advice Adding domain description on your landing pages. Does it make a difference?

[peace800]

Hi

As an example when using the DAN landing pages you have the option to add a domain description to your page for the domain. For example you can add reasons why the domain would be a good purchase or mention the importance of a category defining domain to the category in question.

Does it actually make a significant difference in leading to sales? Can it influence a buyer?

 

[wizard]

It will make no difference if someone wants to buy it they will if you have to explain it to a buyer then they are not the right buyer and if the domain is good then the right buyer will come one day

 

[vij]

It will make no difference if someone wants to buy it they will if you have to explain it to a buyer then they are not the right buyer and if the domain is good then the right buyer will come one day

Words worth in gold, for all the newbies

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It is a good question @peace800 and one that I think has sound arguments on each side. As @wizard has wisely said, based on his long record of successful transactions, most of the time it will not matter. I might even go further and say it can in some cases be a negative, if your description boxes the name into a use that is not what the potential purchaser has in mind.

That being said, I would argue that there are situations where a well worded description can indeed be beneficial. Often the analogy of real estate to domains is used. Imagine you are with two realtors and considering buying a condo or house or commercial property. One provides you with a fancy brochure with nice pictures and text highlighting the positives of the community. Also an information sheet that tells you things like the dimensions of rooms, the assessment, the tax, how much comparable homes have recently sold for, the zoning, etc. The other simply unlocks the door and says here it is. Which are you more likely to buy from?

I think whether descriptions add value depend to some degree on the type of domain name you are selling. If you are selling a well known single dictionary word in .com, a short numbered domain name in .com, or a short acronym in .org or .com, I see little reason. However, if you are selling a domain in a new extension, or an extension that is gaining traction but not yet as well known as the big 3 legacy, something like .ai or .io or .co, I can see that there could be benefits to providing a description that addresses some likely questions and concerns. For brandable names, I am conflicted. I see some danger that the description may distract, since the potential client almost certainly has a somewhat different use in mind.

An additional reason to consider descriptions applies to situations where traffic may help you bring a buyer to a domain that she/he would never have guessed to look for. If you do your own landers as individual web pages, or if you use something like the Epik landers that are in essence single page websites, you can achieve some modest amount of traffic with well chosen descriptions and links. I did a little personal test of this recently looking at about 20 landers I had set up a few months ago on Epik, some with descriptions and some with just the standard content (no domain description). Then I looked back and although a number of the ones with descriptions are in Alexa 5M (none are in Alexa 1M yet) none of the ones without descriptions made the Alexa 5M (a few made 10M). Now this is a small study which does not prove anything definitively, but I am convinced that descriptions can help pages rank to some degree.

There are other points pro and con descriptions which I wrote up in this blog post just over a year ago. I plan to address the issue in an updated post, either here or on NameTalent, in the not too distant future. I will try to remember to post a link here. Thanks for the good question.

Bob

 

[BaileyUK]

I've recently added general domain info to my listings, really just to summarize history, also to link to cctld if also listed. I wouldn't go overboard on suggesting 'Usage' etc. The potential buyer knows what they want to do with it not you.
I note DAN does state it can improve search engine ranking but personally I'm not sure that is true of a simple text field.

I suppose you could try filling up the text field with 'Key Words' as an experiment

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I suppose you could try filling up the text field with 'Key Words' as an experiment

While I don't deliberately list a bunch of key words , if you do decide to do descriptions, there is of course as @BaileyUK points out advantages to including in the description the main keyword terms. This is particularly so if the actual domain name does not precisely include the keyword.

I would love to see an example of the kind of general information you use, @BaileyUK. I believe (although have not used that feature) Epik allow a default content that is applied to any lander. I can see that saving some time if one wants each listing to have some general wording about the value of digital assets, payment plan options, etc. To my knowledge DAN do not allow default wording, but if I am wrong, could someone correct me.

Your own or the Epik landers permit links, and the question is whether it is a positive or negative to link to similar domain names should you have them for sale. Some correctly argue that doing that simply adds uncertainty to the consideration, and leave that out. On the other hand, if you think someone might like another name you have more, then it might help you get some sale. I am uncertain but in some cases have showed other options. Epik rather generously allow you to link to your whole portfolio if you wish (maybe not if it is on a competitive marketplace, not sure if they block that or not).

If you are doing descriptions in DAN, remember that you can add bold or italic text to make things stand out. You just select the text and hold and a little box will show up giving you those choices.

I like that DAN allow nice long descriptions, not that those are necessarily recommended . Even wordy me has never hit the limit of how long they can be.

Bob

 

[HotKey]

A well-thought out lander can create a sense of urgency, so I'm all for them. The more descriptive, the potential buyer may see that they are not the only one for that domain.

Yes a good name sells itself, but a good name going to a blank page or something non-descriptive leaves less of an impact, thus potentially putting the purchase on the back burner for the buyer.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Hello,

From what I've seen, adding domain descriptions on your landing pages can help sell your domains but it's rare. In the cases I've seen it work is when the description opens the minds of potential buyers to see a new use or to like the domain even more than they already did because they didn't realize it could be thought of that way or apply to a certain industry.

It's not always obvious what a domain could be used for, or what makes it so great, and if you can explain that in the description (This is part of selling any product) then you will increase the chances that more buyers will be interested and that buyers will be willing to pay more for it.

@Ali made a lot of excellent examples of this in the past, here's a couple that come to mind:

SlowDown.com

Ali: Well, he has never bought a domain before... And he told me that he was just thinking about slowing down, winding down, taking life easy, this and that, and immediately I found his string and I emailed him back and I was like: “You know what. You are speaking my language, man. I moved to Hawaii. I do not watch TV. I go to the beach and watch the sunset. Just slow down, right?” And after that, he was like: “I am ready to make an offer,” like immediately after that email. And he offered 13 thousand. I was like 15 thousand. I will cover escrow and give you ten years of registration, and you got a deal, and it was done.

Travel.Agency

• https://www.namepros.com/posts/5359889/

A lot of buyers may not have looked at those domains in that way or thought of using them for those purposes but once Ali presented them in the right way, the interest in the domains increased.

Hope that helps,

 

[HotKey]

Being descriptive also doesn't necessarily mean it has to be wordy. It's possible to leave a lasting description in 5-10 words even.

Whatever is done, never take away from the star of the show, the domain name. Too much fluff, cheapens it. On the flipside, a professional fluffer could probably brighten a lower-quality name to the less discerning.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

If domain is old - I just add something like: Registered since 2001
And that's all. Never spend my time on such activity.
Almost all endusers want only a good price and nothing else.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Usually sale happens if it is within buyer's budget and:
Buyer is interested in your domain only;
OR
Buyer is also considering a few other domains but your price is the best (significantly below your competitors).

Where "description" factor here - I don't see.

 

[Josytal]

Hi

As an example when using the DAN landing pages you have the option to add a domain description to your page for the domain. For example you can add reasons why the domain would be a good purchase or mention the importance of a category defining domain to the category in question.

Does it actually make a significant difference in leading to sales? Can it influence a buyer?

One more reason.
If one of the objectives is to monetize your traffic, then adding unique description and keywords to your landing page is highly recommended.
It can be tedious, though, especially if you have hundreds of domains.
We are looking into ways of automating the process.

Overall, it gives a touch of "seriousness" to your landing page or marketplace (if you have one), can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and boost ranking.