strategy Does Anyone Know That They Want This Domain Name?

Domain name investors have many choices in landers and marketplaces. Some options come with high commissions, others low commissions, and options like the NamePros landers have no commissions at all, other than transaction cost.

Is it worth it to list a name at a site with a higher commission? The answer is: it depends. It depends on the type of name and the likely buyer.

The NamePros Blog article The Many Ways People Might Discover Your Domain Name is good background for this article.

The Essential Questions

Answer the following questions for a few names in your portfolio:

1. Is this a name that would benefit a business, organization or individual? If the answer is no, why do you have the name? If the answer is yes, proceed to the following questions.
2. Is this a name that many businesses or organizations will know that they want, and will seek out? For example, a generic or product/service match term in .com will be be desired and sought by multiple potential buyers. So would the right names in .io or .ai. Certain two-word combinations would fall into this category as well, if they represented important products or services. The key point is the potential buyer will think of the name on their own, and seek it out. Relating to the title of this article, someone knows they want this name without you needing to bring the name to their attention.
3. But even if the name does not pass that test, it does not necessarily mean that the name is not saleable. Next ask whether this name would be desired by multiple businesses if the name was presented as an option. The key point is that the potential buyer would recognize the name as valuable, but they needed to be shown the name as an option. They might sometimes search for these names, but not always.
4. Next, let’s move to names that the potential buyer would seldom think of on their own, but might consider if presented. The difference is somewhat subtle compared to the previous category, but names in this group would require a little while to grow on the potential buyer. Many strong two word combinations would fall in this category. Pricing of available alternatives play a role here as well. For names in this category, even if the potential buyer searched, odds are they would not search for this exact combination.
5. The last category are names that might appeal to some buyers, but the buyers would almost never think of the name themselves. There is essentially zero chance of searching for the exact term, and little chance of even searching for something similar. Think of an example like a speakable 6-letter combination with no anchor terms. Names like this will be unique, more easily trademarked, and, depending on the structure and connotations, can become, with marketing, a great brand. But without the boost of a brandable marketplace they will almost never be found.

Sometimes You Just Need A Lander

Where and how a domain name needs to be presented depends on the above questions. If you are fortunate to have a name with multiple potential buyers knowing they want the name, you just need to have a way for them to make contact, negotiate effectively, and have a payment and transaction process that they trust.

Normally this is accomplished by a lander. It could be a marketplace lander, a standalone service like Efty, DomainIO or Sudos, a registrar marketplace lander, the NamePros landers, a parking page that includes a purchase link, or landers you have designed.

The free NamePros landers provide verified contact information, are https-enabled and load fast, look professional, and can be linked with Escrow transactions. Various developments are under way in response to member requests. And they are free! Here is link to the original Help Section on NamePros Free Domain Landing Pages.

I don’t mean to imply that a broker, agent or marketplace can not help the name sell more rapidly or for a higher price, but for these names they are not essential for the name to sell.

Names That Need Search

Names in the middle categories need to be listed somewhere with effective search. These names will appeal to potential buyers, but only if they know about them.

If you hold names in second-tier extensions, like .io, .co, .app, .xyz, and many others, you probably depend on the marketplace to present the availability of these names. The now abandoned Afternic search did that moderately well. If a potential purchaser entered the term Example, with no extension, the previous Afternic search presented names with that exact term in the most sold extensions, along with some high-rated two word combinations in legacy extensions.

Two-word names that include a popular service or product as one of the terms, like ‘health’ or ‘services’, are more easily found in search than a made-up brandable without a defined use category. To demonstrate this without commenting on a name someone might own, i went searching for an unregistered example. As I write this, OrneryOrca.com is available. It is not a good name, despite the alliteration and possible visual image, but it does demonstrate the type of name that general marketplace search would probably never show. A name like this needs a brandable marketplace to have any chance.

Now consider a name like RexRepairs.com, also available to hand register at time of writing. This name would have a better chance to be possibly found in search at a general purpose marketplace. Someone starting an automotive or appliance repair business might search for available names with ‘repair’ or ‘repairs’ and this name might be presented in a list of options. A name like this could well be found through general purpose marketplaces although a brandable marketplace might help.

The NamePros Blog had an article about a year ago Making Domain Name Marketplace Search Better. It covers the strengths, and weaknesses, of Dan and Sedo search, as well as the old Afternic search, and search at some of the large sellers and brandable marketplaces.

Generally speaking, listing your name on more marketplaces will improve chances of it being seen somewhere. Network listing will also help, as covered in the following section. If listing at brandable marketplaces, make sure that you know and follow their rules regarding exclusivity or partial exclusivity.

Expanding Search

The idea of the networks, Afternic Fast Transfer and Sedo MLS, was that potential buyers are likely to be searching at registrars, or at other services like web hosting companies and domain appraisal sites, so names at a single marketplace could be presented for possible purchase many places.

The NamePros Blog has looked at the advantages, and complexities, of the networks a few times, including A Deeper Look at Fast Transfer Sales Networks and It Just Got Easier To Get .IO and .XYZ Names Seen by Prospective Buyers, as well as in Part 2 of the Just the Basics series.

