"Type-In" traffic?

[rprosser]

I'm fairly new (as a would-be professional) to this game, and I've often wondered what this phrase really means, and how important it really is.

I gather that the expression refers to people entering a well-known word or phrase directly into their browser's address bar, rather than using a search engine - though with IE at least this may still result in a search.

If that's the case, then there must be few names which match such entries, and practically none that are still available. So why do so many buyers ask for such traffic? Are they being realistic?

So I am beginning to wonder if 'TIT' (sorry) really means something else - perhaps use of a search engine like Google. If that is true however, then the actual site name may have little significance, because the content seems to be more important these days. Obviously a keyword-rich name is better, but I doubt very much that it is necessary.

I am puzzled, and I would welcome some clarification. Apologies for my ignorance.

 

[bidawinner]

"I gather that the expression refers to people entering a well-known word or phrase directly into their browser's address bar, rather than using a search engine - though with IE at least this may still result in a search."


Bingo..nice to have someone that understands what a type-in is.


Thats also correct few left ..thats why you se everyone picking uip "dropping names"

and speculating in new TLds, ccTLDS for generic words that will most likely also develop into "typeins..

a GREAT type-in omains simply means you dont need to pay for listing in SE's .. you dont even need a se..

Instant traffic and thats what it's all about...

 

[jingle]

though with IE at least this may still result in a search
**********************************
sometimes if you type in a domain without the www, IE will take over even if there is a site at the domain.. something to do with the way the hosting company sets up their service, I think. I would avoid those hosting companies as it would result in lost traffic.

 

[dotNetKing]

I gather that the expression refers to people entering a well-known word or phrase directly into their browser's address bar

I think it is usually that they type in the domain name, hoping to find a relevant site, e.g.

bmw.com or fishing.net rather than just bmw or fishing

I think it is probably fairly hard to work out with any precision exactly what proportion of traffic is type in as opposed to links and bookmarks, except for names which have never ever had a web site attached to them.

If visitor stats are available, it is presumably not possible to distinguish between visitors who come via bookmarks and those who come by typing the name in.

If it is possible to work out what proportion of visitors are type-ins, I would be interested to know.

 

[rprosser]

So "Type-In" is something of a myth then? I accept that something like mp3.com is worth having, but as I said you would be very lucky to get a name like that.

So what makes for a good name? Does the name in fact matter that much, if it is really the content (of an active site) that counts?

My guess is that a name has value if it is relevant, short, and memorable. Even .com may be less important these days. The real value of course is in having traffic!

 

[DomainPairs]

www is the default 3rd level (sub-domain) and browsers no longer require 3 levels for a URL. That why it works now if you leave it out. You can buy type-ins to try to pick up mistakes that people make when entering URLs. wwwcars for example (they forgot the dot). I bought www.hormy.com and get a few hits on that. You can also buy a .com and hope to pick up traffic from myopic people that have just bought a .co.uk only for example. The other source is people typeing in a descriptive phrase to see what they get. www.computerthreats.com for example.

They are still available. You have to watch out for them and grab them fast when they arrive.

 

[jingle]

That why it works now if you leave it out.
*****************************
It doesn't always work though. I'm not sure if you meant to say it works all the time or not. For example, try cibc.com then www.cibc.com

 

[Lord Baltimore]

Type-in traffic is the key to success with domains. That's one of the many things that Domain King taught me.

Take the grand poobah, www.Sex dot com. Every day thousands of people type those letters in a browser. They don't find that site from a search engine. They don't pay a listing service for the traffic. The traffic is specialized; i.e., it is obvious what visitors are looking for. Finally, there is an excellent chance that the person who decides to pay for some adult entertainment will buy it from Sex dot com, because he or she thinks that this site has the best to offer.

Quality type-in traffic is what we all should aspire for.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by Lord Baltimore
Type-in traffic is the key to success with domains. That's one of the many things that Domain King taught me.

Type-in traffic is giving way to search engine traffic. It's more targeted, more need-based, more profitable from a business conversion point of view.

Time to move on in our thinking

 

[Lord Baltimore]

Mole, you're totally wrong about that. I make money from both.

Search engine traffic has never--and will never--convert as well as type-in traffic to the same site. And, search engine traffic is increasingly expensive. Plus, good SEs like Google are constantly changing their algorithms. That means that if you run a business based on SE traffic you can never sit back and relax. You have to constantly make changes to stay where you're at.

I think some people here need a few lessons from Domain King.

 

[Biggie]

Originally posted by dotNetKing

If visitor stats are available, it is presumably not possible to distinguish between visitors who come via bookmarks and those who come by typing the name in.

If it is possible to work out what proportion of visitors are type-ins, I would be interested to know. [/B]

I get lots of type-in traffic from "jackassmovie.com" although you cannot see the "referers" from where it comes, you can see what type of browser they are using and the unique hits.

currently getting 100 plus hits a day.

