ChubbyDfat
Established Member
- Impact
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After reading one of the threads " Is this a suitable analogy for domainers ", it inspired me to make this post.
There is a certain ebb and flow for me in regards to Real Estate speculation (some may call it investing, but it is all speculation until the moment you make a profit). Right now I am out of Real Estate because everyone and their mother is talking about how good it is... which is my red flag indicating that we are probably going to look for a down market (bubble burst) in Real Estate in the near future. So I am back to Domaining (internet Real Estate, if you will).
The aforementioned thread glossed over this idea but did NOT quite hit it on the head in my opinion. There was a lot of missing parts and components to the analogy. With that said, allow me to put in my 2 cents.
In Real Estate, there are 2 major types that you are looking at.
1) Commercial and 2) Personal. Each have their own unique set of rules and guidelines of what is needed to make make it successful and *IT IS IN MY OPINION* that domaining follows the same rules once you break it down.
I am sure everyone has heard of the saying "location, location, location" and this saying is true to both Real Estate and Domains. The "location" will directly influence the perceived value of either Real Estate or Domain *BUT* the rules differ for each type (commercial/personal) that you are looking for.
For commercial property, the highest desire is traffic. You want a steady flow of traffic by your place of business and that almost guaranties some element of success on its own.
McDonald's chooses corner lots on busy roads for a reason. It doubles their drive bye traffic and allows for greater convenience for their customers. McDonald's is in the Real Estate business more so then the burger business... dont be fooled.
The same thought process can be utilized for a mom and pops coffee shop or donut shop. You have to pick the right location for success. Let me give you an example.
A coffee/donut shop will see the most traffic in the mornings. Thus it is imperative that prior to choosing a location, they do some footwork and watch the flow of traffic. During the morning commute, you will see that the traffic has a tendency to flow in one direction. For your business to be a success, you must choose the location that will allow the traffic to freely access you during your peak hours (i.e.... be on the right side of the road). This will allow the ease of traffic in and out of your place of business which in turn will give you a greater portion of the drive bye traffic.
Business domains are no different.
If you are looking for a BUSINESS domain, you want the most traffic possible. A great keyword that fits your business is the best start. That alone will grant you some organic traffic. Next is building a facility that will accommodate your customers (read SEO/Website). In this case the ability to ease traffic in an out is up to your website and the placement of the big sign (SEO) out front (think the golden arches) lets people know you are there and open for business. This will increase your traffic flow and the value of your domain.
This is all well and good but does not fit if you are looking for a place to live (personal website). Most people do not want to live on a busy highway with millions of cars passing bye. Bear with me as I get this opinion out.
In fact I would hazard to bet that many of you would rather a house that has it all... all the glitz and glam that you see on the famous peoples houses. Hidden rooms, huge pools, heated floors, tennis courts, and the list can go on.
Those are rare and hard to come by. There is a certain numismatic value (think rare baseball cards) associated with those pieces of property because they are rare and widely sought after.
Personal domains are no different in this regard as well.
Singular letter and/or number domains hold value because there are just so few of them. 26 single letters and just 10 (if you count 0 as a number) numbers as a domain name in any given extension.
Very sought after (not for traffic) but for numismatic value.
Proper names hold great value, 2 character, 3 character... all hold great value because of numismatic value.
For me, I came late to the game. I only started to see that domains held Real Estate value about 6 years ago and I spent the few year or two trying to piece together how it all fit within a context that I know and understand (Real Estate).
Now I believe that I have a firm grasp on what to look for in regards to domain names. I look at each as a piece of property. Is it going to be for personal use or commercial use. That will tell me what type of rules apply to it.
If I am looking at commercial use then the domain name *MUST* fit within the context that it is intended (with a few exceptions) with a great key work for help promote traffic flow. Traffic flow is the number 1 goal of any commercial used domain name.
If its personal use domain name, then it has to have some numismatic value. What makes this name worth something? Why is it rare? What gives the domain its value?
Now with that being said, we can now take on the task of extensions (.com, .net, .co, ...etc)
Everyone here can agree (I am sure) that .com is akin to Real Estate in New York city in that it holds the greatest property value. The problem is that the central city is sold out and the the buildings there cost more then most people will see in their lifetime.
So now you start looking to longer tail names, but that pushes you further outside the city proper and the names/Real Estate value decrease as a result. We are nearing the point of saturation and the names are getting closer to upstate New York and Canada then they are to the NYC.
The next alternative are other extension. Yes, they take you out of the NYC area but, there are still value in other Real Estate outside the major cities. There are little pockets of expensive Real Estate here and there. They are small and get picked up quickly by savvy speculators but they are out there. They have their own traffic and they have their own beautiful houses.. No where near the millions of people that flow through NYC at any given moment or the property value of a skyscraper, but they are nothing to sneeze at either.
For me, if I had this association a few years back, I would have made several different choices in some of my failed domain names however I learned a lot through my failures. I have since made some wiser choices and made some nice sales (for profit) and even though I have failed more then I have succeeded... my success more then made up for my failures.
For any person who is just now looking into domaining, if you can put it into some sort of context that you understand (real estate, baseball cards, computers... etc) then I think that will help you make wiser decisions about what domains should look like and what value they would carry.
