two obvious hot topics and most important issues that keep getting buried.
Do I love the domain industry? You damn right. It is a a pretty amazing industry... Do I have a lot of faith and confidence in the industry?? Hmm... I'm not really sure. Is there really any major players leading a reform or trying to get to the next step? There has been attempts, but all failed, quiet miserably at that. Is there any potential or brighter days ahead if we let things just transpire on their own?? Hmm.... Not looking so good. Don't get me wrong... Some parts of the domain industry are still hot and some really not. There is so many people holding onto thousands of generic domains when in fact only 5% of that portfolio is generating revenue, and the rest of the domains are just worthless domains.. So what if they are generics?? You can't sell them. You can't make anything with them with parking... What good are they? People renew this type of domains for years I have noticed... What is the point?? Sheesh.
The domain industry can still continue to grow but people have to realize that not all traffic is equal. Not all domains are equal either. Each and every domain is unique and should be judged individually. Greed has to be taken out of the equation and people have to come to their senses. It's 2009... Outlook isn't so good for the immediate future. You can deny it all day and as much as you want but that is how I see it. Less parking revenues.. Less sales... Lots of critical and unresolved issues... Not enough interest in the domain industry from mainstream as has been promised or dreamed up by certain people. Come on...It is all there. People need to wake up and do something about it before it is too late. The industry is a pretty fragile industry... Always have and always will be. If you don't understand why it's so risky this days and why the future is so dark like never before... Well, I leave you with two words: reality check.