 

[Lord Baltimore]

"currently getting 100 plus hits a day."

A hit is not necessarily a visitor. The only stat that is meaningful from a traffic perspective is unique visitors.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by Lord Baltimore
Search engine traffic has never--and will never--convert as well as type-in traffic to the same site.

Reminds me of a horse with blinders on

There are many ways to skin a cat, type-in traffic being one of them.

 

[DomainPairs]

Originally posted by jingle
That why it works now if you leave it out.
*****************************
It doesn't always work though. I'm not sure if you meant to say it works all the time or not. For example, try cibc.com then www.cibc.com

Looks as if they've got a few sub-domains there and they are also trying to be clever with java and other tricks. If they put a catch-all in there for sub-domains it would probably work.

This seems to be an increasing thing with web designers - show everyone how clever you are and lock out loads of potential customers. It's great for me who takes a simple approach because I want the trade, I don't care if people think I'm out of the ark.

 

[bidawinner]

Originally posted by Lord Baltimore
Mole, you're totally wrong about that. I make money from both.

Search engine traffic has never--and will never--convert as well as type-in traffic to the same site. And, search engine traffic is increasingly expensive. Plus, good SEs like Google are constantly changing their algorithms. That means that if you run a business based on SE traffic you can never sit back and relax. You have to constantly make changes to stay where you're at.

I think some people here need a few lessons from Domain King.

Yeah we all need to learn from the KIng and Buy PORN.COM ! :laugh: Copme on LB.. What Rick did was buy a few of the very top porn names then started using that type-in traffic to transfer to his many hundreds of name s WITHOUT type-in traffic.. thats TRicks model..

And yes I this a a good model if your can afford the very cram bnames that get tens of thosands of visitors everyday....
the fact is MOST names even thoise with Type-in traffic donnot get enough ntype-in traffic on their own..they still need SEarch engies,,


Rick was in the right place at the right time...

Otherwise you end up like Ultsearch who buys tens of thosands of names all that MIGHT get 1 or 2 type-ins a day from reach name and combine all thatb traffic until you FORCE a model that will bring you revenues....


I cant afford 100,000 names.. I cant afford Porn.Com as can neither 99.999999 % of the people in this business...

The next step is Dropping names ..thats why that is so hot and popular.. you can get residual traffic from names that have already developed tyraffic and or in there own rights have true url Type-in value.

 

[mole]

The DK model is one that is impractical and only serves to widen the divide between the haves and have nots. I've nothing against this model, just feel that many people should use their brains more to figure out a different model for success based on their circumstances, rather than be rats following the piper into the river.

 

[avs162]

if your name doesnt resolve without the www it is a simple fix to implement and subdomains should resolve as well by using a wildcard in the correct file.

i dont know of any hosting companies who cant change the file so it works in any variation and you can lose substantial traffic by having it set wrong.

whats amazing is some big companies dont have it right

alexa.com
bmw.com

and others wont resolve without www

thats embarrasing especially for a company like alexa

 

[mole]

Originally posted by avs162
if your name doesnt resolve without the www it is a simple fix to implement and subdomains should resolve as well by using a wildcard in the correct file.

i dont know of any hosting companies who cant change the file so it works in any variation and you can lose substantial traffic by having it set wrong.

whats amazing is some big companies dont have it right

alexa.com
bmw.com

and others wont resolve without www

thats embarrasing especially for a company like alexa

It's apparent they don't use eNom. eNom makes the without www settings a no-brainer

Moral of the story, eNom rocks, bar none.

 

[DomainPairs]

So what do the ENom spammers do Mole. Do they modify the url before it gets to the host name server. That sounds dangerous. it's like my isp deleting mail that I want because they think it's spam.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by DomainPairs
So what do the ENom spammers do Mole. Do they modify the url before it gets to the host name server. That sounds dangerous. it's like my isp deleting mail that I want because they think it's spam.

Spammers do that and more, pairs. They cloak the real URL with clever scripts, and worse they are getting better at that. Today for example, javascripts reassemble URLs in your email client prior to which the URL looks like gibberish to spam filters. You can write a thesis about spamming tricks, but do bear in mind that spammers are hiring anti-spam experts into their payroll to beat the system.

Even ISPs Microsoft and AOL admit they underestimated the wiles of professional spammers.

This is not a registrar problem, this is a worldwide problem that, like DDOS, like new generation viruses, and stealth spyware, will cripple the trust and reliability in/of the Internet.

I only mentioned eNom because it provides a very clear and powerful user interphase to manage and figure out domain.tld and www.domain.tld issues.

So, the question now becomes, are you with OpenSRS or a competing registrar?