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I'm Brad Mugford, owner of DataCube.com. AMA

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I registered my first domain in the late 1990's, but have been an active domain investor for 15+ years now.

I am going to call this an Ask Me (Almost) Anything.
There might be some questions I am unwilling or unable to answer.

I would prefer to keep the questions related to domain investment, or business in general.

Feel free to ask general questions, or specific questions for instance regarding an appraisal of your domain.

About:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/datacubecom (I have not really used Twitter much, but plan to start using it more.)
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmugford/

I am not sure how long I am going to leave this thread open. Let's see how it goes.

Brad
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
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I am going to put a pause on this thread for now.

I had some shocking personal news that I need time to process.

I will likely return later to answer more questions.

Brad
Please know that all your efforts here on your AMA have been greatly appreciated. I wish you strength and endurance to deal with your current challenges.
Thank you, Brad, for being such a courageous, thoughtful, and kind human being.
 
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Brad, Hello

Your thoughts
What is the best way to connect a Domain name with the right person, other than on Go Daddy Auctions ??
Ive been a domain name collector for a bit
Recently I Entertained the thought of selling a few and my collection is modest
Im a musician and retro computer enthusiast
I enjoy the name game and even got a Commodore 64 to get online once
This is my first attempt joining this forum tonight
Eric
 
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Please know that all your efforts here on your AMA have been greatly appreciated. I wish you strength and endurance to deal with your current challenges.
Thank you, Brad, for being such a courageous, thoughtful, and kind human being.
please forgive for not reading this first.. deepest thoughts and appreciation your way
 
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Hey Brad, I don't know if you covered this already in this thread, but how did you buy datacube.com and since when do you own it? Did you already know it was in the top 100 oldest domains? It's such a cool domain to own, and on top of it's historic value, it's a great brandname too.
 
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I am going to put a pause on this thread for now.

I had some shocking personal news that I need time to process.

I will likely return later to answer more questions.

Brad
Just read this, take care buddy. Take your time.
 
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Hey Brad, I don't know if you covered this already in this thread, but how did you buy datacube.com and since when do you own it? Did you already know it was in the top 100 oldest domains? It's such a cool domain to own, and on top of it's historic value, it's a great brandname too.
He partly answered this back here:

1667175140830.png
 
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Brad, Hello

What is the best way to connect a Domain name with the right person, other than on Go Daddy Auctions ??
Others might have a different model, but for me it is kind of a waiting game.

I would equate it to fishing. If you have enough hooks (domains) in the water, in a good location (domain quality) you will get some bites. Most of those bites still won't convert into sales but the ones that do make it worthwhile.

There are other business models that are far more proactive than mine.

I tend to spend more time on the acquisition side as I enjoy the hunt.

Brad
 
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When researching a domain name, I always google the exact URL to make sure it's in the top of the search result. If the domain doesn't even show up I think it could possibly be penalized by google.

Am I wrong thinking this? How do you interpret when a domain doesn't show up in the SERP?
 
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When researching a domain name, I always google the exact URL to make sure it's in the top of the search result. If the domain doesn't even show up I think it could possibly be penalized by google.

Am I wrong thinking this? How do you interpret when a domain doesn't show up in the SERP?
The domain name isn't necessarily penalized when you Google the domain name and it doesn't show up. Google tends to 'remove' domains from their index when there's little or no content on the domain. For example, a parked page for a 'for sale' lander will get the domain removed from the index. Especially if it's full of ads (i.e., ppc ads).
You can search for this:
site:namepros.com
that will show up all the pages they have indexed. So if there are pages indexed, it 'should' show up there. But keep in mind that it's even more confusing, as the site:domain.com search operator is not hitting Google's live database, so those pages could or could not be in the index.
Best if you were to search for the domain in quotes such as:
"namepros.com" and the domain "should" show up. But if it doesn't then it's not necessarily penalized.

The only way to actually check to see if it's penalized or not is to verify the domain name in Google Search Console, and look to see if there are any manual actions.

You can also get some data from Google's indexing API, which is what we do as a part of DNP Score, when we (DNProtect) calculate the score and look to see if a domain name is in the index or not.
 
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When researching a domain name, I always google the exact URL to make sure it's in the top of the search result. If the domain doesn't even show up I think it could possibly be penalized by google.

Am I wrong thinking this? How do you interpret when a domain doesn't show up in the SERP?
I will defer to @bhartzer on that answer.

I generally just use the site:domain.com search, but his answer is far more detailed.

