2009 is over for domaining: What did you learn?

[the_poet]

That's once again that time of the year. A new one is about to start. But, before we leave 2009, what do you have to say about all the new thing you learnt?

This has been my first year in domaining, I discovered this great world in April, by chance. During the first 5 months I registered, registered and again registered names, without a single sale. Then I was about to give up. When I had my first sale, a LLLL.com bought for $17 and sold for $12, you can't imagine my joy. Ever since that sale, I had 20-ish sales, all in the low-mid $xx, but for now I can consider myself satisfied.

What about you?

 

[dotker]

2010 is a wild year ahead for domaining.

 

[wot]

I have learned that it is not over until the fat lady sings and there are still 4 days left of 2009 and a lot can happen in that time-hope! :lol:

I will review 2009 on the 1st Jan 2010 :wave:

 

[Jolin]

What I've learned is that never buy hastily according to instinct. There's a research that needs to be carried out as to whether the keyword combination can actually fetch good selling price.

 

[the_poet]

I have learned that it is not over until the fat lady sings and there are still 4 days left of 2009 and a lot can happen in that time-hope! :lol:

That's very true! :D

 

[deleted984054565403]

That "domaining" is a joke and has no long-term viability for 99.9% of "domainers" selling their hand-registered bargain-bin three-word "OMG PREMIUM" .nets. The outside world doesn't care that you own a random-letter four-letter .com, because it's completely worthless to the world outside the happy, warm, alienated nest of domaining. I sold all my names this past January, and I've since only registered domains as I needed them. They're much more valuable to me than worthless two-word .coms that appeal to a special niche that wouldn't have any interest in purchasing the names to begin with.

I almost feel bad to the poor people wasting their money on the names I sold. Even though they were dirt cheap when compared to the domaining community's "market value" (which is based upon nothing but sales inside the domaining "bubble" -- it's founded upon nothing and names are only valuable because certain people say they have value). I know that whoever ends up with these names will end up with nothing of value.

I learned just how greedy domainers can be, setting up "mini sites" containing senseless material and regurgitated content so they can make pennies through PPC revenue for the stray Google searcher. In case you hadn't noticed, Wikipedia is here and is the gold standard for informative articles on almost any subject. Think of any common subject or item (my first thought was popcorn) and Google it. Wikipedia is likely the first or second result. Nobody wants to read your ad-ridden "site" that detracts from the quality of the rest of the Web.

It's much more rewarding to develop an actual businesses than it is using Web 1.0 logic of squatting on domains (and domainers even use their own, highly-specific definition of "squatting" to not make themselves sound bad!).

Sorry for the negative tone, but I'm thankful that I learned all this before I wasted any more money on something that isn't worth the time or effort. Hey, you asked what I'd learned. :p

 

[d0main]

I learned just how greedy domainers can be, setting up "mini sites" containing senseless material and regurgitated content so they can make pennies through PPC revenue for the stray Google searcher. In case you hadn't noticed, Wikipedia is here and is the gold standard for informative articles on almost any subject. Think of any common subject or item (my first thought was popcorn) and Google it. Wikipedia is likely the first or second result. Nobody wants to read your ad-ridden "site" that detracts from the quality of the rest of the Web.

It's much more rewarding to develop an actual businesses than it is using Web 1.0 logic of squatting on domains (and domainers even use their own, highly-specific definition of "squatting" to not make themselves sound bad!).

Domainers are in the business of making money, not for the betterment of the web. Just FYI.

 

[deleted984054565403]

Domainers are in the business of making money, not for the betterment of the web. Just FYI.

Exactly. This supports my point. Their only objective is to make themselves money, not to help advance this amazing technology we have at our fingertips.

 

[fatter]

Exactly. This supports my point. Their only objective is to make themselves money, not to help advance this amazing technology we have at our fingertips.

Some peoples strength is building websites, for succesfull domainers its an astute ability to reg names that get natural typein traffic, if people didnt want what was on the parked landing page I wouldnt average 50 percent click rate. On a side note many web developers act like they are building businesses when in actuality they are just building sites to make money, like they are morally on the high ground and domainers are losers

 

[deleted984054565403]

On a side note many web developers act like they are building businesses when in actuality they are just building sites to make money, like they are morally on the high ground and domainers are losers

I agree, fatter. I personally classify people who build websites for the sole purpose of making money rather than providing unique information or services to be on the same level of domain squatters.

 

[Ronald Regging]

Exactly. This supports my point. Their only objective is to make themselves money, not to help advance this amazing technology we have at our fingertips.

