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by Marlene Graham, Downing-Frye Realty, 539 5th Avenue South, Naples, Florida 34102 (239) 821-9046 www.napleshomefinders.com
I've been involved with domain names since 1996 when my late husband, Craig, and my two young children took off to travel America. At the time our domain name was usatrip.org. People logged in, followed our journeys and I wrote diligently. I even published a book called "Headfirst Into America" out of those notes, but as it happened, not being internet savvy enough apparently, I let the domain expire; and back during this period there were not the kind of safeguards you'll find today to give you time to renew in such a circumstance.
So now if somebody logs onto that website from reading the address on my book or other promotional articles still on the internet (including a mention on Oprah), someone else benefits. I thought about asking to buy it back, but again at the time I didn't fully understand how important such a domain name can be. And I was mad and proud. I couldn't let someone else make money FROM ME on the name I already owned at one time. I could still buy it back I suppose, but that was so many years ago and now I have a domain called www.TRAVELtheSTATES.com that I am using as my new travel site.
Though these days I am a real estate agent in Naples, Florida -- a very successful one I should add with my own Downing-Frye locations in Olde Naples -- I am still looking to have a business which is not so constrictive. To be a great agent or to own a real estate location of a great company as I do, it is important to live in your town. And don't get me wrong. After traveling all 50 states of America, there are few places to compare to the beauty and fun of Naples, Florida. But STILL traveling will once again be in my blood and it would be nice to make a living around the world ... and so domains seemed the perfect fit.
Granted, it is scary getting into the domaining industry because it involves a lot more than just registering names. I buy on internet auctions and have paid as much as $2,000 for a single name. But on the other hand I've lost many auctions where the domains went up to $15,000. Too rich for my blood. And I have to wonder how the person who let the domain name expire rather than invest $10 or less in renewing the name must feel. Hopefully, and mercifully, they don't know what happened to their domain name. But then again years ago, the same thing happened to me. I had the domain name Roadway.com, didn't appreciate the potential of that name, didn't notice it had expired, and it is currently in use by someone else. I don't even want to think of the potential value of this one-word domain name.
I buy my names through GoDaddy.com, NameJet.com and SnapNames.com and trust me, it is nerve-wracking to fill up the credit card with domain costs -- and then if you don't utilize them during the year or sell them, you have to renew them all over again.
But it is still an exciting business in that you can own your own piece of the world with a domain name. You can be whatever you want to be. For example, I own the domain name FloridaGoddess.com. I haven't developed out the site yet, but no one can dispute that I am the Florida Goddess. (Okay, okay. I am actually only one Florida Goddess since someone else owns TheFloridaGoddess, but I'm the real thing!) The same with NaplesOptimist.com. I am the Naples Optimist. I am also the NaplesRealEstateExpert.com and I write the NaplesRealEstateReport.com.
And as if that wasn't enough, my real estate website (one of many) NaplesHomeFinders.com has thousands more domain names pointed to it. So if you happen to type one of those names into the browser, you get sent to NaplesHomeFinders.com. I was featured on an HGTV HouseHunters episode and not so surprising I own NaplesHouseHunter.com though my purchase was unrelated to the show. I saw it as a variation of HomeFinders. Interestingly, though the name was totally unrelated, this ultimately turned out to be a premonition of the future. Think it and it might well be. The show's producers actually found me through the internet. Or I should say they found another Downing-Frye agent through the internet who subsequently gave them the names of other agents who might work out for future shows. I wound up being one of those named and later selected.
For the most part domain names pointed to my website www.NaplesHomeFinders.com work well for me, except for the scathing email I received from a fellow who said it seemed as though just about every combination he tried to type in the browers in finding out information for Naples led him to my site and he thought that should be illegal. Guess he was sick of seeing me. But believe it or not, some people are not. And actually if he had looked further he would have realized that I could have helped him because I also own NaplesTouristCenter.com which is actually an informational website. But since I have so much connecting to do, I hadn't yet put that link onto my real estate site. Had I done so, he probably would have used the link and been much happier with me.
I understand his frustration, and my goal with my domain names is to point the relevant ones to my travel and real estate sites, sell the ones I can't keep up with to people who want to develop out the sites, and put others into Cash Parking.
Though the bazillionaires of the internet starting buying and selling names long before I understood what a domain name was, I realize the opportunities that still exist for both YOU and for ME in this business. We might not make millions, but we can earn a decent return. But until I can do something with the names, I have to make them work for me in the easiest way I can ... and pointing and cash parking provide those avenues to me. http://www.parked.com/tour/?promo=D2676FF1B5
The most important use for a domain name, of course, is to have a website for your business. The truth is these days a business without a decent website seems out of touch with life and frankly just old fashioned. Unless you are into antiques, that's just not a good thing for your business.
Plus websites are a great way to get business beyond your locality. And if you have lots of websites pointing to your business you will benefit way beyond the cost of the domain. For example let's say you sell fudge in Naples Florida and let's say your name is Kilwins. Well this company happens to have locations at tourist sites around the nation and with a search you might find them on their national site. (Maybe they have a local website for the Naples store which might not be corporately owned. Now I'm talking out of my hat right now, because I don't really know their circumstances, but let's just say I'm right.) And let's say they also owned the domain names NaplesChocolate.com and NaplesChocolates.com. These would be great to point to their local site. And I would happen to know just the person from whom they can get those domain names. Or let's say they owned NaplesFudge.com or SouthwestFloridaChocolates.com. You get the idea. It's important to have intuitive domains, as many as you can get to stand out above your competition because believe it or not, many people type words into a browser rather the search engine. And when they do that, if you own the name and point it to your webpage, they go directly to you, not a list of choice links on which to click.
