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Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

deepsouthventures.com

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Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#52

Post by novaleaf »

I run a ramen profitable SaaS and did this. I don't really have a comparable but I think it helped my product gain traction.

The problem is, the sexy keyword I used was an OSS product (my product is a wrapper over it) that was discontinued over the years. My domain+brand still references this product though I have moved over to the "modern" equivalent OSS version.

So now, I think my domain name is a liability, implying out of date/obsolete technology.

I do also own the equivalent domain name for the new OSS software, will use it for a v2. So if it's an industry you care about, keep up to date :)

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#53

Post by dathinab »

tamask wrote: post #18

My mind works exactly the opposite way. If I see a domain like BikeTours.com, I immediately assume that the business is built primarily on the domain name, and the quality of the product or service is inferior. Hence I don’t click it. But I assume the majority of internet users don’t think this way, so it can be a profitable strategy. Edit: Well, thinking about it, it’s not always true, but at the very least I check…

I would say a pretty large part of the internet user doesn't look at the domain when looking for something new in Google (they mainly see your headline, text snippets, logo and only then, maybe your domain).

Sure if your domain name looks erratic or otherwise won't they still notice but as long as your domain name is sane I don't think it did matter anymore at least not to a large degree.

Or at least that is what I think.

One exception are people which where "thought" about domains also got stuck in the way they see the internet. So if you target people between 35-50 it might still matter a bit more I guess).

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#54

Post by Normille »

josefresco wrote: post #9

For anyone interested, or likes looking at recently deleted/expired domains, Pool.com has an interface to find these: https://www.pool.com/deletingdomains.aspx?ia=DomainsDeleting... I'm not in the business, but occasionally browse to see if any "local" domains pique my interest. You'd be surprised how many people "let" their domains expire - if I was a less than ethical hacker, I'd be able to hold many local organiza…

I've looked at that pool.com site a few times, out of idle curiosity. Every time I do so, I never fail to be amazed at the absolute mountain of complete junk domains that has registered.

They seem to fall into two categories; the "my cat walked over the keyboard" + com ones, like 342yfgtg.com and the "maybe if I add another word, I'll find a combo that's not been already registered" + ones, like "topgoodholidaybargainsales.info"

It's all very well the author of the article coming up with a "buy great domain name > profit" get rich quick scheme. But it's a bit like those "how to make money online" articles which advise you to "start a blog about something lots of people will want to read". If having a good idea was all that was involved in getting rich quick, most of us would be millionaires.

Personally, I think the most of the new TLDs are complete junk. I did snap up a 4-letterbid one, when they first came out, purely because there was some stupid offer on where you got something like ten years for a few quid. But I only use it for testing random web stuff on. I don't think I'll ever do anything serious with it.

I am lucky enough however to have a 5-letter-real-wordnet one that I registered back in the 1990s which I use for my business site and my IRL name is unusual enough that I was also able to snap up myfirstnamenet and mysurnamenet a few years back as well. I tend to prefer net for my domains as I think it rolls off the tongue nicer than com.

Speculation-wise, I've registered a handful of domains over the years, in the vague hope I'd some day be able to sell them on when their 'subject matter' became popular, but nothing ever came of any of them and I ended up just letting them lapse as I'm too poor to keep renewing domains I don't use, on the off-chance.

I can barely remember what any of them were now. Apart from one which sticks in my mind; "genet-X.com" which I registered back when genetic engineering was just starting to get talked about in the news. I had high hopes that some thrusting new biotech company might spring up with that name and offer me untold riches for the domain. But no-one ever came a-knocking, bearing sacks of cash and I let that domain expire with all the rest and my dreams of riches!

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#55

Post by gfodor »

if this idea has merit (ironically enough) it means that ideas themselves are even weaker than one might expect in terms of startup outcomes.

however, i'm skeptical. i think there is a need for some early initial conditions for startup idea conceptualization that matter other than drawing a name out of a hat. perhaps its just a multiplier and pure execution wizardry can get you through anything by just doing lean startup methods. but i can't get past the idea that the best companies grow out of a seed that originates in deep domain knowledge, but then lets go of assumptions from that point and iterates with users from there. you're not gonna get that seed by just picking up a domain randomly. it feels to me like this is a worthy concept though for taking the idea of lean startups to its logical extent - if nothing else, respect the 'purity' of it conceptually.

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#56

Post by d0m »

dvduval wrote: post #22

So many domain names I bought and never used. Haha the idea seems so great at the time. I suppose you just have to go about trying different things until you start to have some traction. it's just important to recognize that it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking something is going to be super simple, and then starting to execute without any sort of detailed plan. The result ... Wasted time and money

Yeah, but it's a relatively low investment and you often just need one idea that works to pay for all the crappy ones

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#57

Post by asdff »

What is a great domain name? Decades ago it was essential to have an e in your name (eBay et al), then it was cute to replace that e with i, but the whole while the golden rule was to definitely whatever you do, do not use a name out of the dictionary, to make it easier for consumers to identify your product and to save you legal headaches.

Nowadays, companies seem to love having a real dictionary name. Lemonade: refers to the drink, the renters insurance startup, and a chain restaurant in my town, and google couldn't tell you which one I want at a particular time, because Lemonade is a terrible name for your company. Pretty much any piece of software or company with an English word for a name is immediately forgettable in my mind, and impossible to follow up with due to piss poor SEO on the 2020 internet.

Re: Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name

#59

Post by asdff »

weka wrote: post #46
mirciulica wrote: post #37

On the one hand it is harder and harder to find a decent dot com domain name, on the other hand I see some crazy prices that make absolutely no sense. Even if you choose to buy a name on the second market why pay these ridiculous prices? https://www.healthinsurance.com sold for over 8M bucks, is the difference between this name and something like https://insurancemavens.com (for sale @ $395) worth 8 million?

It comes with the expectation that the average user is dumb enough to think that by going on a "premium domain name" that it, therefor, makes the product better and marketability even more attractive. It's stupid.

Yet it works, because someone's grandma will always type healthinsurance.com and get phished before they find the actual website for medicaid.
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