Oh please, don't get all self-righteous. Look at the Internet as a whole. We have more people online then ever before. Millions upon millions upon millions, all brought together in one common space. Have we used this amazing technology for anything good for the world?? NO.... All we do is socialize on Facebook, watch videos on YouTube and whatever the hell the point of Twitter is, because I still haven't figured that out, but apparently everyone loves it. There is no amazing technology, just a bunch of crap and a whole hell of a lot of people.

 

[tollund]

That "domaining" is a joke and has no long-term viability for 99.9% of "domainers" selling their hand-registered bargain-bin three-word "OMG PREMIUM" .nets. The outside world doesn't care that you own a random-letter four-letter .com, because it's completely worthless to the world outside the happy, warm, alienated nest of domaining. I sold all my names this past January, and I've since only registered domains as I needed them. They're much more valuable to me than worthless two-word .coms that appeal to a special niche that wouldn't have any interest in purchasing the names to begin with.

I almost feel bad to the poor people wasting their money on the names I sold. Even though they were dirt cheap when compared to the domaining community's "market value" (which is based upon nothing but sales inside the domaining "bubble" -- it's founded upon nothing and names are only valuable because certain people say they have value). I know that whoever ends up with these names will end up with nothing of value.

I learned just how greedy domainers can be, setting up "mini sites" containing senseless material and regurgitated content so they can make pennies through PPC revenue for the stray Google searcher. In case you hadn't noticed, Wikipedia is here and is the gold standard for informative articles on almost any subject. Think of any common subject or item (my first thought was popcorn) and Google it. Wikipedia is likely the first or second result. Nobody wants to read your ad-ridden "site" that detracts from the quality of the rest of the Web.

It's much more rewarding to develop an actual businesses than it is using Web 1.0 logic of squatting on domains (and domainers even use their own, highly-specific definition of "squatting" to not make themselves sound bad!).

Sorry for the negative tone, but I'm thankful that I learned all this before I wasted any more money on something that isn't worth the time or effort. Hey, you asked what I'd learned. :p

I'm sure not everything I can buy at the supermarket is intended purely to benefit me through being made to "use" rather than purely to "sell". If people want to go to my minisites and click on my ads then so be it, no one is forcing them to do it.

Are you saying you never watch the ads on your television and, furthermore, buy a product based on the ad? Do you turn your radio off when the ads come on as well?

It sounds to me as though you have been unsuccessful in 2009 and harbour bitter feelings about your experience. Best of luck to you in 2010 if this is the case.

 

[deleted984054565403]

Oh please, don't get all self-righteous. Look at the Internet as a whole. We have more people online then ever before. Millions upon millions upon millions, all brought together in one common space. Have we used this amazing technology for anything good for the world?? NO.... All we do is socialize on Facebook, watch videos on YouTube and whatever the hell the point of Twitter is, because I still haven't figured that out, but apparently everyone loves it. There is no amazing technology, just a bunch of crap and a whole hell of a lot of people.

I'm not talking about the Web 2.0 movement; I'm talking about the Internet as a whole. Do you realize the power of the information we have available, the means of communication we didn't have twenty years ago? It's incredible!

Are you saying you never watch the ads on your television and, furthermore, buy a product based on the ad? Do you turn your radio off when the ads come on as well?

I listen to advertisements when watching TV or listening to the radio. Whether or not I decide to act based upon how those advertisements influence me is my decision. Advertisements have a place in those types of media, as they support the station or organization that's on the air.

In Web terms, these are the banner ads and 15-second commercials you see before watching a video on YouTube or Hulu. YouTube and Hulu provide great and unique services that are supported through advertising. I'm not anti-advertising, but I (along with most of the Web) don't feel strongly about greedy domain squatter putting "content" on a domain to get picked up by search engines.

When I say I dislike websites that are created only to make money, I'm referring to any domainer-created "mini-site" that's using a freebie WordPress template with generated content, or a turnkey script. If you can find a way to create a unique site or program and fund it through advertising, that's great; you're not helping anyone when you're simply creating a web page that has rehashed content that's loaded in ads. I can't name one helpful "mini-site" I've ever encountered.

On the same note, what happens when your banner advertising dries up? What happens when advertisers realize how ineffective and outdated most banner advertising really is? AdBlock Plus alone has garnered over 66,000,000 downloads in the past three years. What happens when people stop buying generic domain names because they can think of something better, or use a service like Twitter to get their message across? Who still types in keyword + keyword + keyword + .com into their browser's address bar?

It sounds to me as though you have been unsuccessful in 2009 and harbour bitter feelings about your experience. Best of luck to you in 2010 if this is the case.