I am in real estate and I not only have NaplesHomeFinders.com, but many other domains such as NaplesDevelopments.com NaplesAgents.com, etc., etc. as well as names of specific local developments. And I have to say, I get a lot of business on the net. People wander onto my site, believe I know something about real estate (which I do), and then contact me. marlenegraham@earthlink.net
Domaining, as my fledgling operation is referred to, is a great side business and will be even stronger in the future. You can buy and sell domain names by finding buyers on the internet. You can lease domain names to people to point to their current sites (or sell them the names); you can get a great site and develop it out with local information and sell links as we will be doing on NaplesTouristCenter.com, BonitaTouristCenter.com, EsteroTouristCenter.com, MarcoTouristCenter.com and FloridaView.com ; you can become an expert in a specific business by putting your knowledge into words as I do with NaplesRealEstateReport.com.
... you get the idea.
If you have questions on the domaining industry, please feel free to ask me about the business. I'll tell you as much as I know since I am still feeling it out, still learning. But so is everyone else for the most part. It is still relatively new in the scheme of things. But I can tell you that I am the Best Domainer. And how do I know that? Because I own the domain name TheBestDomainer.com. Of course the person with BestDomainer.com can make the same claim. So I'll say we're tired, though he or she might disagree.
I am also intimately in tune with the domaining industry. How can I say that? Well I own DomainingIndustry.com, DomainingBusiness.com and DomainingWorld.com. And I am a respected acquirer of domain names. After all, I own InternationalDomainAcquisitions.com.
Where else can you be the one and only in something? And to be safe buy the same domain with THE in front of it. For example I own the name TheSportscasters.com. Someone else has Sportscasters.com which would be the intuitive and certainly the better domain. But anybody who buys my version of this domain from me would be THE Sportscasters. Wouldn't that be great for ESPN or some local television sportscasters. Or maybe one sportscaster to use all his or her life as he or she moves from one station to another. Also I have domains from around the world. Places I didn't even know existed till I saw the names on auctions lists and Googled to see what the heck this place was. I know a lot of places in China these days that I didn't know existed months ago.
I also buy blog domains. For example, at some point I will have a caribbean cruise blog. And guess what! I own the domain name CaribbeanCruiseBlog.com.
But just a word of caution. If you decide to buy and sell you should enter into this business carefully until you understand which domains will sell and why. And trust me even that is dynamic. It changes with the trends.
And what you don't want to do is get a bunch of domains on your credit card, not be able to use them or sell them, and have to let them go when it comes time to renew them. Just start out with about $500 worth. Buy a few domains in auction and then try it out. You can seek out potential customers on the net, or hope your name will be found by someone who likes the name and contacts the owner (that would be you) to see about making a purchase.
But when that happens -- unless you own some incredible name like www.pizza.com -- be reasonable about your pricing.
Granted, I have sold domains that I had $7 invested in for up to $900, but those were industry specific. As you will see on this site, I think it's best to buy domains and price them reasonably because you can always get more domains. There is always a fresh crop on the auction block and right now, with so few people bidding on them, you can get some reasonably.
As I mentioned earlier, I have spent several thousand dollars on specific domains such as ChristianWeddings.com, ColtsNeckNewJersey.com, HamiltonNewYork.com, etc. but these days I don't have that kind of budget. I buy domains from a hundred dollars to $500 ... sometimes less depending on the domain and I price them reasonably so that they will sell.
I have to laugh at the people who get a rather nondescript domain and then price it at $10,000. They will be lucky to get $100 for some of those names. I understand their thinking. True, to the right person with the right business some names can be worth thousands, but finding that person is like a needle in a haystack. Not to mention most people don't have the budget to spend thousands or millions on a domain name even if it was perfect for them and their business. But they might buy several lower priced domains in order to enhance their business visibility.
Also, don't register names or buy names with the intention of diverting business from a well-known competitor by using a version of their name, or a mispelling of their name. You might find yourself in legal hotwater. Yes people did that in the past when it was a gray area, but these days there are laws to keep you from holding confusing consumers, or holding a name hostage and demanding a big payday for the name to be transferred over to a specific business. For the most part try to stick to generic names, or business names that could be utilized by many people. Those are not so obvious and you have will have fewer challenges in such situations. For example registering a version of Google or Yahoo, might not be the wisest idea.
But having said that, the most important thing to realize -- and mark my words on this --Domaining is the future. You need domains for your business, both with your business name and generic versions of what you do. You can take the extra step of becoming a domain trader or creating small websites to link together information and improve your search rankings. There is SO much you can do right now before everyone else figures out the business.
Get the leg up. Bring you business to life with Domain Names!
Marlene Graham marlenegraham@earthlink.net. www.napleshomefinders.com and a bunch more names!
(239) 821-9046
Curious about cash parking? Hit the following link for an explanation and a tour! http://www.parked.com/tour/?promo=D2676FF1B5
