tips Investing in Foreign Language Domains

[discobull]

In another thread, @Hypersot mentioned wanting to start a thread where we could share tips for investing in foreign language domains, but since he hasn't yet gotten around to it, I thought I'd start the ball rolling myself.

My experience with foreign language domains thus far is mixed. I've sold some, but still have some that have never yet received offers. I guess that could also be said of my English language portfolio, so maybe I'm not doing so badly after all. Anyhow I'll give an outline of how I go about deciding which domains are worthwhile and maybe some of you can chime in with some more ideas. My assumption here will be that we're talking about .com's.

My first step in evaluating the value of a foreign language domain is, of course, figuring out what it means. For me, that means plugging the name into Google translator ( is there a translator you prefer?). Next, if the translation turns out to mean something that seems to have commercial value, I switch the translator from Foreign language -> English to English -> Foreign language. I'll now type the English phrase into the English side to see if Google generates the domain name which I'm evaluating as the translation. The point of this is to determine if the domain name in question uses the most common way of saying that particular phrase or word in that foreign language in order to avoid buying something that seems to be a good term, but is perhaps using words that are not frequently used by native speakers.

Assuming everything checks out so far, my next step is to google the phrase to see how many sites use the term, whether it's being used in site titles, in other gtld's, and whether the sites using the terms are actual active businesses. If yes, I now check to see if I can find my exact domain name with a cctld that corresponds to a country where the language is spoken. For example if I'm evaluating the Spanish domain 'dominio.com', I'll check to see if any business is using dominio.es or dominio.mx, or dominio.com.mx, etc.. If native users don't want the domain, then I don't want it either. If I find that the domain is either not registered or not being used by any business in those extensions ( a 'domain for sale' page will count as a fail for me), then I'll pass.

Off the top of my head, that's about it. Your thoughts?

 

[NameOmnia]

I like this reverse foreign language thingy...maybe the native English will now understand how it feels like to be in our shoes for a while.

On top of what you said I would add " asking a native about it " because that's the best thing you can do. I always do that with my Aussie partner when I am not sure about a word or a word combination.

 

[discobull]

On top of what you said I would add " asking a native about it " because that's the best thing you can do.

I guess that means I'm going to have to start making friends!

 

[Hypersot]

Thanks @discobull for starting this topic. It's true that it would take a while if I was to start it

Now,
what @photonmymind says is correct. I remember I did a search for pellet fuel and I found out that there was great demand in Italy. So, I started doing some keyword research (I use MarketSamurai for ease of use along with Adwords to verify my findings) and indeed there was nice traffic going on in Italy on various pellet keywords (in italian of course)

Out of curiosity, I thought of asking a native Italian to give me his opinion on the keywords I found.
Well, guess what, those keywords didn't make any sense for a domain business name in Italy.

That got me thinking. I suddenly wasn't *that* sure of my ability to find proper keywords in English (which, hopefully, I speak better than Italian).

It was a complete change of thinking for me. I start having a different approach to domaining and from that day onwards, I swore to myself that -as it has been said MANY many times before on this forum- before I go on a domain spending spree , I will totally comprehend the subject I'm going to spend money on, otherwise it's like throwing money in the bin.

 

[NameOmnia]

I guess that means I'm going to have to start making friends!

YEP! I'd say so!

 

[UltraNames.com]

Well its a nice thread

I am Turkish and i can say that there is no domain market in here ...

Let me explain a little;

My Turkish domain list:

kuantumbilgisayari.com (quantumcomputer)
kuantumbilgisayarlar.com (quantumcomputers)
disiskelet.com (exoskeleton)
disiskeletler.com (exoskeletons)
3bmodelleme.com (3dmodelling)
pilotsuz.com (pilotless)

I had all of these hand reg and its been only 2 months till i start domaining so you can imagine how dead the domain market in Turkey...

So!