Brad
 
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Here are some searches that you can do at Google to check out a domain:
domain.com
"domain.com"
site:domain.com
 
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The domain name isn't necessarily penalized when you Google the domain name and it doesn't show up. Google tends to 'remove' domains from their index when there's little or no content on the domain. For example, a parked page for a 'for sale' lander will get the domain removed from the index. Especially if it's full of ads (i.e., ppc ads).
You can search for this:
site:namepros.com
that will show up all the pages they have indexed. So if there are pages indexed, it 'should' show up there. But keep in mind that it's even more confusing, as the site:domain.com search operator is not hitting Google's live database, so those pages could or could not be in the index.
Best if you were to search for the domain in quotes such as:
"namepros.com" and the domain "should" show up. But if it doesn't then it's not necessarily penalized.

The only way to actually check to see if it's penalized or not is to verify the domain name in Google Search Console, and look to see if there are any manual actions.

You can also get some data from Google's indexing API, which is what we do as a part of DNP Score, when we (DNProtect) calculate the score and look to see if a domain name is in the index or not.
Thank you for your detailed answer!

@bmugford Would you buy a domain name if it doesn't show up in the search result?
 
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Thank you for your detailed answer!

@bmugford Would you buy a domain name if it doesn't show up in the search result?
I would.

It would depend on my perceived value and the pool of potential buyers.
I would expect some type of discount over what I would normally pay though.

There are ways to fix the problem, but it can take time / effort and it is a bit of an unknown.

Brad
 
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From your experience do you have an estimate for STR with relation to domain price (.com only)?
I am trying to derive such relation for long time but I lack the data.
 
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Hi @bmugford -

For those that own domains in the 6-7 figure valuation range… where do you go for trusted development or a partnership?

This is a question that assumes the domain owner has an idea or a path forward but doesn’t necessarily have technical expertise in building a website.

Thanks!
 
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1) Not sure if already asked, may I know what's your average pricing for your average-quality, non-GEO 2-word .coms?

2) would it be possible to point out which industries are currently on the LOW side based on unsold domains?
 
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From your experience do you have an estimate for STR with relation to domain price (.com only)?
I am trying to derive such relation for long time but I lack the data.
So you mean the STR rate for price ranges alone?

I don't really keep that information. Also, I am not sure my sample size would be large enough to really extrapolate from.

That would be interesting information to know though if you could get the data from a major sales platform like Afternic, SEDO, etc.

Brad
 
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Hi @bmugford -

For those that own domains in the 6-7 figure valuation range… where do you go for trusted development or a partnership?

This is a question that assumes the domain owner has an idea or a path forward but doesn’t necessarily have technical expertise in building a website.

Thanks!
That's a good question, that I don't really have a good answer to.

There are a lot of good domains out there that could be turned into full businesses, and a lot of developers that could make it happen. But, connecting those parties can be tricky.

You also have to share the same vision, passion, get along, figure out finances, etc. There are a lot of moving parts.

Most of the people I have done serious business with I have had existing relationships with.

If you find an answer to that question let me know. :xf.smile:

Brad
 
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1) Not sure if already asked, may I know what's your average pricing for your average-quality, non-GEO 2-word .coms?
Average is subjective, but I will define it as something that sounds good or at least has a small pool of potential end users. Most of those types I have priced between $2K - $5K range.

It would scale up from there depending on several factors.

2) would it be possible to point out which industries are currently on the LOW side based on unsold domains?
Some fields that you think would be great just don't move from my experience. While I have made a handful of strong sales, in general the law field yields poor sales results from my experience.

Real Estate is hit or miss also. It is a field where single leads could be worth many thousands, but a lot of the people in the field don't really seem to get it when it comes to domains.

Brad
 
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Others might have a different model, but for me it is kind of a waiting game.

I would equate it to fishing. If you have enough hooks (domains) in the water, in a good location (domain quality) you will get some bites. Most of those bites still won't convert into sales but the ones that do make it worthwhile.

There are other business models that are far more proactive than mine.

I tend to spend more time on the acquisition side as I enjoy the hunt.

Brad
thank you for the reply, I guess i collect stuff that isnt really popular or in most search engines, but of like my music, i think they great at the time but they end being just odd names or nostalga only names or sayings ppl say meems ect but dont think they could make anyone a popular webpage!
thank you for the insight
you are appreciated

E
 
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Hi Brad. What do you see as the biggest threats to a .com portfolio? Can you foresee a day when domain investing ceases to be viable?
 
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