Choosing Domains To RENEW or DROP?

[Nfc Domain Names]

Choosing What Domains To Renew or Drop?

I buy a lot of future trend, product, service domains. For example on the latest Californication episode I saw a hologram of a deceased character used at a funeral on the show. It seem liked it could be everyday practice as holograms become more mainstream so I bought HologramFunerals.com and FuneralHologram.com.

I definitely register more names than I can renew (damn you Godaddy coupons) and I like to hand register future names in single year increments and use the stats I collect over the year to decide which names to drop and which to renew. And I feel like I have pretty good process for deciding which ones to keep but I’m hoping to get some second opinions on it.

I create a data rich spreadsheet with all my domains updated stats and evaluate their performance based on those stats. Then I use my gut for the final decision.

Because I don’t expect to have large amount of enquiries on my future domains (most technologies related to the names are a few years out) I think using data is the most efficient way to aid the decision making process.

Here is how I do it.

First I add all my names to Estibot (not for the valuations but for all the data about the names I can export in a single spreadsheet) and then I organize the names in relationship to each other on separate tabs within the spreadsheet.

For example Near Field Communication related names gets a tab, Mobile Banking related names get a tab, and Mobile Wallet related names get a tab. This way I can sort them by the different variables only in relation to similar names

For Example- NfcTagService.com Vs NfcTestKit.com would be compared in the same tab and names like MobilePaymentForum.com Vs SwipeWallet.com would not be listed on the same tab. By sorting them this way I can see which names are performing in relations to similar names I own in the same category.

Once they are all organized by category, I customize the spreadsheet by adding these stats.

*I add the amount of exact search traffic for those keywords and cpc from the Google keywords tool (estibot gives you this with its export but I believe Google is more accurate so I use their numbers instead)

*I look to see if the exact keywords have been registered by another person with a dash-between the keywords and mark yes or no in that column

*I check to see if the exact keywords have been registered in another extension like the .net or .info and how many other extensions have been registered

*I check to see if someone else has registered the singular or plural version of my domain and put yes or no in that column

*I add month by month totals of whois lookups from go daddy reports. I create a column for the total amount of whois lookups over the year and add another column with the average amount of who is look ups per month.

*I add the amount of traffic from the domains parked page over the last year to a column

*I add the total amount of times the sales listing has been viewed to another column

*I add how many exact results are returned from Google when I perform a search for the domain's keywords in another column.


I can then sort the names by their different variables in the columns and easily compare similar names side by side.

For example I can sort by the most sales page views or by lowest search results ect…

After I think I have the names with the least chance of development or sales potential removed from my list I let my business partner look over my names without stats, just to get a second opinion on which names make the most sense to keep and which ones really make no sense to hold.

As you can imagine having all this data in one place can be very helpful and once the spreadsheet is created it takes about a half a day each month to export and copy paste the latest data into the spreadsheet to keep it fresh.

That’s how I do it for FUTURE trend domains.

I do add additional information from Zfbot for NON future domains like BlueJean.co. Zfbot can tell me how many variations of the name are registered with “BlueJean” in the domain across many extensions.

I will also do searches on non future names like BlueJean.co on Manta.com. By performing a search there I can see how many business use the keywords “Blue Jean” in their company name.
This helps me to see how many prospects I can offer the name to.

ALL That being said…………………………….

I am curious as to what your processes are for making your decisions on whether to keep or drop domains and what type of data you use to help with your decisions? (especially in relations to future trend domains which may not have search traffic yet or very little results returned in Google)

I was also wondering what would you consider the most important variables when using data to decide which domains to renew or drop. ?

Out of the data I use which do you think is the most important variable?

The amount of exact searches for the keywords in the Google keyword too?
Whether the exact keywords have been registered by another person with a Dash-Between the keywords?
Whether the exact keywords have been registered in another extension by someone else?
Whether someone else has registered the singular or plural version of the domain?
The total whois lookups from godaddy reports?
The amount of traffic to the parked page over the last 12 months?
The total amount of sales listing views?
How many results Google returns for a search for the exact keywords?
How many other names are listed by Zfbot.com containing the same keywords as the name?
Or how many companies you can find that have your domain's keywords in their business name who may want it?


I do tend to get analysis paralysis sometimes so any feedback on how you choose which names to renew or drop would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[sadiyakhan]

I would like to know a thing that is: Is domain renewal is more expensive than domain registration?

 

[hopkism]

OP: I only renew names I have a working plan for, have made me more money than registration or are a work in progress. I also only renew with money made from other domains so my regular savings and investments are not be used.

It feels good to let a lot of junk drop and focus on your homerun hitters.

This is coming from a developer.

I would like to know a thing that is: Is domain renewal is more expensive than domain registration?

Just about always. If you haven't seen the Godaddy discount code thread, you can often register a domain for a couple of bucks. That's how they get you hooked.

When it's time to renew it's usually the $10-15 rate. Occasionally, you can get it down to like $6-8. But if you register about a hundred names at the couple dollar level, renewal can become a real expense.

 

[Kate]

I think your Excel sheet will look dull without a 'revenue' column.

If you have a portfolio of say 100 domains, and did not sell a single one - you've been a domain collector. Just a few sales would help you achieve a twofold goal:

• you generate cash to renew the rest of the portfolio - ideally the portfolio should be self-sustaining, or even better: profit-making
• the sales validate your strategy and choice of domains

Predictive domaining is a perfectly valid thing, but it's very speculative. I would not feel comfortable with more than 10% 5% of 'forward-thinking' domains in the portfolio.
All the metrics you've quoted are not a reliable measure of the likelihood of a sale. It's better than nothing, but it's still reliance on hope. If you research comparable domains that are taken, check if they are developed (owned by end users) or if they are all taken by domainers and parked... because you are not the only one speculating in new trends.
And of course, if some of your domains get a bit of traffic, that can be a possible sign of interest. Look where the traffic comes from.

I think domains like HologramFunerals.com are much too niche and narrow in scope. Thinking outside the box yes, but not too much (or my accountant will give me a dressing-down).

 

[Name Trader]

Future trend, product, service domains are very very difficult to evaluate whether to keep or not. I think the only way to evaluate them is to go back to the original purpose for buying the domain and look at whether the reasons remain true today. If so, renew. If any doubt, drop. As sdsinc says, you really are at the speculative end of the domaining industry. Are you making money in this sector? If not, then I think you should re-think your strategy. sdsinc is right on the money when implying you probably shouldn't have most of your portfolio in such a speculative area of the industry. It should be a minimum portion of your portfolio. Else you are in for a bumpy ride.

 

[Nfc Domain Names]

Thanks guys for all your feedback.

I am looking forward to using some of your suggestions to make some cuts.