W3 Spin|Internet news blog

Domain names have never really been the most sought after investments and that goes for Marketers too. Domain investing has never really been properly understood and the outlying factor that seems to turn people away is the understanding that accidental traffic will be the only visits the site gets, meaning that you can’t really expect to make much in the way of profit.

Some still believe a domain name doesn’t matter, thinking JiggyPop.org is just as good as Hotels.com, provided the site’s content is the same. Listen, at one time I thought those things too, but those assumptions are dead wrong. Let me illustrate the real value of quality domain investments with a little quiz: Which domain name is most valuable on a strict valuation basis? a) Google.com or b) CellPhones.com

Even my dog has just answered Google.com so don’t feel so bad when I tell you that it isn’t the case here and I will explain just why. I think we would all agree that Google is one of the most successful businesses there are on or off line, but how many people do you think put Google in the search box… exactly, it is not often used as a keyword. What this is really telling us is that if you own a domain name you also control the keyboard.

I have several domains like Google.com, all cute, super fun-to-say, and memorable, but with no real definition. None get more than a few visitors a month - accidental, random traffic, at best. And since “Google” doesn’t historically mean anything, there’s almost no way to monetize a name like that without millions and millions of dollars worth of branding, and years of reputation building. At best, a domain like Google.com - but with no existing name recognition - might earn a few dollars a year in click revenue and sell for a few thousand at auction.

But what if you owned CellPhones.com? How many visitors would you get then, and what might they be looking for? Welcome to the wonderful world of type-in traffic, also known as direct navigation. Based on established type-in click-through metrics for the domain industry, and my own personal experience, a domain like CellPhones.com probably gets between 3000 and 5000 type-in visitors a day or about 125,000 visitors a month. (Find out more in part 2)…coming soon.

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