STAY AWAY :D

Sincerely,

Serhat Kotan

 

[discobull]

Thanks @discobull for starting this topic. It's true that it would take a while if I was to start it

Now,
what @photonmymind says is correct. I remember I did a search for pellet fuel and I found out that there was great demand in Italy. So, I started doing some keyword research (I use MarketSamurai for ease of use along with Adwords to verify my findings) and indeed there was nice traffic going on in Italy on various pellet keywords (in italian of course)

Out of curiosity, I thought of asking a native Italian to give me his opinion on the keywords I found.
Well, guess what, those keywords didn't make any sense for a domain business name in Italy.

That got me thinking. I suddenly wasn't *that* sure of my ability to find proper keywords in English (which, hopefully, I speak better than Italian).

It was a complete change of thinking for me. I start having a different approach to domaining and from that day onwards, I swore to myself that -as it has been said MANY many times before on this forum- before I go on a domain spending spree , I will totally comprehend the subject I'm going to spend money on, otherwise it's like throwing money in the bin.

Yes, it's always a good idea to understand the subject of the domain thoroughly. With that in mind, the one thing I forgot to address is the question of whether .com's are equally popular in all countries. I suspect not. In any case, so far I've sold domains in Swedish, Dutch, French, Mandarin, and Spanish, but I probably have domains in a half dozen other languages that are still collecting dust.

 

[NameOmnia]

That's a good point. For many countries their own tld is the most widely used so the investor should look at buying them first; the downside is that the majority of cctlds can only be registered by citizens or residents of those same countries....a bit tricky

 

[Hypersot]

@discobull
out of curiosity,
do you actively seek a potential buyer or you just wait for an offer that satisfy you?

 

[discobull]

@discobull
out of curiosity,
do you actively seek a potential buyer or you just wait for an offer that satisfy you?

All of those were passive sales. The only sort-of exception was a sale to a deadbeat buyer in Spain that initially came through Sedo, and which I subsequently contacted directly to close the deal.

 

[Hypersot]

what about you @photonmymind?
I have noticed you're more of a brandable-domain believer. So, how do you make the sales, actively looking for a buyer or passively waiting for an offer?

That would be really interesting to know since I believe brandables are way harder to sell than keyword-rich domains. Correct me if I'm wrong here.

 

[NameOmnia]

what about you @photonmymind?
I have noticed you're more of a brandable-domain believer. So, how do you make the sales, actively looking for a buyer or passively waiting for an offer?

That would be really interesting to know since I believe brandables are way harder to sell than keyword-rich domains. Correct me if I'm wrong here.

Yes I am more of a brandable girl but I mainly work with English related domains. I think I have only one Italian name which is a brandable too Fumeria.com

For my brandables I normally wait to be found while for my lllls well...that's like having cash as they can be sold whenever and wherever.

Brandables are " apparently " harder to sell just because they normally go to end users ( as it should be for all names imo ); keyword names are often ( way more than often....) sold to other domainers and this implements the fictitious idea that they have a huge market.
I have said it before : remove the domainer-buyers from the EMDs equation to see yourself the tiny fraction that really go to end users. This is an unstustainable business imo and many of us should pause and think whether a domain industry really exists.

Sorry for the digression...

 

[discobull]

Yes I am more of a brandable girl but I mainly work with English related domains. I think I have only one Italian name which is a brandable too Fumeria.com

For my brandables I normally wait to be found while for my lllls well...that's like having cash as they can be sold whenever and wherever.

Brandables are " apparently " harder to sell just because they normally go to end users ( as it should be for all names imo ); keyword names are often ( way more than often....) sold to other domainers and this implements the fictitious idea that they have a huge market.
I have said it before : remove the domainer-buyers from the EMDs equation to see yourself the tiny fraction that really go to end users. This is an unstustainable business imo and many of us should pause and think whether a domain industry really exists.

Sorry for the digression...

I disagree with you about EMD's. Those are what I sell primarily and to date I have only sold 1 to a reseller. For me, the measure of a good domain is that I can clearly identify some businesses/corporations that I can contact in the event that I'm ever starving and need to quickly generate some sales. That's possible with some types of brandables but usually quite difficult with made up words. As far as llll's are concerned, I feel the same way about those that you feel about EMD's -- a big chunk of the sales are between domainers.

