A few questions...

[remf]

Hi chaps.

I'm new to everything here, but have learnt quickly due to some words of advice from someone I know who has been doing this for a few years now.

One of the first things I did was sign up to ND, and I have to say I am incredibly impressed by the efficiency and politeness of their staff. I have had a few problems adding domains to my portfolio's and a quick email always rectified things - so kudos to Ed and the team. As a matter of interest, what is the actual issue that creates this particular problem? ie: "Domain name is already listed with NameDrive."? Is it a common issue, do other people get it? Is anything being done to fix it?

My other question is this. I've taken to registering .fr domains, because there are a few gems out there. At the moment I have about 40-50 typos registrations using the .fr extension.

My question is this - what is the most effective way of optimizing these names? Truth be told, I didn't know about the 'settings' button, so as soon as ND is back up I'm going to go in there and see what needs to get done. But my domains cover loads of different areas, and not just the popular finance/loans/banking areas, so I'm not sure how to optimize these to ensure my CTR is good, especially considering I'm targeting French traffic. Having said that my CTR hasn't been bad, but looking at the long term I'm wondering what the best way to target these uses is going to be? French keywords > English Keywords? And is this going to mean my PPC earnings are going to be less?

Does anyone else have .fr domains on ND? What are they putting in their keywords? French words or English? Similarly, is it possible to place multiple keywords in the keyword field, or is it more advisable to stick to one? If I place the french word for say insurance (assurance) will it show insurance ads, and how will my Avg PPC be affected by using French PPC ads on the parked sites?

Lot's of questions I know... but any help appreciated

[Samuel]

Domain name is already listed with NameDrive.? Is it a common issue, do other people get it? Is anything being done to fix it?

No, this is not a common issue.

That means, whatever your previous parking company was, using NameDrive for the revenue.
You may get that message for many of your domains.

You should ask your previous parking company to delete the list of domains you want to park at NameDrive from your portfolio over there.

My personal advise, Move all your domains from there to NameDrive. It's one of the best. And, No I'm not getting paid for this recommendation.

Sam

[typist]

...what is the actual issue that creates this particular problem? ie: "Domain name is already listed with NameDrive."? Is it a common issue, do other people get it? Is anything being done to fix it?

I believe this might indicate that another namedrive client previously added this particular domain name to his namedrive portfolio (NB added to namedrive portfolio, not necessarily registered).

Double check spelling, Look up whois records, and if necessary ask namedrive staff to release the domain in question.

[YOYOYO]

be very careful with what you do

I am not saying it is so, but If you are getting traffic from these domains there is a very good chance they are typos of words trademarked in France.

http://www.icimarques.com

There is also a good chance if these domains were once in namedrive and are no more, it is because of a trademark issue that came about for the domain.

It may come as a surprise to you, it did to me, that even the word - free - is trademarked in France and you can not register a variation of that word as a domain name.

http://www.afnic.fr is different than other registrars

They have blocked entire accounts of peoples domains, this is quite something to read..

http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/nommage/CP20050720

http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/nommage/NN20041026

If you have a small number of domains, I don't believe this type of thing will happen, but you should be aware of what has happened before

[remf]

Thanks YOYOYO. Yeah I was aware of that. At the moment my porfolio consists of about 40 french names. I'm aware of their strict laws and rules, so I've been fairly cautious. I have opted for typos, because I've got experience with them for .co.uk, but I have read 'horror' stories of people having 4000 domains just wiped out.

The problem with adding the names extended to the ones I've added with .co.uk extensions so it's not just limited to .fr, but I'll certainly take note of your advice.

I did try and register a domain the other day and it flat out refused to let me, so I'm guessing this is one of those restricted words - there are a fair few on the afnic site.

[NameDriver]

Thanks for the very informative post YoYoYo

Hello remf. I'm glad that you're enjoying using ND. Yes, we do have a good many .fr domains on ND and full French support (landing pages, ads etc).
I would very much recommend putting a keyword in French for French domains.

The already listed thing doesn't necessarily mean that it has been added and then removed because of a trademark issue. It could have been dropped or sold by the previous owner etc. We now have an automated system to resolve this, you just have to click the 'ownership reveiw' button.

Feel free to PM or email me if you have any further questions.

Ed

[remf]

PM'd Any help appreciated. Thanks Ed.

[Samuel]

YOYOYO: It may come as a surprise to you, it did to me, that even the word - free - is trademarked in France and you can not register a variation of that word as a domain name.

That's real weird.

Thanks for the info YOYOYO.

Sam

[Ian]

I have had a few problems adding domains to my portfolio's and a quick email always rectified things - so kudos to Ed and the team. As a matter of interest, what is the actual issue that creates this particular problem? ie: "Domain name is already listed with NameDrive."? Is it a common issue, do other people get it? Is anything being done to fix it?

mate I would send you an early warning about diving into the .fr goldmine with all your might for soon or later you might get yourself burnt. Personally I lost more than 20 .fr domains last month parked at ND as a result of a lawsuit threat from a Afnic through my registrar. Therefore tread carefully with the firewalled .fr cctld and its conservative Afnic registrar.
just my 2 cents

[YOYOYO]

- free - domains taken away by afnic.fr and given to - free.fr -

free.fr is the largest telecom in France, so would seem to be a factor in this happening

feer.fr
frre.fr
frree.fr
gree.fr
installfree.fr

Decision transferring these names and others - in French -
http://www.legalis.net/jurisprudence...d_article=1625

Google translation
http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools