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"Moniker
sought to create a market for domain names with buyer and
sellers actively engaged during a specific period of time.
We already knew the format could work. In 1999, we sold the
first high valued domains, WallStreet.com and Autos.com,
in a private auction format so I was convinced that we could do
the same for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.”
"When I approached Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu (T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
co-founders) with the idea, I had to convince them it would open
up the market. But looking at the trends I was seeing with our
own domain sales, both private and public, and with the escrow
transactions going on through our domain escrow system, I knew
that we had an opportunity to develop an auction that would gain
credibility industry-wide and become an event like other
premiere auctions held at Christies or Sotheby's. Since the
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East 2005 Conference, we have brought auctions to
each additional T.R.A.F.F.I.C event since then, in addition to
other venues.”
"With each event, we learn and refine our process. Now, having
done several live and silent events, we have improved upon the
various processes from choosing which domains go on the auction
block to processing transaction and closing escrow. We are, and
continue to be, a leading registrar and domain services company
and strive to bring an enhanced auction to each an every
event," Cahn said.
|
Moniker
staff (at top of photo above) handling
phone-in bids during the live auction at
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York June 2007 |
"We recently introduced telephone proxy bidding and absentee
bidding, which was successful from the beginning. We have also
automated our escrow process and are working with other experts
in the industry on properly pricing domains and setting
expectations on reserves. And of course, without the very best
and hardest working team of dedicated employees, none of this
would work.”
DomainCapital.com
has also played a role in the live auction boom started by
Moniker. They are on hand at every major live auction to make
domain financing available to qualified buyers. That adds
liquidity that has opened the door for the remarkable sales
results the events have produced. DomainCapital’s Gregg
Freeman told us, “Working with Moniker on the live auctions at
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. has given us the chance to help many domainers grab the
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| perfect name.
We work with Moniker’s sales staff and
make sure that all potential buyers are prequalified and this
way our clients can buy whatever names they want, knowing that
we will be there to help them out. Utilizing our services
obviously increases the amount of sales made in the aftermarket
because many of the names sold would not have been unless our
services were used.”
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”The beautiful part about these auctions is that it benefits
each and every domain holder whether they participate or not in
the event," Cahn said. "Our auctions have truly set the standard on domain
values and have established that domains are true and distinct
assets, which has always been our belief since I started in this
business in 1995.”
As word of Moniker’s success in selling domains has
spread, everyone wants a spot in a Moniker live auction. This
creates a major job for Cahn’s team – sifting through
thousands of entries to find the right mix for the live event.
We asked him about that process and how people can best enhance
their chances of getting their domains into a Moniker event.
"Although the process has been refined and improved from our
first auction, it is still time consuming and requires many
experts in domain asset management, which fortunately we
specialize in. We not only have an appraisal process to help
value domains, we use some of the industry's most experienced
minds to help us weed through the domains to find the ones that
have the best chances to sell. By following our recommendations
on reserve prices and positioning, individuals will have the
best chance to see their domain on the auction block,” Cahn
said.
| "Using our
TrafficClub.com system, we can ensure accurate
statistics for site traffic and revenue which feeds directly
into the live and silent auction reporting systems. Domains
registered under management at Moniker change ownership much
faster than if at other registrars. We also use a lot of
"gut" sense in domain selection in addition to many
outsourced domain statistical programs. However, the best names
are those of the highest quality at the fairest prices. Contrary
to some of the rumors out there, we really try to be fair and do
not look at who the customer is or where the names are when
selecting the domains for auction so everyone has a chance to
have their domains considered,” Cahn noted. |
|
"Moniker now has more than 10 auctions scheduled in the next
12 months, with some in niche markets such as adult, affiliate,
gambling, and geo-related. Some domains apply to some of our
niche events, while other events have a more general appeal.
Having so many auctions gives sellers an opportunity to submit a
domain, and let Moniker pair it with the best possible event.”
Moniker’s association with the Traffic conferences has
led to an unbroken string of successes with each auction topping
the one before. However, they have not been content to ride that
one winning horse as they have taken the live auction format to
other conferences, some a bit outside the domain mainstream (for
example the recent Affiliate Summit). In the early going, some
of these events are not going to have the huge success that the
Traffic auctions have (as it is a different audience) yet Cahn
seems to be convinced that it is worth planting those seeds in
other gardens. We asked about this strategy and where he
thinks it will lead.
"The strategy is simple - we choose venues and niche markets
where domains play a key role in the success of that
industry,” Cahn said. “For example, the affiliate trade is
a multi-billion dollar business and Moniker recently brought an
auction to the Affiliate Summit in Florida. It's a true
referral/CPA channel for domains. It's the next step to where
domain traffic will be going and is starting to go from its
popular PPC place holder today. Let's face it, PPC is really CPA
anyway. No advertiser would pay-per-click if they were not
acquiring customers and converting to dollars. So Affiliate
Summit is the premier venue for affiliates and affiliate
companies. They make average domains perform and increase in
value and are very committed to their business. Imagine how
successful they will be with premier domains and more targeted
traffic,” Cahn said.