 

[Hypersot]

That could ignite an interesting discussion but, true, let's stick to the topic

Reason I asked both of you if you're active or passive is to try and prove a point.
I believe our passive-ness is more to the fact that we don't feel comfortable making the first move towards potential buyers (end-users) with reason being.. the language barrier.

I believe that said language barrier gets in the way of getting the upper hand on a negotiation.
Mind you, I believe you both speak English perfectly but , truth is, for a negotiation to succeed it needs more than a good handling in a language.

So, we are (well, *I am* ) back at point zero:
How can a non-native speaker reach the 'grandiose' of a native speaker in terms of sales?

I follow closely all sherpa's shows and everytime the show ends I'm always left with the same feeling... I'm so far away from where those guys are (the 'big' sellers) but at the same time I'm very close due to thinking alike.

So, again, what can we do to 'get some sales going' instead of sitting and waiting for them to come to us.
Would a broker help for example?

what do you think? (and please, let's not start a conversation on EMDs )

 

[discobull]

That could ignite an interesting discussion but, true, let's stick to the topic

Reason I asked both of you if you're active or passive is to try and prove a point.
I believe our passive-ness is more to the fact that we don't feel comfortable making the first move towards potential buyers (end-users) with reason being.. the language barrier.

I believe that said language barrier gets in the way of getting the upper hand on a negotiation.
Mind you, I believe you both speak English perfectly but , truth is, for a negotiation to succeed it needs more than a good handling in a language.

So, we are (well, *I am* ) back at point zero:
How can a non-native speaker reach the 'grandiose' of a native speaker in terms of sales?

I follow closely all sherpa's shows and everytime the show ends I'm always left with the same feeling... I'm so far away from where those guys are (the 'big' sellers) but at the same time I'm very close due to thinking alike.

So, again, what can we do to 'get some sales going' instead of sitting and waiting for them to come to us.
Would a broker help for example?

what do you think? (and please, let's not start a conversation on EMDs )

There's nothing really new to say about active selling. You have to email and/or phone businesses that are a good fit for your domain. I got my start that way so I know it works. The trick is to research the market before you purchase the domain so that you know there will be people to contact once you own it.

 

[NameOmnia]

@discobull
The world is beautiful because it's various...not a prob if we disagree on this one

@Hypersot

I follow closely all sherpa's shows and everytime the show ends I'm always left with the same feeling... I'm so far away from where those guys are (the 'big' sellers) but at the same time I'm very close due to thinking alike.

I don't know what way you feel different from those big guys but I know where I feel different from them. Money.
That's the main reason for me; if you don't have to worry about them, if you don't have to pay your rent or bills with domains then you can sit on them until the big offer comes in.

Another issue for me is effing pricing my domains...is it just me or it is really hard? I feel sometimes I lose sales because I am not ready with a price but I expect the buyer to make an offer..

 

[Hypersot]

@photonmymind I didn't quite get the last part.
Do you mean that, you don't want to sell a domain but despite that you still want to hear an offer from a potential buyer?

 

[NameOmnia]

@photonmymind I didn't quite get the last part.
Do you mean that, you don't want to sell a domain but despite that you still want to hear an offer from a potential buyer?

Sorry, I probably didn't explain myself properly.
With that sentence I meant that when someone inquires for one of my names, for example, I hardly even know what to ask price wise so I tend to reply asking for an offer...which I feel it makes me lose some buyers.

 

[discobull]

Sorry, I probably didn't explain myself properly.
With that sentence I meant that when someone inquires for one of my names, for example, I hardly even know what to ask price wise so I tend to reply asking for an offer...which I feel it makes me lose some buyers.

If you don't mind my asking, how do you phrase your offer request?

 

[NameOmnia]

errrrrrrrmmmmmm.....I don't think I have a template actually...
Suggestions?

I also just remembered that I have another non-English name VivreChic very very posh :P