dropHunt Blog

pageranks change all the time.  For many domains that have been expired, google will “unrank” the domain name (for others it stays).  So when you find one on drophunt, make sure to double check it by going to the domain summary view (click on the domain name) and click through to the pagerank checker to doublecheck.

I really dont have the bandwidth to check these domains in realtime  (we have over 5M domain names) so I can only do it once.  After that, google might change their mind . . . so make sure to double check!

by Stan Marsh

We are doing some database clean ups so the site might be a little slow (or the database is down completely for a day or so) . .. yes, I’m too lazy to do back ups etc so I’m working on the production server!

From Marcus Vorwaller 

1. Dislexicon - Takes common words and adds suffixes and prefixes. It even gives you the meaning. This site is great for finding short domain names that look like they could be real words.

3. Word Mixer - This one lets you enter up to five words which are mixed up into new, semi-pronouncable words. The same website also has a couple other tools that are useful such as the random words tool which is hit or miss, and the mixer seeds page.

4. WordFinder - This is actually a tool for crossword puzzles, but it can also be very useful for finding a domain name.

6. Online Generators - If all else fails, sometimes you’ll find a gem using one of these online generators. This is usually a last resort for me though, they tend to suck up your time without out producing much.

Dan Warner of Fabulous  just release a  52 page (yes prepared to spend your sunday afternoon reading this) mini-book on  domain name investment aftermarket.  You can find it here as a PDF file . 

Highlights (from DN Journal) includes:

• Aftermarket domains are a niche market and not a mass market.  Buyers are rare and need to be targeted with deep narrow spectrum marketing techniques.

• All representatives in the value chain need to realize that there is a diverse set of requirements that may be fundamentally needed by various parties in the process.  An open market system does not require that all parties agree on every potential transaction.  It does require that every party has a choice to select which types of transactions they participate in.  A technology platform needs to be established to enable selective participation.

• Centralized distribution of domain names for sale in the aftermarket is the most efficient way to establish continuity, maximize distribution, and avoid legal disputes.

• Marketing is drastically under-funded. The commission structures in place are not high enough to push the current market beyond reactive sales to proactive market development.

• The lion’s share of the marketing commission needs to be attributed to the lead generator.  Lead generators are the major contributor of growth to the value chain. 

• Revenue distribution needs to be managed so that proactive marketing is strongly encouraged whereas reactive services should be paid a commission in accordance with the lesser value that they represent.

• Affiliate marketing for aftermarket domains is almost non-existent.  The amount of commission revenue that has been available to encourage affiliate participation is sub-standard to the common CPA environment.  The risks and efforts comparative to the rewards are untenable.

• Support services need to be recognized and valued.  The most important purpose of support services (stock control, distributors, and clearance houses) are in maintaining stability and creating new avenues for penetrating distribution.

• Growth companies are not great threshold technology providers.  These companies need to focus on growth, whereas threshold technology companies need to concentrate on efficiency.

• Most people do not need a domain name. Only a select few of those who do need one can afford one of broad appeal and substantial cost.  Domain owners tend to mirror their belief in domains on to consumers.  Unlike domain portfolio owners, only buyers who have been qualified and are primed to buy are real consumers.  Most domain sales are not window shopping – the buyers have an established purpose for the domain when they buy.

• Many domain owners do not understand the nature of aftermarket domain sales and draw too close a comparison to the real estate market.  The vast majority of domains are priced for sale at less than $5,000.  Selling domains is more like selling high value electronics in a retail environment than selling real estate. 

• Commission rates on domains need to be established on an individual domain basis.  Domain level commissions offer domain owners a means to clear less valuable stock and give the lead generators an incentive to sell selective domains more aggressively. 

• Establishing ownership of domains prior to sale is a fundamental requirement of the process.

• When a domain name is sold the owner needs immediate access and ownership.  Instant transfer of domain ownership and control is paramount to aftermarket growth.  Anything that stands in the way of instant and efficient transfer needs to be marginalized or eliminated.

Got the following email, looks like these guys are putting their tens of millions of venture capital to good use.