2009 was my first year since 2005 that I was out of the domain game. I didn't leave because I wasn't successful; in fact, I made my two biggest sales on my way out. I would have remained as a NamePros Staff member if I still had interest in domaining, but I left in late 2008 to pursue new interests.

I learned a lot about what the rest of the Internet thinks about greedy, selfish "domainers" who squat on domains that other people could be using. I developed three useful websites that are unique, interesting, and valuable to the industry in which I have interest (the goal was to create a service, not to squeeze an extra pixel out of a design to fit another ad). I brushed up on my design and development skills and did some freelance work in addition to my full-time position as a web developer for a local agency. I sold off my domain names in the first week of the year and didn't have to deal with renewal fees. I realized that selling domain names alone isn't viable in the long term, with new technology and trends within the past eight years as strong evidence that most domain names registered by squatters simply to be parked to earn a few dollars through parking revenue. As I mentioned previously, if you want a piece of information, you'll go to Wikipedia. If you need to find something specific like the weather, local restaurants, travel destinations, and video game reviews, you'll use Google (which pays primary attention to the value of the content on the page rather than the domain name in the URL). If you want to be someone's friend and get in contact with then, you'll use Facebook. If you want to see what a famous person is saying or thinking, you'll use Twitter.

To say my 2009 was unsuccessful could not be further from the truth; I had the most fulfilling, satisfying year in a long time.

I hope you have a great 2010 yourself. My hope is that you realize the time and money you're wasting through domaining and that you catch up with the rest of the Web and use a 21st century mentality to find a way to make money online.

Anyway, I know I'm definitely in the minority here, so I'll go crawl back into my troll cave. Happy 2010!

 

[Kate]

When I say I dislike websites that are created only to make money, I'm referring to any domainer-created "mini-site" that's using a freebie WordPress template with generated content, or a turnkey script. If you can find a way to create a unique site or program and fund it through advertising, that's great; you're not helping anyone when you're simply creating a web page that has rehashed content that's loaded in ads. I can't name one helpful "mini-site" I've ever encountered.

...

I learned a lot about what the rest of the Internet thinks about greedy, selfish "domainers" who squat on domains that other people could be using.

E-commerce websites too are created only to make money :gl:

Sure, I see a lot of crappy 'minisites' like the ones you describe above, but you see it's not a domainer thing per se.
Many people just think they are good at webdesign :]

I prefer to leave my domains parked until they are sold or developed rather than set up MFA that bring no added value. Parking relies on type-in and not SEO, it's a different monetization model. Personally I think MFAs are more frustrating than parked pages, especially when they involve black hat SEO techniques.

I love people that come with an 'entitlement' mentality. I think it boils down to frustration at lateness and missed opportunities.
Moreover, most domainers have developed sites. Domainers are not all clueless when it comes to webdesign.

One thing that I have confirmed in 2009 is that there are still opportunities in domaining, and it's never too late.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

If the internet didn't make money, it wouldn't exist--if Google and Yahoo could not have figured out a way to make money, then they would have died out. None of this comes with a free lunch.

If I decide to buy a generic domain and I decide to park it, build a mini-site, or simply send the url off to la-la land, then that's not squatting. That's called "capitalism"; if an end user wants to have a domain owned by someone else, then he or she should make an offer to the owner, who will accept, counteroffer, or say, "No, Thanks."

If the buyer and seller can't come to an agreement, then the end user should move on to another domain or make an offer the owner can't refuse.

It's just that simple.

*

 

[tollund]

On the same note, what happens when your banner advertising dries up? What happens when advertisers realize how ineffective and outdated most banner advertising really is? AdBlock Plus alone has garnered over 66,000,000 downloads in the past three years. What happens when people stop buying generic domain names because they can think of something better, or use a service like Twitter to get their message across? Who still types in keyword + keyword + keyword + .com into their browser's address bar?

What you are describing is simply funamental economics. Nothing is static, I don't think anyone expects these things to last forever in their current form. They never have in any other area, so why would they on the Internet? When supply outstrips demand for banner advertising, we'll see new services become popular. I'd wager Google and the bigger web-centric companies already have business models and new services ready for when it does happen.

 

[d0main]

Look at how well wikipedia, one of few truly non-profit sites online, is doing with its fundraising domain. There has been a banner up for the past three months from the founder to "appeal" (ie. beg) the readers to donate 7.5 million dollars for one of the best resources that's ever been created by mankind, free or paid. Not only that, the site is struggling to keep its volunteer labor that's been keeping it afloat since its conception. If it only had one small banner on each page and built any sort of viable business model that rewards its contributors, it could sustain itself and make the life of so many people better.

 

[the_poet]

Wish one of us had a great sale today or tomorrow!