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Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

deepsouthventures.com

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Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To have worked at a company who had one of the most profitable domain on the planet. I confirm! Internally, we used to call it the money printer. It was so obvious that revenues were flowing because of the domain.

Quite curious now, give us a hint!

Not allowed to disclose.

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#192
post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

author here.. all I can say is, buy a B+ domain name, expect B+ results. I prefer buying an A domain (not A+, not A-), and speed the process up, whether it fails or succeeds. If it fails, eh, cost of doing business.. move on..

> all I can say is, buy a B+ domain name, expect B+ results. Fair enough. I guess the expense could be justifiable if a good domain name really helps. I'm just wondering about quantifying the risks/costs. If it fails, you can resell it, but how often do domain names increase vs. decrease in value? Also, how often do you end up not using an expensive domain name, or find out it was a dud?

> Also, how often do you end up not using an expensive domain name, or find out it was a dud? I use & develop every single premium dotCOM that I acquire. I dropped $26k on a domain recently, and the jury is still out whether that one's gonna be a dud.. It's always possible.

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#193

Descriptive URL's like "BikeTours.com" convey the opposite to me. It's going to be swimming in ads and malware and full of BS reviews hoping for some affiliate link clicks. Also buying domain names ("great" or not) is a bad way to get started. There are a million things that need to happen to launch a side business and a domain is literally one of the least important things. You can always buy getX.com, Xapp.com, Xno…

>There are a million things that need to happen to launch a side business and a domain is literally one of the least important things

Different strokes, different folks.. My thought is, why not come out of the gate, guns blazing, with a killer product/service and the exact match domain of the industry.. Instantly compete with the leaders of your market. No ramp up needed.

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

something simple.. you can simply go to google and type site:domainnamedollarstore.com (example) if google returns no results = no bueno

Thanks... but is that the extent of it? I'm familiar with this syntax but thought that Google's punishments take the form more of a sliding scale (which diminishes general authority or prevalence for certain searches) than a binary system (good/show, bad/hide). And that simply checking the index as above wouldn't reveal too much actionable info. Eg. if a domain is categorized as having adult content.

possibly helpful: https://www.semrush.com/blog/tell-site-hit-google-penalty/

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#195

The exact keyword match domain name business tanked years ago when google updated their algorithms. Back then, if you had the domain freepoker.com and someone googled for "free poker" your site would get a huge ranking boost due to the domain name.

this ain't an seo play, this is a 'build a side-business' play. A keyword rich domain carries a lot of weight when you're knocking on doors, cold calling, meeting folks at conferences..

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#196
post #135

It's a zero sum game. You're not creating value, and you're paying rent to play the game. For most people the game is, by design, a losing one.

I think people simply like saying 'it's a zero sum game'..

So, I'm not creating value if I build a real business on a neat domain name? If I bought MilkDelivery.com and launched a nationwide milk delivery service, I'm not creating value?

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#197

This is exactly what I do. It might not be for everyone but when I find a domain that I subjectively really like, I instinctively know what I'm going to build on it.

Same here marsrover..

William Faulkner always spoke about the characters in his books, and mentioned that he doesn't decide their personalities, they do.

I sorta think my domains do the same thing.. I see them, and they tend to present business opportunities for me to consider..

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#198
post #185
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Receive a phone call from your building's front door directory. Let them in with the push of a button." Though doesn't this already exist for every building? Certainly it's standard (required?) for multi-unit residential buildings.

That's not what this does though - it hooks into a system like that to automatically let in certain people at certain times, as a one-off, or until the owner/tenant next returns, etc.

You're right. I missed the fact that it was a live site, not just a domain name. After reviewing the site content, the automation aspect is clear.

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#199
post #162
post #53

I've been casually interested in small time domain name "investing" (with and without intention to develop) since the early days and when it so happened that during a stint at GoDaddy, I was charged with the UX of the domain auction product, imagine my surprise to discover were a handful of very big players, some of whom ran bespoke software (not unlike a Bloomberg terminal) and were so profitable for the company tha…

My understanding is that Godaddy employees are forbidden from buying and selling domains and have been for at least the 6 years I've been purchasing the occasional domain in their auction platform. When were you at Godaddy?

I was there 2010-11 and can't recall the specific policies. One fun thing I do remember was the internal testing system which provided for an unlimited "budget" to purchase any domain which only resolved internally. So, for example, I could register google.com on my test account. But since it only resolved internally, if I wanted something to appear at that address it had to be a GoDaddy product that functioned on that system (various website builders, etc.)

Re: Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have personal experience getting sniped with LDS? I've used it a half a dozen times and always had success.

I've been sniped a few times with instantdomainsearch.com when actually proceeding through to godaddy, but then not buying it within about a day. Haven't had any issues when not going through to godaddy, though.

That's surprising. Network Solutions was caught doing something like this (http://domainnamewire.com/2008/01/08/network-solutions-faces...) but I've never seen any evidence that Go Daddy does anything like this. Blake Irving is a good man.
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