No one talking about DomainSponsor?

Momentum · Mar 3, 2006

I just thought it was a little curious that no one really talks about DomainSponsor for parking their domains.

All I see are posts about Sedo and maybe Namedrive.

No love for Domainsponsor with uk domains?

The few .co.uk's that I have with Domainsponsor seem to do rather well, so I was just wondering if I am missing something.

Comments and/or opinions are much appreciated.

retired_member9 · Mar 3, 2006

Never tried.. but interesting to hear.

Can you tell some .co.uk's parked to check template?

What CTR you have?

If you used ND/SedoPro, how you compare it?

Momentum · Mar 15, 2006

Hi Vizzy,

I must have missed the notification of a reply to the thread, so I apologize for the late response.

I don't normally discuss my specific sites - for a variety of reasons. But I will share this one which is currently parked at Domainsponsor: cruise4me.co.uk

The landing page for this domain name seems to rotate between a basic page with targeted keyword links (not very pretty) to a more graphicly enhanced landing page using the same keyword links (not bad looking).

Pretty or not, the landing pages seem to be effective. CTR over 50% and average over 1 GBP ($1.80) per click last month. So I am pretty happy about that.

Of course not all domains fare so well (I wish!) but averaging around 40 GBP ($70) CPM with .co.uk's at Domainsponsor. Which is very close to what I am earning with the many .com's that I have there.

Anyway I have been pretty satisfied with their performance, but I am definitely interested in the other parking programs if they can beat what I am currently getting.

I have tested a few .com's at Sedo, but I have noticed that although the CTR's have been a little higher, the CPC's have been much lower. Anyway maybe I need to sign up for Sedo Pro.

rob · Mar 15, 2006

If you are looking to sign up to sedo pro drop me a PM and I can provide an invite

This is open to everyone not just momentum !

retired_member9 · Mar 15, 2006

Ok, thanks for sharing this.

It's indeed hard to compare CPM and CTR of different parking programs, with
different domains, keywords and sources of traffic.

To make a proper comparison, we need to find similar domains of the same quality.

Alas, I don't have any traffic cruise domains, but what could be another popular search term?

Jobs?

I have two domains related to jobs and I run them with keyword 'work' (which has slightly higher bid on OV)

The domains are pure type-ins and highly targeted to those who's looking for all sorts of jobs.

CTR on SedoPro is 60% and 42%
CPC: 0.15 - 0.16 eurocents

SedoPro is certainly paying higher CPC and gives improved CTR, so if you qualify to upgrade, you should definitely give it a try (pm me for SedoPro upgrade code).

Canuck · Mar 15, 2006

It's actually quite easy to compare two PPC programs. Try the name out for a few weeks at both. How hard is that? NEVER fall in love with a PPC company. No one company can be the best for all names. I stayed with the same PPC company for over three years...and finally last year I tested my names in groups of a 100 at a time with another company. Well after testing all names with the other sponsor, I ended up leaving almost half of the names with the new sponsor because they earned thousands of dollars more a month than at the other place.

I think of all the money I left on the table over the years by not shopping around..uugg! Anyway, when I want to test another program, I send over 50 or so names and see how they do, and go from there. I bought a decent name here last month (lyrics.co.uk) and are now starting my second PPC test on the name. I have not put it with the original company (Sedo) because I already know from the previous owners what it makes there, I want to see what it does at other places. It very well may end back up at Sedo, but I want to test other programs first.

My 2 Bits

Canuck (Shaun)

PS. People should not care what a landing page looks llike, but how much it EARNS!

retired_member9 · Mar 15, 2006

Canuck, I agree with you.. own tests need to be carried out. Some people just too conservative for this

And if one has >=750K impressions then it's time to apply for "G for domains" and leave all parking programs for good..

Canuck · Mar 15, 2006

vizzy. I would be hestitant to sign a contract with anybody, including "The Big G". The Internet changes so much so fast, one does not want to be bound to a solution that may or may not be the right one, 6 months or a year from now.

Canuck (Shaun)

bb99 · Mar 16, 2006

That's interesting - do you have to sign a minimum term contract for the Google for Domains programme?

safesys · Apr 6, 2006

From what I've seen and discussed, DS's rpc spread seems wider than that of sedo (not uncommon to get $xx clicks through DS) but the 2 click lander vs single click generally carries a cost in terms of CTR. How this impacts rpm varies from name to name but the way ds seems to be almost dismisssed by rote for uk traffic in general seems strange to say the least given it's also underpinned by google ads.

One thing that ds does offer is "forced optimisation" whereby you can bypass any automated optimisation. Most park companies retain some kind of auto-opt even if its just a related/popular searches box. This is a factor with solid generic domains as auto-opt putting a link on the page related to a company that uses that generic term in a trademark context can cause problems if the domain is disputed.

The idea that going direct with google direct will automatically earn more money is flawed as sharing a larger initial share with a middleman can still lead to more revenue and the different landers generate different rpm's.

retired_member9 · Apr 6, 2006

safesys said:
The idea that going direct with google direct will automatically earn more money is flawed as sharing a larger initial share with a middleman can still lead to more revenue and the different landers generate different rpm's.

Do you think that Google offers different revenue shares for partners based on revenue volume?

It might be so, but I very much doubt this apparently low percentage could be so significant to beat direct partnership.

Lisa · Apr 6, 2006

No longer here

safesys · Apr 6, 2006

Do you think that Google offers different revenue shares for partners based on revenue volume?

It's a matter of fact that they offer different shares - as well as other variations in contract terms that can affect the rpc. Pretty much all companies will negotiate if they want what you have,

It might be so, but I very much doubt this apparently low percentage could be so significant to beat direct partnership.

I know several people who have earned less with a direct contract than they were getting using a middle-man service - differences in the lander layout/dynamics and optimisation are a big factor too.

paul · Apr 6, 2006

Don't know if this applies to domains or just adsense for content but, Google operate a thing called smart pricing.

If a site is deemed to send poor quality traffic then they get less per click.

If you have more than one site on the same account then your smart pricing will be based on your poorest site thus dragging down your good sites.

This may have an effect, but I'm guessing all parking companies will have about the same mix.

Paul

Local Shops Adult DVDs HPI Check Domains