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There is this perception in the domain industry that pretty much all domain names that receive natural or in other words type in traffic --- that it is the best type of traffic that was ever discovered or is available out there on the internet. Unfortunately, I think it is only a myth and wishful thinking... But what else did you expect to hear from the same people who have invested millions of dollars into domains and who got everything riding on domains and their valuations? Well... It definitely isn't true. Domain name type in traffic isn't the best type of traffic. Not even the second best... Not even the third best type of traffic either. What exactly is domain type in traffic though? Simply put, it is when a user types in a domain name into their address bar, also known as the URL bar. Users are expecting to find a certain website with information/resources as well as products, services, etc.
Domain name owners with many generic keyword domains have portfolios that generate quiet a bit of type in traffic day in and day out. That is great. But they figure that just because it is always there and they don't pay anything for it to be there, in other words it is totally free obviously, that it is this amazing source of traffic and that it is the best of the best. Not true. Domain type in traffic does convert to sales/sign ups/leads and so on --- but so do almost all other legitimate types of traffic from various other targeted sources that provide advertising and traffic acquisition opportunities.
Unfortunately, the best type of domain names that do generate the most type in traffic and conversions at the highest rates are typo domain names. Domains that should of never been owned or monetized. It is traffic that is generated illegally by cybersquatters. Users are mis-typing a certain brand's name or a companies business website address. They end up being shown pay per click advertisements but mostly from competitors. Sometimes they are shown sponsored ads of the mistyped company/business and they end up having to pay for visitors that they shouldn't of.... Sucks!! You think?
For example, lets say company XYZ is an insurance company, and they have the website XYZinsurance.com --- they buy up PPC ads over at Google and Yahoo for many keywords, and one of them is "insurance" --- now a very clever person may register XYZinsuranc.com hoping to cash in on every day's peoples honest mistakes, when somebody doesn't type in the domain name correctly... This very clever person will setup the domain name to serve sponsored ads on it via a domain parking service and make a profit from each and every click. The sponsored ads shown may contain XYZ company's advertisements... The user will likely click on it because that is what he was looking for in the first place. That company's website. So, of course if there is going to be a sale/lead... It is going to be credited to the typo domain name setup by an opportunist. Illegal practice.
I think by some accounts that I've heard as of late mentioned by professional analysts and domain industry insiders that there is between 20% and up to 30% of typo domain names part of the domain channel being monetized through domain parking. One of those analysts is Jordan Rohan, Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets. Jordan has been around the domain industry for a while now and definitely knows what he is talking about. He noted a few years ago in a DNJournal: "that he is a big fan of direct navigation but he believes the current high multiples being paid are temporary. He thinks professional domain owners should strive for differentiation through development and partner with someone if you canât handle development yourself. He also advised looking for other ways to diversify. He added that technology changes constantly."
Jordan is a strong believer in trying out various monetization models for domain name traffic such as leasing domains as well as partnering up for development... If you have been reading DNJournal for the past few years you already know this. He knows that there are some domain type in traffic which is being under monetized with parking and that the really good generic keyword domains that do have decent traffic are just burning through all this traffic and it is really going to waste... What a shame. All this opportunities and potential but it is being overlooked or rather ignored. What portion of those illegal typo domains drive all of the traffic to the advertisers that are subscribed to the domain channels via Google or Yahoo?? I'd say at least one third of the domain channel's traffic is illegal trademark traffic and it just so happens to be the best part of the domain channel... That is it just how it is. Pretty crazy... But it is nothing new. Common Knowledge. Everybody part of the domain industry is well aware of this... It's a FACT.
So forget domains for a minute... The real best type of traffic is "word of mouth" marketing and direct person-to-person referrals because they reach out to the most targeted individuals and potential buyers/clients of which many are nearly impossible to reach, which is done along the way in multiple steps and on a very personal level, when any company or even an individual makes a mention, direct referral and/or recommendation to somebody. It can be done face-to-face or even via internet messaging or e-mail. It is the most engaging way to reach out to those who actually need to be reached out to. The best type of traffic is sent from a human to a human.
