domains There's No Money In Brandable Domaining

Some people in the domaining industry (I’m talkin’ well-known professionals) say that there’s no money in brandables. And here’s why:

• They have no Exact Match Domain search results.
• There’s no Pay-Per-Click demand or competition.
• Buyers can make up their own name; supply is virtually unlimited.
• Buyers have to spend money to educate their customers on what the name means.
• Buyers have to spend even more money to get customers to remember the name.
• Buyers have to want your exact name among the multitude of variations: Weby, Webi, Websy, Webzy, Webly, etc.
• For these reasons, they have a lower perceived value.

And you know what? I can’t argue with any of the reasons listed above. They’re all valid points.

So, why would any domainer want to invest in brandables?

Answer: Because against all odds and against all logic, they sell.

In fact, sales are increasing. According to BrandBucket, their sales are up 250% year over year through August. And sales between domainers are up too. Just look at GoDaddy, NameJet, Sedo, and even NamePros. I don’t have any exact facts and figures, but I look at sales lists every day, and I see more and more brandable sales every week.

Here’s a few from this past week:

• HodgePodge.com sold for $8,000 – To my surprise, hodgepodge is actually in the dictionary, but even so, it’s not a product or service search term, so I’m declaring it a brandable! And a pretty dang good one at that.

• SaveYourSole.com sold for $2,500 – A nice play on words. But I’m not sure on the industry application. Shoes, I guess. Do any others come to mind?

• Manaca.com sold for $403 – This one’s already branded. It’s the name of a smart card used in Japan.

• MyleStone.com sold for $666 – This is one of those spelling variations. What’s the industry applications for this one? Motivational courses, speakers, CD's, anniversaries, graduations, etc.

• EZtalk.com sold for $709 – Lots of potential here. Social forums, phones, telemarketing, and on and on.

• Flightz.com sold for $2,000 – Many airplane, jet, and travel companies would rock on this name.

• Aquatron.com sold for $1,030 – An indoor surfing machine or a water purifier?

For a more comprehensive list of brandable domain sales from this past week, check out DNGeek.com.

So, what do you think? Are brandable domains heroes or zeros? Cruisers or losers? A profit infusion or a domainer delusion?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

[domainerfella]

Thank you for the blog.

 

[domainerfella]

You are right - "they do sell"

 

[Banezer]

nice one. Brandable does sale. But i find it hard to invest in brandable domain. I need a market i can atleast predict a little, not just wait hoping to sell bcos their is no one to contact

 

[ResoluteDomains]

Thank you for this. Its so true. About 50% of my sold names over the past 14 years have been brandable.

They can say There’s no Pay-Per-Click demand or competition all they want but the reality is that PPC is essentially dead, even to keyword names. Google has made sure of this. Names that used to earn me hundreds of dollars per month now barely get 25 to 50 cents in a month. Same generic names, no fads or trends names.

So having brandables actually gives me another avenue of income in the portfolio. Its good to diversify - much like with a stock and bond financial portfolio.

 

[BrandChimp]

Great Brandables sales. I used to sell brandables in the mid $x,xxx and I buy them in the low $xx to low $xxx.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

Well said @AGAME !

 

[Keith DeBoer]

Great Brandables sales. I used to sell brandables in the mid $x,xxx and I buy them in the low $xx to low $xxx.

Yea, super markup/ROI is another reason to consider them part of your portfolio

 

[boker]

The thru is that it's easier to flip an average keyword domain or llll.com than an average brandable, so that most of the domainers need liquidity and they will chose and feel comfortable investing in the first ones. But on the other hand, investing in the long term in PREMIUM brandable will bring more ROI and it will be less costly. The only thing is that you need enough money for the long run and be realistic about the price.

 

[BrandChimp]

The thru is that it's easier to flip an average keyword domain or llll.com than an average brandable, so that most of the domainers need liquidity and they will chose and feel comfortable investing in the first ones. But on the other hand, investing in the long term in PREMIUM brandable will bring more ROI and it will be less costly. The only thing is that you need enough money for the long run and be realistic about the price.

You need to find undervalued keyword domains to make a quick flip. You make money on the buy. TwoWords.com can also be considered as "liquid" and you can get great ones under $500.

 

[Templr]

Some well-known professionals claim many observations, but it doesn't mean one should follow or believe, especially if there is no evidence based literature to back up their report.

 

[AndyM]

Nice post keith, thanks.

Some of the most successful sites are brandables, zoopla (property), shpock (classifieds) zavvi (movies and games). Names that mean nothing but with the right development have become mega sites and known globally.

 

[kemjika11]

BUt if they dont sound or read well(to the end user) then they are dodos.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

The thru is that it's easier to flip an average keyword domain or llll.com than an average brandable, so that most of the domainers need liquidity and they will chose and feel comfortable investing in the first ones. But on the other hand, investing in the long term in PREMIUM brandable will bring more ROI and it will be less costly. The only thing is that you need enough money for the long run and be realistic about the price.

Excellent points. Generally speaking brandables have limited liquidity.

 

[Mike Y]

There was a post somewhere in the domain blogosphere, where the startups names were discussed, and they were/are often rubbish, completely meaningless, sometimes just stupid. Of course there are many examples of great brands which name is just make no sense, but for me, if one/twoword.com/io/etc can shed some light what the particular products is about, it's just easy to remember, it's easier to refer to something as a brand when you know a meaning of the word.
That's why I think it would be good idea to inform startups that they can find their product names diggin' through the domainers' portfolios.

