Overture results manipulations?

[sasquatch]

I am dumbfounded when I see reports that certain buyer has bought a certain domain (otherwise not very valuable) based on, among other things, Overture results showing queries on that domain and its extension in the previous month (or two.)

For example, most recently - certain buyer has bought three certain misspelled domains for tones of cash, while stating that these domains showed at least a thousand Overture searches previous month on this domain+extension...

My question is, how easy and/or widespread is manipulation of this sort on the seller's part?

In other words, let's say I have a regfee.com domain which I want to sell next month (ot three months down the road,) but knowing I won't get more than 20 bucks for it I decide to BS Overture results and artificially inflate the domain "search interest." So, I network a farm of my computers together and I intentionally perform Overture queries on my domain with the extension (regfee.com), and I continue to do that each and every day, several times a day, for a solid month, two or three... so when I decide to sell this name, I can claim that there's a lot of interest on that name, and I am able to prove that with those Overture results (whose queries were initiated by me all along)

Anyway, I never hear about this type of thing anywhere on this board, yet it seems so obvious.

Or is that supposed to be one of those "trade secrets" for those "in the know"...?

or what?

 

[seeker]

interesting concept.
I am sure it can be done If you have connections from different parts of the globe with different IPs.

However the risk involved of being caught is too great IMO for someone with a reputation to use suck tactics.

 

[JMJ]

The best way to tell if they are actual numbers is see if the term is being searched without the extension. If it's not then most likely the numbers are incorrect.

 

[Deleted member 4749]

Good point.

Let's do a test, anyone wanna volanteer? I can register a domain for you and you will try to fake the ove numbers.

 

[think]

OVT numbers are a great "tool" for estimating traffic when looking for dropping names. Along with other tools (alexa, link pop, etc.) one can get some idea of traffic that might be obtained thru a domain.

When purchasing names outside of drops I give little relevance to sellers claiming OVT numbers. Once a name is purchased actual stats can be obtained so if the price of a name is based largely on potential traffic, stats are the only way to go unless you like living on the edge.

Traffic stats can also be manipulated easily so use caution and ask to see "the origin" of the traffic to see what countries it is coming from, whether it comes from links, and how much is pure type in and search engine refferal. Not all traffic is created equally

 

[JuniperPark]

I am VERY suspicious of all OVT numbers.

I am considering buying a name (right now) advertised here that is a small US city name. It is not a resort, tourist area, or famous in any way. The 1 month search count (which specifies the state) is MORE than the total of every man, woman, and child in the city! Also unusual: 1) the state is fully spelled out, and 2) the city+state term has a higher ovt count than the term itself. The term itself has another meaning, although not a popular one. The counts are over 10,000, so there is enough data for this to be a pattern.

I'm not accusing the selling of causing this, but SOMETHING is wrong here, either by accident or design.

 

[Jernet]

Thats why there is wordtracker.com
I always use BOTH of these tools. If there is a HUGE difference from one to the other, I generally steer clear

If "widget" shows 200,000 searches at overture, but only "29" at wordtracker, you best bet the scam is on. Also works the other way around. The best way to compare, is to enter a search term you know is popular like "jokes, lyrics, search engines, google" etc....these are searches that are high in BOTH tools. This is what a "real" popularity search should look like.

One exception: Something that happens this week for example "Bill gates goes bankrupt"...of course this will register much faster at Wordtracker because they publish on a daily basis, where Overture is a month behind...make sense?