Anything that involves computers isn't so great... It works, but it isn't perfect. It can't be that accurate and it doesn't always make sense. I know you are thinking that Google is this amazing great company that is responsible for many technological breakthroughs but the categorical suggestions / links that they provide on parked domain names aren't as accurate as they need to be. Google is not a psychic. They can only predict so much. Also parked domains don't sell potential clients on ideas but people do. Many times before a user actually clicks on a certain link they have heard or seen a commercial about that advertiser or from a friend. They probably have visited that site before as well. The next marketing boom is all about the "social" aspects and the networking craze. It is a huge market full of opportunities. Once companies such as Google and Facebook make sense of things... It will take advertising and marketing to a whole new level. It will be as targeted and accurate as it can get... It is coming.
So anyways, person-to-person... The best type of traffic and referrals... This is done for example by a webmaster or blog publisher that may post up on his blog a recommendation on a certain product or service to his visitors that he tried out, had success with and found useful. The users will appreciate the insight information from a trusted and reliable source and more than likely if they are interested in the product/service sign up for it if they never previously heard of it and really want to give it a test drive or obviously if they need it for personal/business use.
There is nothing else that compares to like a good ol' positive review by an objective third party. It drives the best type of traffic that converts like crazy. The best conversions are always from on-topic relevant sources that deal within the same niche that you website is part of. It is not from Search Engines or Domains. Humans trust other humans the most. Industry specific newsletters and forums are pretty good sources of some of the best targeted traffic as well. Any type of source that pre-qualifies the visitors can be counted on to generate targeted on-topic traffic and most of the traffic that originates from it that arrives at the advertisers website is going to convert nicely if the user in fact is engaged properly and is presented with value based services or good products.
Domain name type in traffic converts well into clicks on a parked setup because the parked domain names design and layout are put together in such a way that forces users to click on a sponsored link. There is no other options available. A user either has the choice of clicking a text link advertisement or leaving the web site by pressing the back button or typing in another domain. People on the internet like to click a lot, and they are used to doing so many times over... It is very easy and simple to do, and users don't mind browsing around and even clicking on a few more sites to satisfy their curiosity. A user can be redirected from five parked pages, from one to another, and a majority of this users will keep on clicking through...
There isn't enough data though or any independent analysis ever done to prove that generic domain name's type in traffic converts better than regular search engine traffic for example into sales or leads and provides a better ROI. There just hasn't been such reports or any comprehensive studies done. Maybe there has been... But they have been kept on the hush hush? Probably big time failures, eh? Who knows! But you get what I am saying...
Generic domain names that do generate type in traffic is most often than not pretty untargeted although people like to think that it is very targeted and will argue this case all day long. It is not. Here is why.... A user typing in a travel domain name directly for example may be searching for a million different things when it comes to travel. He will start at a travel website though. It can be one of the more popular searches such as Hotels or Airfares but it can also be a million other things. When he types in the travel domain name, he is only presented with a maximum of five or ten sponsored links or a dozen relevant niche-within-a-niche Travel categories... I highly doubt that some random Travel related text links are exactly what the user was originally expecting to find or looking for but he will carry on with his research as his options are limited. Can either click on or click off... Most visitors will choose to click on because why the hell not? They went through the troubles of typing in a domain name, which usually take a few seconds... A click only takes half a second, if that... The clicking will go on...
Domain names continue to deliver advertisers a lot of visitors that are really good at clicking on links and they help traffic brokers and middlemen such as Google and Yahoo sell off their ad inventory... But is the traffic being delivered through generic type in domain names anything to get really excited about? It's really not... It's just traffic. Nothing special. When there is some independent studies done and detailed reports to prove that domain names do in fact generate at least a modest 10% for example of pure and targeted traffic that converts better than whatever else is out there that is currently the most popular choice --- interest in domains will skyrocket. Unfortunately, I do not see that day coming anytime soon... The domain industry was never about transparency. It is a very dark and secretive industry full of so much BS. It should of been already proved many times over, once and for all, but it hasn't been.... Can it even be proven at all? Hmm.... Carry on with the fantasies. I personally do not think so but I'd love to be wrong on this.