 

[boker]

There was a post somewhere in the domain blogosphere, where the startups names were discussed, and they were/are often rubbish, completely meaningless, sometimes just stupid. Of course there are many examples of great brands which name is just make no sense, but for me, if one/twoword.com/io/etc can shed some light what the particular products is about, it's just easy to remember, it's easier to refer to something as a brand when you know a meaning of the word.
That's why I think it would be good idea to inform startups that they can find their product names diggin' through the domainers' portfolios.

This is true, mostly because the owners of most startups are young guys, with a good idea but no real commercial experience and they dont know all the steps they have to make from a great idea to the big success. You have more chances to reach the light with names like simba, aladin, conan or redrose than an average keyword or brandable, with no roots in public mentality. I think that us, domainers, mostly the experienced ones, should try to educate the startup owners in this direction.

 

[BrandChimp]

This is true, mostly because the owners of most startups are young guys, with a good idea but no real commercial experience and they dont know all the steps they have to make from a great idea to the big success. You have more chances to reach the light with names like simba, aladin, conan or redrose than an average keyword or brandable, with no roots in public mentality. I think that us, domainers, mostly the experienced ones, should try to educate the startup owners in this direction.

Even if they understand the importance of a great brand name, they might not be able to afford a great .com. This is why they are buying made-up words or .io .me .co. They are affordable.

 

[boker]

Even if they understand the importance of a great brand name, they might not be able to afford a great .com. This is why they are buying made-up words or .io .me .co. They are affordable.

It's true that most of the great brandables are long gone or to expensive, but you can have a less known word or a made up, which is catchy and make the right connections in the customers eyes. I have some handreg's which I think that they will do ok with the right product or service: MotorKite( listed for 6,3 k at NR), wackio(2,3k), simba.co( with some offers) exoteri ( accepted by both BB and NR) absorbeo and absorbio( accepted by BB and low xxxx offer) and other 100 like this. In the end I think that if the name touches something inside the customer than it's has enough value to start building on it.

 

[Skyvisum]

Names that mean nothing but with the right development have become mega sites and known globally-Domainivate.
My Opinion is that brand names will continue to sell and the good ones will increase in value and not decrease.

 

[Kate]

Brandables DO sell. While they may less liquid than generic domains, they can be very rewarding. They are always in demand because end users want to differentiate themselves from the competition and they are looking for names that are somewhat unique.
Obviously some brandables are better than others...

 

[PoliticalVII]

Some may say brandable sales are based on luck, but they don't understand that luck is when preparation meets oppurtunity.

I researched an industry( marijuana)
Looked at the problems facing a specific process of the industry
( delivery )
I looked at the businesses facing this problem head on( Speedweed, Eaze, weedmaps etc )

Like an amarteur I experimented with a few words on ( wordroid, namemesh, leandomainsearch) ,

I couldn't find nothing. I went outside to buy some food for some inspiration( enough internet for the day), I found out that (****)
and in that single moment i blurted out a two word combination
behold I created a brandable !!!

Anyone can make a brandable, but what makes a unique brandable ?

It's when you receive a set amount of offers after emailing pitchs to blogs, businesses etc

I'd like to think I own a unique brandable, I just hope brand bucket accepts it. So I can turn it into a premium brandable.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Nice post Keith and thanks to the shout out to DNgeek.com!

My two cents: Exact Match Domains are very difficult to brand and every smart entrepreneur wants to build a brand these days.

Imagine if all cereal brands would be called: Best cereal, Every day cereal, Super tasty cereal. You think those names are memorable, easy to brand and remember for consumers. You think kids would love them?

Same for cleaning products, peanut butter, medicines, online travel, clothing, etc.

Exact match domains will limit your companies growth and ambitions. This is the reason we named our company Efty and not DomainPortfolioManager.com - Why? because Efty is much more than just a domain name management software. We also believe it is much easier to remember (Efty.com vs DomainPortfolioManager.com) and there's absolutely zero benefit from an SEO perspective these days to have a EMD. In fact, brands outperform EMDs these days for almost any search.

I do think it's good however to point out that keyword based brandables have started outselling the made up, invented names lately showing a lot of companies do still prefer to have some sort connection in their name to their market, service or product.

 

[Weber]

Well, if someone is using a search engine to find a "domain portfolio manager", the odds are quite high that they aren't going to type in efty.

 

[RU]

Nice post Keith and thanks to the shout out to DNgeek.com!

My two cents: Exact Match Domains are very difficult to brand and every smart entrepreneur wants to build a brand these days.

Imagine if all cereal brands would be called: Best cereal, Every day cereal, Super tasty cereal. You think those names are memorable, easy to brand and remember for consumers. You think kids would love them?

Same for cleaning products, peanut butter, medicines, online travel, clothing, etc.

Exact match domains will limit your companies growth and ambitions. This is the reason we named our company Efty and not DomainPortfolioManager.com - Why? because Efty is much more than just a domain name management software. We also believe it is much easier to remember (Efty.com vs DomainPortfolioManager.com) and there's absolutely zero benefit from an SEO perspective these days to have a EMD. In fact, brands outperform EMDs these days for almost any search.

I do think it's good however to point out that keyword based brandables have started outselling the made up, invented names lately showing a lot of companies do still prefer to have some sort connection in their name to their market, service or product.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Well, if someone is using a search engine to find a "domain portfolio manager", the odds are quite high that they aren't going to type in efty.

You are absolutely right but that wasn't my point. What I mean is that you do need to have the keywords in your domain or the exact keyword match to rank for those terms. Which is why Amazon ranks first if you search for books (just an example). Efty ranks on the first page in Google when you search for: domain name management software without having any of these keywords in the domain.

Only Bing and Yahoo search still favor EMDs but their market share is neglectable.