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When
top tier domains
are put up for sale
owners almost always try to sell
them individually on their
own merits. Occasionally, however,
some will offer an entire
portfolio of domains for sale
like GeoCentric Media did in
April when they put a package
of 20 big city .com geodomains
up for sale in a single lot (a month
later they added
LosAngeles.com and SanFrancisco.com
to the lot) priced in the $20
million range. That kind of approach
is normally a one-time occurrence,
but there are indications we may see
similar strategies more often going
forward.
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Image
from Bigstock
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At
least one brokerage we know
of, Warren
Mae Premium Domains, is
streamlining the idea, filling a
space between portfolios and
individual domain sales with tighter
packages of closely related
domains plus some additional
added value assets (like related
toll-free phone numbers) with the idea that
ownership of the package gives the
buyer a powerful broad-based market
position with a single purchase.
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For
example, Warren Mae is marketing Thin.com,
Thinner.com and Thinnest.com
together in a single
package that
also includes seven
toll-free phone
numbers that
incorporate THIN on the
keypad - 833-367-THIN |
833-468-THIN | 877-THIN-373
| 877-THIN-356 |
877-THIN-347 | 877-THIN-368
| 877-THIN-866. Warren Mae
Co-Founder Katie Bond contends,
"Real branding power
includes capturing market
dominance. Field
leadership requires the
usage of domain packages. A
premium domain generates
organic search and a domain
package strengthens the
brand by using multiple
URLs, all with word
variations of your company
name. Packages that are
completed with a block of
identifying toll free
numbers further increase
positioning." |
Katie
Bond
Warren Mae Premium Domains |
The
company expects the package to sell
in the seven-figure range which
seems reasonable given the boom in
one-word .com demand we've seen
recently, most notably in the $30
million
sale of Voice.com
in June, an all-time record cash
sale of a single undeveloped domain
name. The
Thin.com
package is owned by entrepreneur Gerard
Armond Powell, the founder of
the highly regarded Rythmia Life
Advancement Center resort in
Costa Rica.
Having built that five-star
property's online presence on a
one-word .com (Rhythmia.com),
Powell understands the power of
domain names from personal
experience. “You can maximize
returns and decrease advertising
costs all while maintaining the same
sales and conversion rates,"
Powell said.
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Image
from Bigstock |
Memorability
gives owners of one-word
.com domains a huge edge in
marketing. Bond noted,
"Marketing strategists
can no longer bet on the
fact that a clever business
name might be
remembered. In the early
days of the Internet, it was
trendy to create custom
domains with unusual
spelling or quirky names.
But that phase died out with
the “yodeling Yahoo guy”
ad campaign. Valuable
domains must emit clarity,
not only across the board
but also across the
Internet.
Domains with easily
recognizable words also
emote trustworthiness
even before the point of
sale."
Katie
added, "The ‘premium
domain packaging’
advertising model addresses
a badly needed solution in a
crowded online market.
Rather than just buying a
building, you take over the
whole neighborhood. Companies
looking for alternative
routes to increase website
traffic can leverage these
so-called ‘sister-sites’
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capitalize
on language association. SEO
strategy is no longer enough
to get a site to the top of
search results. Consider
that your competitors are
probably using the very same
keywords in their metadata
and copy. Although savvy web
consultants try to offer
guaranteed search rankings,
search engines (namely Google)
regularly update their
algorithms and organic
search wins every time." |
"The
additional domains in the premium
package can serve in multiple
capacities as well. From design
concepts to user experience, they
can be used as a space to beta test
anything (and everything), as
needed. Consider that site updates
or new product rollouts can often
include bugs or interface issues.
Having multiple sites can be used as
an additional platform for research
before implementation. Extra sites
can assist in refining marketing
scope, which saves in unnecessary
advertising expenses for both short
and long term campaigns." If
the GeoCentric Media or Warren Mae
approach bears fruit, we may see a
lot more of this marketing approach
going forward.
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