Domain name owners with many generic keyword domains have portfolios that generate quiet a bit of type in traffic day in and day out. That is great. But they figure that just because it is always there and they don't pay anything for it to be there, in other words it is totally free obviously, that it is this amazing source of traffic and that it is the best of the best. Not true. Domain type in traffic does convert to sales/sign ups/leads and so on --- but so do almost all other legitimate types of traffic from various other targeted sources that provide advertising and traffic acquisition opportunities.
Unfortunately, the best type of domain names that do generate the most type in traffic and conversions at the highest rates are typo domain names. Domains that should of never been owned or monetized. It is traffic that is generated illegally by cybersquatters. Users are mis-typing a certain brand's name or a companies business website address. They end up being shown pay per click advertisements but mostly from competitors. Sometimes they are shown sponsored ads of the mistyped company/business and they end up having to pay for visitors that they shouldn't of.... Sucks!! You think?
For example, lets say company XYZ is an insurance company, and they have the website XYZinsurance.com --- they buy up PPC ads over at Google and Yahoo for many keywords, and one of them is "insurance" --- now a very clever person may register XYZinsuranc.com hoping to cash in on every day's peoples honest mistakes, when somebody doesn't type in the domain name correctly... This very clever person will setup the domain name to serve sponsored ads on it via a domain parking service and make a profit from each and every click. The sponsored ads shown may contain XYZ company's advertisements... The user will likely click on it because that is what he was looking for in the first place. That company's website. So, of course if there is going to be a sale/lead... It is going to be credited to the typo domain name setup by an opportunist. Illegal practice.
I think by some accounts that I've heard as of late mentioned by professional analysts and domain industry insiders that there is between 20% and up to 30% of typo domain names part of the domain channel being monetized through domain parking. One of those analysts is Jordan Rohan, Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets. Jordan has been around the domain industry for a while now and definitely knows what he is talking about. He noted a few years ago in a DNJournal: "that he is a big fan of direct navigation but he believes the current high multiples being paid are temporary. He thinks professional domain owners should strive for differentiation through development and partner with someone if you canât handle development yourself. He also advised looking for other ways to diversify. He added that technology changes constantly."
Jordan is a strong believer in trying out various monetization models for domain name traffic such as leasing domains as well as partnering up for development... If you have been reading DNJournal for the past few years you already know this. He knows that there are some domain type in traffic which is being under monetized with parking and that the really good generic keyword domains that do have decent traffic are just burning through all this traffic and it is really going to waste... What a shame. All this opportunities and potential but it is being overlooked or rather ignored. What portion of those illegal typo domains drive all of the traffic to the advertisers that are subscribed to the domain channels via Google or Yahoo?? I'd say at least one third of the domain channel's traffic is illegal trademark traffic and it just so happens to be the best part of the domain channel... That is it just how it is. Pretty crazy... But it is nothing new. Common Knowledge. Everybody part of the domain industry is well aware of this... It's a FACT.
So forget domains for a minute... The real best type of traffic is "word of mouth" marketing and direct person-to-person referrals because they reach out to the most targeted individuals and potential buyers/clients of which many are nearly impossible to reach, which is done along the way in multiple steps and on a very personal level, when any company or even an individual makes a mention, direct referral and/or recommendation to somebody. It can be done face-to-face or even via internet messaging or e-mail. It is the most engaging way to reach out to those who actually need to be reached out to. The best type of traffic is sent from a human to a human.
