Domains Re-Revisted The topic of domain names for a site is always a topic of current interest . Last year I wrote about the challenges in assessing the value of a domain name.

The basics of website names are always true. Domains with solid keywords relevant to your business are always a good idea, especially if you are going to build a high quality site around it.

However, it has been difficult to find good keyword dot com domains in recent years. Almost any domain name with a few common words is owned by someone. In the past, domainers even have programs that mechanically purchase domain names with strings of common words, just for the speculation value.

But the domain collector/speculator market is changing. The value of a parked or redirected domain, in general, is less than it once was. Parked domains are not bringing in the revenue they once were, as the economy and the PPC ad market have dropped off considerably. (So my domain collector friends tell me, anyway.)

In this new tougher market, many people who would buy domains just to hold onto them and see if they appreciate are letting annual registrations expire to save the fees on unwanted domain properties. So if you are a site developer, the market for dropped domains is as good as it's been in some time.

I recently picked up kansascitycriminaldefenselawyer.com after someone decided not to renew it. It's a long domain, which means it isn't great for branding purposes - it's difficult to share with someone and get them to remember it. However, it has excellent keywords, and no dreaded dashes! It will make a good site for search engine results & traffic in that market.

Finding Expired Domains

There are many sites that do this, but I've had good luck using snapnames.com. They have a very useful feature where you can set alerts on keywords so that you are emailed when any domains with those keywords are coming available.

Again, you can put a lot of time into these efforts if you are so inclined. I generally don't devote much time to these treasure hunts, myself. But you can definitely get lucky, and pick up domains that used to be live sites, quite possibly with live links to them. I have a friend who even found a domain that still had an active PPC campaign. The former owner was still spending money buying traffic for a domain they no longer owned!

The bottom line is, in this economy, it is a good time to be looking for bargains. You can definitely domains that can be built into profitable sites in your niche, and can bring in revenue well into the future.

Labels: domains, keywords

 

posted by Dave Matson at 11:03 AM