Dear Members,

There has been a big change at Afternic this month. The official announcement is included below. Roger and I thank all members for your loyal support through the last few years. We are both excited about staying with Afternic and believe that service and the opportunity to sell your names are going to continue to improve. Afternic is now a part of an organization with the largest and best domain sales staff in the world. There are many things that we can and will do now to promote this marketplace that were beyond our reach before. Look forward to great things ahead.

There is already an immediate benefit to members who are parking with Afternic. We have joined with ActiveAudience as our house parking provider to offer the best paying parking program available. If you are currently parking your domains with us, thank you. I hope you enjoy the improved payouts. If you have not yet tried our parking, or have not tried it in a long time, please give it a try.

NameMedia Acquires Afternic

Waltham, MA — 11/28/2006 - NameMedia, the industry leader in Direct Search and Premium Domain Name Sales, today announced that it has acquired Afternic, Inc., the industry’s pioneer marketplace for the resale of domain names. Afternic will join with BuyDomains, NameMedia’s existing domain name marketplace, in creating the leading platform for the domain aftermarket. Afternic enjoys a strong following in the domain name resale and service marketplace, and is recognized for superior customer service and innovative sales strategies. Afternic’s Domain Name Marketplace has in excess of 1.8 million premium domains available for purchase supported by complementary products such as a domain name appraisal service, a domain purchase assistance team; secure domain name escrow services, and a platform for generating advertising revenue for domain owners.

“The Afternic acquisition advances our leadership position in creating an efficient marketplace for small and medium businesses to acquire domain names and insure a compelling digital identity,” said Pete Lamson, the Senior Vice President for NameMedia’s marketplace business.

Roger and Michael Collins, Afternic’s executive team, will remain as leaders of the Afternic business. “We are excited by our new association with NameMedia and BuyDomains,” said Roger Collins, Afternic’s General Manager. “NameMedia is the fastest growing and best managed company in our industry. Our combined offerings, along with planned future products and services, will offer many benefits to our shared customers”.

Lamson said that NameMedia intends to maintain both the Afternic and BuyDomains brands and trading platforms. Afternic members will continue to experience the same level of service and value to which they are accustomed. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Afternic will remain in its Florida headquarters.

About NameMedia

NameMedia is the industry leader in Direct Search and the marketplace for premium domain names. The company leverages the power of Direct Search through a proprietary publishing platform that creates revenue-generating search destinations, including the company’s network of vertical online properties in over 100 categories that include travel, finance, dating, health, shopping and technology. NameMedia also has the industry’s largest marketplace for buying and selling premium domain names. NameMedia is a privately-held, venture-backed, rapidly growing company headquartered outside Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.namemedia.com.

Everyday up to 100,000 expired domains are available to purchase at any registrar are added to dropHunt. Many of these expired domain names were active websites that have already been promoted by the previous owner. What this means is, for the price of registration (as low as $6.95) or backorder (up to $60) you can purchase a domain with existing website traffic, link popularity in major search engines and existing PR.
dropHunt.com gets you access to our database of these daily expired domains that are all previously ranked. There is no software to install, scripts to run, or even login. You can browse by day or search by keyword, alexa rank, pagerank, backlinks, word count, TLD and more. You can even get a list of dictionary words that are domains on a daily basis. dropHunt is the only FREE service. Try ti out now, for free . . . forever!

To be honest, I really hate websites that contain bunch of spammy content filled with badly written English just to get search engines to index the page and get some traffic. As a result I tried to keep the dropHunt’s homepage as clean as possible - much like google.

However, I had to give in eventually. I realized that I dont have the money to pay for traffic so I need to do some SEO. (Ironically, Google’s algorithm has quietly ensured that only the very popular websites can afford to cater to the end user while the rest of us build atrociously convoluted websites that refuse to get to the point).

Well, this blog is my compromise. I’m still going keep drophunt and its main pages as clean as possible. But I also installed the blog so I can get some traffic to drophunt through SEO. Hopefully this will work and I’ll never be forced to fill the homepage with bunch of useless content that repeat the words “domain” “drop” “expired” “expiring” twenty times just to get some google love (notice I just did it there).

Anyways, for those that just want to use dropHunt to look for inspirations or investment . . . stay away from this blog. There will be nothing here for you! . . . just a lot of spammy content trying to catch google/yahoo’s attention!

(well, occasionally I might have spouts of clarity where I might say something interesting, but thats going to be pretty infrequent)