Anything that involves computers isn't so great... It works, but it isn't perfect. It can't be that accurate and it doesn't always make sense. I know you are thinking that Google is this amazing great company that is responsible for many technological breakthroughs but the categorical suggestions / links that they provide on parked domain names aren't as accurate as they need to be. Google is not a psychic. They can only predict so much. Also parked domains don't sell potential clients on ideas but people do. Many times before a user actually clicks on a certain link they have heard or seen a commercial about that advertiser or from a friend. They probably have visited that site before as well. The next marketing boom is all about the "social" aspects and the networking craze. It is a huge market full of opportunities. Once companies such as Google and Facebook make sense of things... It will take advertising and marketing to a whole new level. It will be as targeted and accurate as it can get... It is coming.
So anyways, person-to-person... The best type of traffic and referrals... This is done for example by a webmaster or blog publisher that may post up on his blog a recommendation on a certain product or service to his visitors that he tried out, had success with and found useful. The users will appreciate the insight information from a trusted and reliable source and more than likely if they are interested in the product/service sign up for it if they never previously heard of it and really want to give it a test drive or obviously if they need it for personal/business use.
There is nothing else that compares to like a good ol' positive review by an objective third party. It drives the best type of traffic that converts like crazy. The best conversions are always from on-topic relevant sources that deal within the same niche that you website is part of. It is not from Search Engines or Domains. Humans trust other humans the most. Industry specific newsletters and forums are pretty good sources of some of the best targeted traffic as well. Any type of source that pre-qualifies the visitors can be counted on to generate targeted on-topic traffic and most of the traffic that originates from it that arrives at the advertisers website is going to convert nicely if the user in fact is engaged properly and is presented with value based services or good products.
Domain name type in traffic converts well into clicks on a parked setup because the parked domain names design and layout are put together in such a way that forces users to click on a sponsored link. There is no other options available. A user either has the choice of clicking a text link advertisement or leaving the web site by pressing the back button or typing in another domain. People on the internet like to click a lot, and they are used to doing so many times over... It is very easy and simple to do, and users don't mind browsing around and even clicking on a few more sites to satisfy their curiosity. A user can be redirected from five parked pages, from one to another, and a majority of this users will keep on clicking through...
There isn't enough data though or any independent analysis ever done to prove that generic domain name's type in traffic converts better than regular search engine traffic for example into sales or leads and provides a better ROI. There just hasn't been such reports or any comprehensive studies done. Maybe there has been... But they have been kept on the hush hush? Probably big time failures, eh? Who knows! But you get what I am saying...
Generic domain names that do generate type in traffic is most often than not pretty untargeted although people like to think that it is very targeted and will argue this case all day long. It is not. Here is why.... A user typing in a travel domain name directly for example may be searching for a million different things when it comes to travel. He will start at a travel website though. It can be one of the more popular searches such as Hotels or Airfares but it can also be a million other things. When he types in the travel domain name, he is only presented with a maximum of five or ten sponsored links or a dozen relevant niche-within-a-niche Travel categories... I highly doubt that some random Travel related text links are exactly what the user was originally expecting to find or looking for but he will carry on with his research as his options are limited. Can either click on or click off... Most visitors will choose to click on because why the hell not? They went through the troubles of typing in a domain name, which usually take a few seconds... A click only takes half a second, if that... The clicking will go on...
Domain names continue to deliver advertisers a lot of visitors that are really good at clicking on links and they help traffic brokers and middlemen such as Google and Yahoo sell off their ad inventory... But is the traffic being delivered through generic type in domain names anything to get really excited about? It's really not... It's just traffic. Nothing special. When there is some independent studies done and detailed reports to prove that domain names do in fact generate at least a modest 10% for example of pure and targeted traffic that converts better than whatever else is out there that is currently the most popular choice --- interest in domains will skyrocket. Unfortunately, I do not see that day coming anytime soon... The domain industry was never about transparency. It is a very dark and secretive industry full of so much BS. It should of been already proved many times over, once and for all, but it hasn't been.... Can it even be proven at all? Hmm.... Carry on with the fantasies. I personally do not think so but I'd love to be wrong on this.