I hope this was as clear on paper (so to speak) as it was in my head.
I would like to hear your opinions.
There is a certain ebb and flow for me in regards to Real Estate speculation (some may call it investing, but it is all speculation until the moment you make a profit). Right now I am out of Real Estate because everyone and their mother is talking about how good it is... which is my red flag indicating that we are probably going to look for a down market (bubble burst) in Real Estate in the near future. So I am back to Domaining (internet Real Estate, if you will).
The aforementioned thread glossed over this idea but did NOT quite hit it on the head in my opinion. There was a lot of missing parts and components to the analogy. With that said, allow me to put in my 2 cents.
In Real Estate, there are 2 major types that you are looking at.
1) Commercial and 2) Personal. Each have their own unique set of rules and guidelines of what is needed to make make it successful and *IT IS IN MY OPINION* that domaining follows the same rules once you break it down.
I am sure everyone has heard of the saying "location, location, location" and this saying is true to both Real Estate and Domains. The "location" will directly influence the perceived value of either Real Estate or Domain *BUT* the rules differ for each type (commercial/personal) that you are looking for.
For commercial property, the highest desire is traffic. You want a steady flow of traffic by your place of business and that almost guaranties some element of success on its own.
McDonald's chooses corner lots on busy roads for a reason. It doubles their drive bye traffic and allows for greater convenience for their customers. McDonald's is in the Real Estate business more so then the burger business... dont be fooled.
The same thought process can be utilized for a mom and pops coffee shop or donut shop. You have to pick the right location for success. Let me give you an example.
A coffee/donut shop will see the most traffic in the mornings. Thus it is imperative that prior to choosing a location, they do some footwork and watch the flow of traffic. During the morning commute, you will see that the traffic has a tendency to flow in one direction. For your business to be a success, you must choose the location that will allow the traffic to freely access you during your peak hours (i.e.... be on the right side of the road). This will allow the ease of traffic in and out of your place of business which in turn will give you a greater portion of the drive bye traffic.
Business domains are no different.
If you are looking for a BUSINESS domain, you want the most traffic possible. A great keyword that fits your business is the best start. That alone will grant you some organic traffic. Next is building a facility that will accommodate your customers (read SEO/Website). In this case the ability to ease traffic in an out is up to your website and the placement of the big sign (SEO) out front (think the golden arches) lets people know you are there and open for business. This will increase your traffic flow and the value of your domain.
This is all well and good but does not fit if you are looking for a place to live (personal website). Most people do not want to live on a busy highway with millions of cars passing bye. Bear with me as I get this opinion out.
In fact I would hazard to bet that many of you would rather a house that has it all... all the glitz and glam that you see on the famous peoples houses. Hidden rooms, huge pools, heated floors, tennis courts, and the list can go on.
Those are rare and hard to come by. There is a certain numismatic value (think rare baseball cards) associated with those pieces of property because they are rare and widely sought after.
Personal domains are no different in this regard as well.
Singular letter and/or number domains hold value because there are just so few of them. 26 single letters and just 10 (if you count 0 as a number) numbers as a domain name in any given extension.
Very sought after (not for traffic) but for numismatic value.
Proper names hold great value, 2 character, 3 character... all hold great value because of numismatic value.
For me, I came late to the game. I only started to see that domains held Real Estate value about 6 years ago and I spent the few year or two trying to piece together how it all fit within a context that I know and understand (Real Estate).
Now I believe that I have a firm grasp on what to look for in regards to domain names. I look at each as a piece of property. Is it going to be for personal use or commercial use. That will tell me what type of rules apply to it.
If I am looking at commercial use then the domain name *MUST* fit within the context that it is intended (with a few exceptions) with a great key work for help promote traffic flow. Traffic flow is the number 1 goal of any commercial used domain name.
If its personal use domain name, then it has to have some numismatic value. What makes this name worth something? Why is it rare? What gives the domain its value?
Now with that being said, we can now take on the task of extensions (.com, .net, .co, ...etc)
Everyone here can agree (I am sure) that .com is akin to Real Estate in New York city in that it holds the greatest property value. The problem is that the central city is sold out and the the buildings there cost more then most people will see in their lifetime.
So now you start looking to longer tail names, but that pushes you further outside the city proper and the names/Real Estate value decrease as a result. We are nearing the point of saturation and the names are getting closer to upstate New York and Canada then they are to the NYC.
The next alternative are other extension. Yes, they take you out of the NYC area but, there are still value in other Real Estate outside the major cities. There are little pockets of expensive Real Estate here and there. They are small and get picked up quickly by savvy speculators but they are out there. They have their own traffic and they have their own beautiful houses.. No where near the millions of people that flow through NYC at any given moment or the property value of a skyscraper, but they are nothing to sneeze at either.
For me, if I had this association a few years back, I would have made several different choices in some of my failed domain names however I learned a lot through my failures. I have since made some wiser choices and made some nice sales (for profit) and even though I have failed more then I have succeeded... my success more then made up for my failures.
For any person who is just now looking into domaining, if you can put it into some sort of context that you understand (real estate, baseball cards, computers... etc) then I think that will help you make wiser decisions about what domains should look like and what value they would carry.
I hope this was as clear on paper (so to speak) as it was in my head.
I would like to hear your opinions.
