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Slide 1: Domain Asset Management and New TLDs Driving Leads Through Smart Domain Development Victor H. Pitts, Vice President, Moniker and SnapNames
Slide 2: Presented by: Victor H. Pitts Vice President Moniker and SnapNames            Domain Experience Since 1995 Moniker.com - more than 2.7M domains under management, with more than 4 million throughout the Oversee Aftermarket and Registrar Division 7th largest Registrar, plus a network of more than 100 ICANN accredited registrars Domain sales, escrow, appraisal First to sell a domain for more than $1M and $2M (Wallstreet.com, Autos.com); more than $100 million in domain sales Stealth Acquisition specialist Invented the Domain Appraisal - 460K appraisals to date, IRS Accepted, used for lending and donation One of the first to monetize domain traffic in 2000 Focus is on Domain Asset Management – Typical client owns 100+ domains Clients include – Major League Baseball, NHL, Lions Gate Films, Incisivemedia/Jupitermedia, Marchex, and Yahoo! Host of Domain Masters, every Wednesday at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST –WebmasterRadio.fm
Slide 3: Why domains matter     Domains have been continually growing to more than 177 million worldwide At the same time, aftermarket sales values have been increasing by approximately 20% yearover-year Upward trend continues showing that even in down or flat markets, domains are increasing in numbers and value Why?
Slide 4: Why domains matter     Domains are assets that are both collectible and revenue producing Each domain is unique – no two are exactly alike Hold an inherent ability to attract traffic Direct navigation traffic accounts for 10-15% of revenue for Google and Yahoo
Slide 5: Why domains matter    Domains are equal parts pathway and destination … they are both the avenue and the storefront of the internet Creates the first impression online; Primary way an online consumer interacts with your brand or brand extension Also the primary way, they locate your online store
Slide 6: Why domains matter What are the shingles you hang online doing to attract business and convince people to enter the store?
Slide 7: How domains can help attract traffic and drive leads Help define and reposition brand promise  Improve search optimization and search marketing  Counter balance search using direct navigation  Offer an easy way to initiate social media marketing and other engagement techniques 
Slide 8: Impact on brand   What are your highest converting keywords associated with your brand (a.k.a., “category killers”)? Do you own those domains or can competitors move in on your territory and start aligning key attributes with their brand? Are you making sure people who are looking for you can find you? Lock in traffic and protect your brand associations by registering typos, nicknames, country code TLDs for all regions you operate in and other derivatives. 
Slide 9: Impact on brand Case studies:  ToddlerToys.com = Toys.com = CreamCheese.com = Underwear.com = Microsft.com =    
Slide 10: Improving SEO and SEM Tie goes to the domain      All things being equal, the domain you use could be the tie breaker to get your site ranked higher Case Study: Tropical Birds TropicalBirds.com is a somewhat new site Outranks the Honolulu Zoo, several aviaries and hundreds of bird/pet stores Forces others to spend ad dollars for paid listings
Slide 11: Improving SEO and SEM
Slide 12: Improving SEO and SEM Significantly improved inbound link juice  Most people still use your web address to provide links  Which of these links would provide better signal to search engines for the term “spices”? “Visit Penzeys.com for the best prices” “Visit TheSpiceHouse.com for the best prices”
Slide 13: Improving SEO and SEM Consider going “retro”  Keyword domains available on the aftermarket offer additional benefits  Age (unexpired domains)  Page Rank  Link strength  Properly redirected, domains with these attributes can transfer or lend strength to your newer or lower ranked domain
Slide 14: Improving SEO and SEM Consider going “retro”  Be sure to do your research  Previous black-hat techniques or bad inbound links associated with the domain could do more harm than good  If research checks out, be careful about updating too much – could get you sandboxed (however, this is widely debated)
Slide 15: Improving SEO and SEM Increase response on search marketing ads  Marketing experts we work with recommend testing the domain you use, as well as the rest of the ad Depending on your product or target audience, display domain does have an impact on response For example, if you’re in the business of getting travelors to Egypt, which domain is more likely to pull better results?  Egypt.Travel  KensingtonTours.com  
Slide 16: Improving SEO and SEM    No way to really know unless you test first Best for rebranding strategy or new brands Google compliance: Will need unique content, if selected domain is not the main website
Slide 17: Improving SEO and SEM
Slide 18: Counter balance with direct navigation  More than 70% of internet users type in keywords directly into their browser to get to their destination At more than 4%, direct navigation converts at twice the rate of regular search traffic Advertisers, such as Garden State Life Insurance, are increasing ad placements on parked sites, and getting better conversions at cheaper rates  
Slide 19: Counter balance with direct navigation    Visitor is engaged and clearly has an expressed interest in subject Makes sense to own keyword domains, cut out the middle man and block the competition Provides constantly renewing source of interested parties who have self-selected your topic – no bidding required, no budget cap to cut you off After initial investment, only cost is renewal fee 
Slide 20: Counter balance with direct navigation Three ways to use direct navigation  Simple redirects to main site:    Books.com = BarnsAndNobel.com Gift.com = JCPenny.com TennisShoes.com = KSwiss.com Baby.com = Johnson & Johnson Asthma.com = GlaxoSmithKlein NoFleas.com = Bayer  Verticle portals   
Slide 21: Counter balance with direct navigation Three ways to use direct navigation  Re-brand entire company/site  OberonGames.com = iPlay.com  WBZL.com = SouthFlorida.com
Slide 22: Get your visitor engaged   Category Killer keyword domains are well positioned to be used as social networking sites Case Study: Skateboards.com   Active site User generated content is free and fresh   Videos, photos, stories Forums and chat rooms  Site is profitable without any external advertising … all current traffic is direct navigation
Slide 23: Get your visitor engaged  Portal site positions your brand as the subject matter expert Case study: Baby.com  Informational  site requires investment and maintenance  Pay off can be significant of mouth increases brand strength  Word
Slide 24: Get your visitor engaged   Landing pages can create unique connections Case study: Jet Blue’s HappyJetting.com  Short-term  Usually content, less robust and less maintenance than full portal funny or lighthearted lead generators … sign up for mailing list, download wall paper, play games  Obvious
Slide 25: What’s the value of a domain? Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.com Savings in CPC     Monthly visitors: Cost per click on key term: Monthly savings in CPC: Annual savings in CPC: 10,000 $3.98* $39,800 $477,600 *Per SpyFu.com Dec. 19, 2008
Slide 26: What’s the value of a domain? Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.com New Revenue       Monthly visitors: 10,000 Typical conversion rate on website: 2%* Estimated new customers monthly: 200 Estimated new customers annually: 2400 Average profit per new customer: $100-$250* Estimated profit from new domain: $240,000-$600,000 *Variable data – assumptions made to show potential. Actual values will vary depending on specific profit margin and conversion rate.
Slide 27: What’s the value of a domain? Potential ROI Case Study: Stock.com Overview     Estimated annual value (revenue or CPC): Years to reach ROI: Value of 5 year investment: Current asking price: $500,000 5 $2.5 million $??? How much will the financial services industry segment spend in advertising this year? $1.1 billion in display only Q1 & Q2 2008.
Slide 28: Ways to acquire domains   Registration – most single-word and two-word premium domains are gone Aftermarket is new primary market   Live Domain Auctions Two main online sales platforms   Auctions Listing services   Expired and Deleting domain services Private brokerage and stealth acquisitions
Slide 29: Questions?