Want to Build a Side Business? Just Buy Great Domain Name • Hacker News Board

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

#71

Post by pc86 » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:04 PM UTC

vtlynch wrote: post #3

>I immediately gravitate towards the keyword descriptive dotCOM. It instantly exudes trust & authority Strongly disagree. As a result of this type of thinking, I find that the majority of "keyword descriptive dotCOM" domains are usually click-bait or shady content marketing. Sites like "VacuumReviews.com" are almost always full of content focused on SEO not quality, and questionable financial motivations. But I guess…

Since when is making money a questionable financial motivation?

I think it's unlikely you'll find anyone reviewing vacuum cleaners online because they love the engineering prowess exhibited by a Dyson. It's so they can make $3 off your Amazon purchase.

For all the talk of side projects and acquisitions and growth hacking and SEO, HN tends to have an inherent distrust of anyone attempting to make money online by any way other than subscription SaaS.

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

#72

Post by chrishacken » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:12 PM UTC

melvinmt wrote: post #41

chrishacken wrote: post #24

Not to burst your bubble but I'm convinced we're moving into an era where your domain name and TLD are becoming less and less relevant. Google and Social are all that matter. Had you asked me 4 years ago if I'd ever consider building a business on .io or .co I would have laughed in your face. Now I'm building products on both of them. FWIW, I used to buy/sell domains and I think it's a terrible investment strategy no…

In the context of YC, here's what pg thinks about domain names: "If you have a US startup called X and you don’t have x.com, you should probably change your name. The reason is not just that people can't find you. For companies with mobile apps, especially, having the right domain name is not as critical as it used to be for getting users. The problem with not having the .com of your name is that it signals weakness.…

How many companies have started without x.com that are now huge? Tesla was TeslaMotors.com before it was Tesla.com, Square was SquareUp.com before it was Square.com, DataDog was Datadoghq.com before it was Datadog.com; I can keep going.. (yes, they're still .com's, but you wouldn't consider datadoghq.com investable. In all likelyhood, Datadog only used that name because it was a $9 registration.)

The domains didn't make them succeed.

I mean sure, if you're going to invest in domains, I'm not going to argue that buying turtle.com for $9 is a good idea, but those days are long gone. Anything that's dropped or available now probably isn't going to be worth anything; unless you're paying $8k on NameJet and flipping for $10k.

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

#73

Post by dotancohen » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:12 PM UTC

azdle wrote: post #7

Maybe it's just that I lack follow through, but I disagree. I have a horrible habit of buying domain names thinking that I have this great idea, I play with it for a day or two and then abandon it. Actually, in the spirit of this article, if anyone here is interested in any of these, let me know: addressauth.com -- Was going to be a physical address verification service using lob.com's postcard sending API. atomicthi…

I once wrote a python tool to diff terms of service, and I had a domain name though I honestly don't remember what it was. If you would like to discuss collaborating, my email address at gmail is the same username that I have here.

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

#74

Post by wavefunction » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:13 PM UTC

mezod wrote: post #59

eightturn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do the opposite : ) I buy the domain, and then put myself to sleep skipping through biz avenues.. A fun tool to use for hand-reg domains (if you didn't know already) https://instantdomainsearch.com/

good trap tool for godaddy to get domains you are interested in

I use geektools, they've been around forever and I've never had any domain I've looked through there sniped away from me.

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

#75

Post by dmoney » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:17 PM UTC

I like the idea of using expiring domain names to generate business ideas (especially domain names that are fetching a good price).

But what if, instead of buying the domain name, you... didn't buy it? What if, instead of dropping $5K on an exact match, you spent $10 on a B+ domain name, where you can set up a landing page to see if there's interest in the business idea you've generated?

That way, if you are getting signups, or even actual customers, then you try to get a better domain name; but if not, you're not out $5K.

Or am I missing something? I guess you can still sell the domain if you don't end up doing something with it, but what if it declines in value?

edit: punctuation

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

#76

Post by accountface » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:17 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #71

vtlynch wrote: post #3

>I immediately gravitate towards the keyword descriptive dotCOM. It instantly exudes trust & authority Strongly disagree. As a result of this type of thinking, I find that the majority of "keyword descriptive dotCOM" domains are usually click-bait or shady content marketing. Sites like "VacuumReviews.com" are almost always full of content focused on SEO not quality, and questionable financial motivations. But I guess…

Since when is making money a questionable financial motivation? I think it's unlikely you'll find anyone reviewing vacuum cleaners online because they love the engineering prowess exhibited by a Dyson. It's so they can make $3 off your Amazon purchase. For all the talk of side projects and acquisitions and growth hacking and SEO, HN tends to have an inherent distrust of anyone attempting to make money online by any w…

Making money isn't a questionable motivation, it's a biased one.

Just like "discount provided for an honest review" on Amazon, stuffing keywords in your URL for affiliate traffic is a very clear bias.

It's shouting "I profit from traffic, so I want to get you here by all means necessary" — this is less true as algorithms become more intelligent, but it's been my experience since the advent of the internet.

Now, of course — that's not always true. Some great sites have also relied on keywords and affiliate revenue... but I'd wager that a reputable site with a keyword based URL and affiliate links is a one in a million phenomenon (thenightlight.com is the best example I can think of)

tl;dr As an internet user I've been trained to equate all keyword stuffing with spam. It's like "banner blindness" but for keywords.

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

#77

Post by peletiah » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:26 PM UTC

user5994461 wrote: post #65

vinceguidry wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're putting the cart before the horse. Going by domain name is the equivalent of planting your business on the side of the highway. You're going to get a ton of traffic just based on walk-ins alone.

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!

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

#78

Post by neoterics » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:26 PM UTC

I would pick a third option: SojournBikeTours.com

-There would be a high likelihood of that domain name being available as opposed to buying the KEYWORD domain from a squatter for thousands.

-Having a brand or name would give it more authority and a feeling of a mom and pop store.

-It is still descriptive.

Not to mention that if you do decide to go through the KEYWORD domain route you will be competing with a lot of people that are scouting for KEYWORD domains to build spammy affiliate websites or if by any chance the website has some history and backlinks then you will be competing with people who want to snatch it to build PBNs.

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

#79

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:27 PM UTC

accountface wrote: post #76

pc86 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when is making money a questionable financial motivation? I think it's unlikely you'll find anyone reviewing vacuum cleaners online because they love the engineering prowess exhibited by a Dyson. It's so they can make $3 off your Amazon purchase. For all the talk of side projects and acquisitions and growth hacking and SEO, HN tends to have an inherent distrust of anyone attempting to make money online by any w…

Making money isn't a questionable motivation, it's a biased one. Just like "discount provided for an honest review" on Amazon, stuffing keywords in your URL for affiliate traffic is a very clear bias. It's shouting "I profit from traffic, so I want to get you here by all means necessary" — this is less true as algorithms become more intelligent, but it's been my experience since the advent of the internet. Now, of co…

[deleted]

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

#80

Post by ClayFerguson » Tue, Jan 10, 2017, 8:28 PM UTC

It speaks volumes about human psychology. The fact that sometimes all it takes is a catchy name to build a company from nothing that has not one single innovation.

Just look at one of the most hilarious examples: "meundies.com" It has a cute little name that people like, so it's gaining traction. Is there anything innovative or good about the product or business model? Nope. The catchy name is all.