JamesC

Back in 1996, before Google and around the beginning of Yahoo, a friend called me and told me I should get involved in the inter world web net thingy.

I registered some domains for my own business and a few more that I thought might have a value. The registration costs were over £100 then, so I didn't go mad. Shame really.

My main business website since then has been www.teambuilding.co.uk. In those days we were a small operation turning over about £300k. This year that figure is £3m and the main reason is our web presence.

In 1996 the site to get onto was Altavista. We had relatively little competition and kept quiet about it. There was a huge boom post 2000. Now there is lots of competition but our presence has increased and, more importantly, the number of people using search has increased. Most of the old ways, newspaper ads etc, have lost their appeal. The key to search is that is has turned one of the oldest laws on its head: it no longer costs more to get a new customer than to keep an old one.

I saw a van a few weeks ago. The website was www.sofa.co.uk and there was a little bubble coming off it which said 'I wonder what they do?' Generic domain names really open up marketing opportunities. I can put my url on the back of a vehicle and I don't need to say anything else.

If anyone wants to corner their niche or micro-niche then there is no doubt that owning the generic domain is the key. I have proven this and if you have any clients who need proof then put them in touch with me. I have the case study and I'm more than happy to share it.

People balk at paying a few thousand pounds for a great domain and don't understand that it's the key to dominating their market. Where else now can you make such a small investment and turn it into millions (and not risk having your throat cut by gangsters)? Instead people use hyphenated monstrosities or come up with a name like purplemoondust. Can you imagine their clients trying to remember them? "I'm not sure but I know it was something utterly ridiculous."

Let me know if I can help you. The more high profile sales we can make, the better the prospects for all great domains.

Edwin

James, if you get the chance, you should pop by and see me at Internet World in Earls Court at the end of the month (stand E277, opposite Sedo's stand). I'd love to hear more anecdotal evidence about the success of generic domains (believe me, I agree 110% with everything you said but it's how to pitch it to buyers that can always benefit from a bit of a polish)

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JamesC

We need to get a few case studies together so people who are selling domains can show clients provable cases. People they can call or even visit to hear the story. I'm prepared to be one. I might give the sofa guys a call, they're obviously tuned in to what they have.

Does anyone else know any suitable case studies?

julian

im working on it now. im in negotioation with a mulitnational company tryng to sell them a generic domain but they only offered me £500 for something that brings in leads that are worht thousands to them.

The problem of selling generic domains to large companies is getting to speak to someone who can give up an hour of their time to understand the potential of a domain and how it will benefit them (ROI) now and in the future.


nice domain James, good to see it put to good use and making money.

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cern collider

paullas

good post james, thanks for your time.

dougs

We have bought quite a few generics as people know....it's a no brainer for me, especially if you have a company in that field.

We now build companies in a field based on the domain names we buy.......as Mr Paullas is well aware

Doug

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redtruck

I think the value of generics is in SEO rather than branding. As big companies start to spend major bucks trying to improve their search engine rankings they will begin to recognize that a generic domain gives them a distinct competitive advantage. And, at that point, it becomes obvious that you have to own the domain if you are going to command the market. I've been discussing this with one of my clients. He's a marketing guy, and is very savvy about SEO, but justifying the expense of a generic domain to his bosses is still a tough proposition. Having said that, I think the tide is turning. As more C-level execs get clued into SEO, they will open the coffers for purchasing generics.

ratboy

For sure in the eyes of a layman if you own the generic business area .co.uk then they see you as market leader.

I bought www.tandems.co.uk for some friends of mine for their cycle shop. They are niche tandem specialists so it made total sense. Won't say how much they paid, but it was peanuts. Even in a small niche like this you can be sure that (yes its top of Google) it is easier to get a generic to the top than a poorer name. People warm to it and understand it. We went with a community driven site to open up different sub keyword strings generated by their customers chatting bikes.

Nice thread. Seems the market is warming to this view too!

Edwin

Quite a few companies who came up for a chat at Internet World were at least modestly "sold" on the idea of generics. Not only SEO companies, but also larger web design outfits managing major projects/clients, for whom a line item for securing an excellent domain name is heading towards a no-brainer.

On the other hand, there were also plenty of people with more "traditional" views about branding vs generics.

Good name there, tandems.co.uk. If you ever fancy more tandem bike-related names, give me a shout...

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allclear

Definitely helps with seo. We bought debtconsolidation and debtfree which are both on front page of google/msn/(yahoo debtfree only) for their related terms. When you consider the cost of same clicks on adwords are well in excess of £10-£20 each the saving over 5 years is well worth the outlay.

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