The fast transfer networks definitely have limitations, but they offer the promise of your name being searchable by many more potential buyers at their registrar of convenience.

What Does A Brandable Marketplace Offer?

The brandable marketplaces, such as BrandBucket, Atom Premium or BrandPa, charge higher commissions, usually 25-30%. What do these marketplaces provide?

• They are curated, meaning that only certain names are accepted. Potential buyers know the name has met at least some basic acceptance criteria.
• Names are professionally presented with a logo, description, etc.
• Names are effectively categorized. This may be done by AI, the marketplace, or the seller. Categories potentially allows the marketplace to more effectively route buyers to names that might be a good fit. If you have input on categories for each name, it is important to invest the time to get them right.
• The marketplace provides an easy path to find names suitable for a specialized niche. For example, this link shows names at BrandBucket related to Risk Management – they have many dozens of niches like this. The Atom approach is a bit different, but here is the portal for finding names at Atom related to the telehealth niche. Looking for an Eco-Friendly name at BrandPa starts here. None of the compilations are perfect, and I wonder at some names included, but compared to a general purpose marketplace the process is easier to find relevant names in a niche.
• The brandable marketplaces all provide general information related to company branding.
• The brandable marketplaces also provide additional services. For example, the Atom Brand Alignment button will take a potential buyer to a page where they can briefly describe their business, and it will suggest how this name fits, ideas for logo design, brainstorm tag lines, as well as offer links to paid services like audience testing or logo design.
• Traditional search is supported, including begins with, contains or ends with choices, and settings for length, etc. The brandable marketplaces generally scored better in search than general purpose marketplaces in my survey Making Domain Name Marketplace Search Better. Nevertheless, the sheer number of names even at the brandable marketplaces can make it hard to have your names noticed.
• The marketplace sets, or suggests, pricing. I know some sellers don’t like this, but as a buyer if you know the marketplace has been curated and an expert has approved pricing, you will have a bit more confidence.
• The marketplace staff interact with the client on your behalf, sometimes negotiating the price. It is sort of like having a broker handle the final steps of a sale.
• Probably, in general, brandable marketplaces secure higher prices on names, compared to what they would sell for at a general marketplace. Yes, I know there are exceptions, where the reverse is true.
• The brandable marketplace spends money on advertising specific names, including retargeting ads.
• One client who intends to buy an aftermarket name is worth many who are simply browsing. People coming to the brandable marketplaces are actively looking for a name, and expecting to pay 4 figures or more. Many of the searchers from a registrar network are expecting to pay registration fee.

I can’t tell you whether a brandable marketplace is right for your names, or worth the commission. However, the further down your name is in the categories, the more likely your name is to need their services in order to be found.

I sense some frustration over sell-through rates (STR) at brandable marketplaces. Keep in mind that brandable names, no matter where listed, I suspect have lower sell-through rates. A completely made up brandable, on average, will have a really low STR if it is listed only at a general marketplace, simply because no one will guess the exact name to search for it. A brandable marketplace might present the name in a set for a certain niche, however.

On the other hand, the brandable marketplaces only accept certain names, supposedly the better ones, so that should be reflected in the STR.

Not All Names Same Place

The most important single message in this article is that different names will get found in different ways. A brandable marketplace is not the optimum place for all of your names, but it may be essential for a few of your names.

A Name May Be Found and Bought Different Places

Don’t confuse where the name is first found with where it sells. Most domain investors have encountered a buyer choosing a certain platform, even if the lander does not point there, sometimes at a higher price. Some buyers will prefer to deal with a company that they know from advertising or other services.

The recent analysis of 2024 NamePros member reported sales showed 48.9% of reported sales were at Afternic, and another 26.9% at Dan.

Outbound and Brokers

Particularly for names that are unlikely to be found by search, or for names that you are seeking a rapid sale, outbound or a broker services might make sense. That is a whole topic, or two, on its own, but the information and links in Just The Basics – Part 3 – Outbound, Promotion, UDRP, Parking can help you get started.

That said, a made up brandable may be a poor candidate for outbound unless it has a very obvious use, and generally brokers only handle relatively high value names.

Names with a Geo+Service or Service+Geo structure may be particularly suited to outbound, since the potential buyers can be readily identified.

Niche Domain Marketplaces

If you have a number of names in a small niche, it might be worthwhile to consider your own site to promote just these names. Now that there are many ways to inexpensively close sales, and easily create attractive websites, this may be easier to accomplish than in the past. I am planning an article on this topic for some future NamePros Blog.

Try To Find A Few Of Your Names

I have been in domain investing a number of years, but actually had never done much searching to see how findable, or not, my domain names were until the past couple of years. It was eye opening. Whether your names are at a general purpose or a brandable marketplace, try to find a few of your names.

If they are hard to find, consider how you might improve that, either by listing at an additional marketplace, or improving assigned categories, or eligibility for a transfer network.

Apparently some people find domain names via Google search, so also try a search on something like ‘domain name Example’ to see if your name lander appears, and if it ranks high.

There are numerous other aspects of name visibility covered in The Many Ways People Might Discover Your Domain Name. Checking that you have a working lander should be job one in the process for most names, but in itself may not be enough.