Watch out for Sedo Reported Traffic

[ebatcave]

I have noticed in the past several weeks a number of Sedo domains at auction that have posted traffic stats of several thousand visitors for the past 30 days. I have even won a couple of them only to find out that the number of visitors drops to zero, and has for several days or weeks afterward! Obviously, the previous owners seem to be artificially raising traffic statistics before putting them up for sale in order to raise their perceived value.

I have also noticed several that are at auction now seem to be artificially raised as well, after performing due diligence on them (i.e., applying 15 different traffic estimation tests).

Although I'm sure some domains are showing legitimate domain traffic, I just wanted the community to beware of some suspect traffic that seems to be showing up lately. Be careful!

 

[Kate]

Actually I have noticed that the Sedo stats are screwed up.
I have had some domains showing 100+ UV/day but 0% conversion rates. I wanted to find out more about the traffic, so I hosted a few of these domains. Guess what, barely one visit per day including bot activity. I have the full raw Apache logs.

 

[mntor]

the previous owners seem to be artificially raising traffic statistics before putting them up for sale in order to raise their perceived value.

True John. This happens at other places as well. The best option is for the buyers to do some research before they jump in. Thanks for the heads up. :tu:

 

[Sleepys]

I have noticed in the past several weeks a number of Sedo domains at auction that have posted traffic stats of several thousand visitors for the past 30 days. I have even won a couple of them only to find out that the number of visitors drops to zero, and has for several days or weeks afterward! Obviously, the previous owners seem to be artificially raising traffic statistics before putting them up for sale in order to raise their perceived value.

I have also noticed several that are at auction now seem to be artificially raised as well, after performing due diligence on them (i.e., applying 15 different traffic estimation tests).

Although I'm sure some domains are showing legitimate domain traffic, I just wanted the community to beware of some suspect traffic that seems to be showing up lately. Be careful!

The saying "Buyer Beware" does hold true with domains, even if the place you are buying gives visitor stats. You should always do your own due diligence to determine if you think traffic is genuine.

That being said, if you buy a name on Sedo and the seller obviously scammed the traffic stats for the month before (like an immediate drop in traffic to 0), then I think that you can email Sedo and ask them to look into it. If they determine that there was fraud involved, I think it is one of the few situations where you might be able to get your money back and reverse a transaction on Sedo. Of course, some traffic names just die on their own, but I think Sedo can look at the traffic sources and tell if something fishy was going on.

 

[ebatcave]

Thanks, I'll have them check it out.

 

[Sleepys]

Thanks, I'll have them check it out.

You might want to try PMing Stephanie (Sedo) on the Sedo Thread http://www.namepros.com/parking-and-traffic-monetization/408817-sedo-com-official-thread.html

She should be able to help you.

 

[yandig]

Yeah, I had a domain at sedo for 20 days or so, and it rang up over 400 uniques. I moved it to fabulous and it has 3 uniques in 3 days. So, I'm guessing that the reports of inflated traffic at sedo are true. Oh, and no clicks or revenue for all those uniques.

Now, I know why people don't want traffic stats from sedo...

 

[Giode]

Fairly often when I am pulling up generic domains, I'll find them forwarding to sedo parked domains, that also happen to be up for sale. I could name names, but I'll forgo the drama...

Lots of shady people in this business.

 

[webmillionz]

Great piece of info. I have a few domains parked at Sedo.

 

[r3born]

The same happened to me. I wonder where all this traffic comes from?

Yeah, I had a domain at sedo for 20 days or so, and it rang up over 400 uniques. I moved it to fabulous and it has 3 uniques in 3 days. So, I'm guessing that the reports of inflated traffic at sedo are true. Oh, and no clicks or revenue for all those uniques.

Now, I know why people don't want traffic stats from sedo...

 

[Makis.TV]

sedo ought to install a better traffic monitoring system
collecting their fees only is something they do really well

 

[Harrish Jimmy]

That is to bad isn't. I just hope this people be honest what is the real status of the site. Well, I hope you can do something to raise the traffic on the site you've bought. Good Luck

 

[SGBoise]

I never liked sedo. Their process is of buying/selling is great for scammers.