Auctioneer
Joel Langbaum (left) and Moniker CEO Moniker Cahn enjoy
the auction action at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York 2007
"The
Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC) is another example and
another great venue for auctions. Online gambling and gaming
information is increasing in value despite U.S. government
regulations. This industry values their domains and they all own
tons of them as they believe they are critical to their market
and long term success.”
"The adult industry is also an obvious niche. The industry has
seen increasing success on the Internet and their trial and
error processes on merchant processing, customer acquisition and
fraud prevention have become the standard in the mainstream
world. They also are always looking out years ahead so that they
can survive and capitalize on opportunities and have come to
understand that domains are part of that equation,” Cahn said.
”I can name several other examples where we will host auctions
in 2007/2008 such as WebmasterWorld/Pubcon and Associated
Cities/Geo Domain conference among others. The key is picking
the right venues and the right communities who value their
domains as assets and not doing too many auctions in that one
niche so that we do not dilute the market.”
”It is also a risk for our competitors to try to do other
domain auctions knowing that this can happen if they are not
careful. Bad events and results are not good for the industry,”
Cahn added.
| Like some of the other company executives in this article,
Cahn said selling off some domains is part of a prudent
diversification strategy.
“As
a domain asset management company, we practice and preach domain
investment diversification. Do not put your all your domains in
one basket. Some domains will always monetize better on PPC than
through affiliate, CPA or full fledged development. What is key
is to divide up your portfolio and test what monetization
mechanisms work the best for those particular domains. It will
always change so you need to keep looking for alternatives and
newest trends. The process is trial and error but once you find
the right combination of tactics, you can begin to realize
revenue.”
"Be
cautious not to switch domains around too much as you can
damage Google Page Rank and SEO strengths. You do not want a
parasitic drag on your domains by testing too much. Take a
couple obvious domains that you feel could do well on CPA and
then some that make no sense and use those. For example, the
domains we sold for $3,000,000 at the last auction – creditcheck.com
and freecreditcheck.com
- generated $37,000 per month of revenue, on |
This
is a no-no!
Don't keep all of your eggs in one basket. |
| average, using a
CPA program with Experian but when tested on a PPC system, it
performed at only 60 - 70% of that. Those are obvious
domains that traffic can generate more money on CPA to a much
targeted program vs. multiple links and choices,” Cahn said. |
"These strategies ultimately can lead to very profitable Web
sites. Domain buyers need to start taking the success of the
site into account when determining if it is a smart domain
purchase. Sellers also need to realize that the value of their
domains are associated with the total revenue their site
produces.”
"Selling domains is also part of the diversification strategy
so that you are always using your assets and their ROI through
sales and cash flow to reinvest. This is the main reason we
attend 32 conferences in many different niche industries and
markets, to learn what each industry does best with their
domains and then share that info with our customers and, in the
process, acquire customers in those markets as well,”
Cahn noted.
With the market booming, we put the same question to Cahn that
we did to the other company leaders – will the boom continue
or could we be in another bubble?
“Ironically, the bubble and the bust (in 2000) actually kept us
in business,” Cahn said. “When the big Dot Coms were going
out of business, we were the main venue for appraising and
selling the most valuable assets for those companies - their
domains. So the one thing we do know is that domains, just like
real-estate, always will have value in both up and down
markets.
This is a very important point for individuals in our business
to understand.”
|
|
"My gut says that we are in the
very early innings of a long
ball game and that values will continue to go up at a more
aggressive pace than most other investments. This is because
more and more users are coming onto the web every day. They all
need identities for personal and business use."
Cahn
added, "Peripherals and
computing devices are decreasing in cost and we are using mobile
devices increasingly to access the web and connect to others.
Our web users are also getting on at earlier age, even before
they are ten years old. Senior citizens can't fight the movement
and are also going online more than ever before. This provides
great marketing and sales opportunities to all generations. The
domain is the key to all online presence and success. I believe
that in my lifetime, there will always be the need for a domain
name in the way we are seeing them today.”
I have often referred to Cahn as the hardest working man in the
domain business. He seems to show up everywhere – I'm
pretty sure |
| I
have even seen him appear in multiple places at the same
time! His schedule could kill lesser men but there is a
method to his madness. “ Moniker will continue to dedicate its
time to researching new markets for the domain industry,"
Cahn said. This
year we will be attending 32 trade shows in addition to attending
several other networking events in various niche markets.” |
“We
are asked to participate and speak on the subject of domains at
the majority of these events so we are committed to educate
current as well as brand new markets about the value of domains
and their benefits. This will help expand the industry and
find new business opportunities for our customers. Our
radio show, Domain Masters which airs every Wednesday at 7PM EST
on Webmasterradio.fm, is
downloaded and listened to by thousands of people. All of
this above verifies that we are in an exciting and expanding
industry with many opportunities for the future.”
*****
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