How to Easily Monetize Your Domain Name Portfolio
It typically takes months for a domain name to sell, and though there are notable exceptions, domains on their own tend not to be as lucrative in the short term without an established web presence.
In practice, the art of buying and selling a domain name is a fairly involved process. It requires more than just guesswork and more than a great deal of research. The task of a) choosing the right domain name and b) knowing how to maximise the potential resale value of the URL are made considerably more challenging when you consider the starting price of the commodity itself.
Do You Know What You Are Buying Into?
To give yourself the best chance possible at seeing a viable return on investment you need to take a look at the domain names you’ve been purchasing or a considering. There’s no point buying up every domain name within a 12 mile radius (there’s probably a joke in there somewhere) if you’re going to struggle in an oversaturated market.
You’ll need to ask yourself some key questions to understand more clearly the market you’ve bought into. Making smart business decisions are sometimes made early and other times they are merely proven. Either, there are a few indicators you should really be aware of beforehand such as:
- SEO keywords in the domain name
- Your familiarity with the niche market
- Any similarities to other established brands
- Ranking on Google Trends and Google PR
Following these simple guidelines when making your purchase decisions could end up saving you time and money in the long run. The reality is that it is a numbers game and not everything you bet on will be a winner. If you’re just now beginning to experiment with the idea of buying and selling domain names, be prepared to take a few loses but learn from your mistakes.
Consider Your Costs and Manage Your Expectations
When it comes to resellers and domain names, the guiding philosophy should be the more the better. There are no guarantees but as with real estate and other such similar entrepreneurial avenues, a modest investment of time and capital always goes a long way. As a reseller you’ll end up buying hundreds of domain names and at the going rate of $14.95 a year, costs can quickly escalate.
The trick to becoming a successful domain name tycoon is in managing your monthly expenditure as by now you should hopefully be itching to monetize each and every website attached to a URL -it all adds up. So, if you can, put your entire portfolio onto a month-by-month payment plan to avoid soaring upkeep costs.
While this might sound like a lot of work – and it is – embracing the chaos is going to be your best option. WordPress websites are actually quite simple to set up owing to intuitive and easy to use ready-made template designs.
Lead Generation with Great Content
Statistically, most entrepreneurs fail in creating proper content for their websites once created. You simply can’t afford to have your domains just existing somewhere in the vacuum of the internet and metaphorically waiting for the phone to ring.
Content is what attracts readers and readers are what attracts advertisers. It’s really as simple as that. Cater to your audience and with time, you’ll find that what you’ve built has dramatically increased in both actual and perceived value.
Making Money While You Wait
Ideally what you should be striving towards is building a portfolio of interest to a number of potential buyers resulting in a bidding war where prices can only go up. In the meantime, to increase the likelihood of turning a profit, and to make money while you wait, you’ll need to consider your monetization options.
Buying and registering a domain name is relatively cheap in today’s current global economy. Once you have taken the first step and purchased an online domain name, you’ll be able to take advantage of:
- Affiliate Marketing: Register an available domain, build a simple website around it (perhaps wordpress) and create engaging content to fill the pages. You can then allow advertisers of related products or services to come to you and pay for ad space on your site.
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising: A system made popular by advertizing initiatives such as Project Wonderful and Google AdSense, advertisers can bid for ad space on your site and you’ll receive a small set amount per click.
- Direct Advertising: The most common form of online advertising. Opting to sell your ad space directly will yield the best results and will enable you to choose who will be able to advertise on your site, where they can advertise and for much.
- Domain Parking: If you’re currently managing a high volume of domain names at present this might be the perfect option for you. You can list your site for sale while your page generates income from ads placed on the parking or ‘dummy’ page organized by your hosting service.
These are by no means a complete list of all the monetization strategies you’ll have available but they are considered to be the most immediately accessible and financially rewarding.
Achieving Credibility, Authority and Results All At Once
It’s a common misconception that a domain will suddenly become valuable overnight. There have been a number of recent domain name handovers that have made headlines and sold for over $200,000 dollars but you know what they say – behind every overnight success is ten years of hard work.
If you monetize your website, it gives the domain credibility, authority and can increase your revenue streams and thus potential earning power. The perceived value of a website that offers nothing beyond a blank page will always be much less than the asking price.
If you take nothing else away from this article, just remember that people are prepared to pay for quality and content and the less work you can make for someone else, the easier the sale is to make.
