The value of securing sets of alternative domains?

[Edwin]

Do you think there's any kind of rule of thumb that can be applied to the value of "sets" of related domains?

For example...

A) What if there is 1 way to describe a product, and you own both the singular and plural (2 domains)?

B) What if there are exactly 2 ways to describe a product, and you own the singular/plural of both (4 domains)?

C) What if there are exactly 3 ways to describe a product, and you own the singular/plural of all 3 (6 domains)?

And how much value would securing the "missing" domain to complete the set add in cases A), B) and C)?

I am thinking of domains that include "bike" and "bicycle", "motorbike" and "motorcycle", "christmas" and "xmas", "television" and "tv", and so on. There are probably thousands of such examples...

 

[Admin]

I think if you are developing a site it is always good to register the variables around it. How about the hyphenated versions if it's a 2 word domain? I have spent money on this myself in the past with no tangible benefit other than stopping someone else setting up in competition with you using a similar domain.

Admin

 

[Bailey]

Difficult to give a blanket answer to this one Edwin- from a sellers perspective, I was educated in the belief that always hold just the key-term forget the minor extensions and similar don't get waylaid by secondary terms. I found it difficult to accept at first - but it's proved to be one of the most valuable lessons I think i ever learnt (And that took some time I can tell you)

thank you Paul AkA Safesys at DS

So Bike not bicycle
TV never television etc

 

[Edwin]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

What about situations where GKT "agrees" that both (or several) equivalent terms are of near-equal worth? I can't think of examples off the cuff but I'm 100% sure I've come across that many times.

 

[Bailey]

Again purely from a domain sales perspective,

Who's your (potential) buyer and why do they want the term ? - who's actually spending the money?

Not as hard to identify as many think. And if it's still impossible to define then possibly two terms are the way forward. I can't think of many examples where it would stretch beyond two.

I love the analogy - leave every second choice on the shelf or for others - it makes yours more desirable

 

[alex]

I think it depends what the domains are being used for. For example I've been securing skateboard related names the past few years as I've been selling skateboards and I'm in the process of developing a couple of related online shops. My intention is to hold most of the key generics in the market, or at least know that others are priced such that no one will enter, so my competition do not have the advantage of holding the generics.

I think that end users may similarly see merit in this so buying a small portfolio may be of more value than a single generic.

However, for those looking to build mini-sites etc, they may find variations a hindrance, especially if income is low and the term has relatively few exacts. My feeling is that related domains prevent others from building sites on similar domains, but generally will have little influence towards generating traffic, enhancing position etc if those are the intentions.

 

[Bailey]

I think that end users may similarly see merit in this so buying a small portfolio may be of more value than a single generic.
.

I hope you don't mind me pulling that quote out of context - because my experience tells me your wrong. Sure they may take it if offered but in all my dealings I can never recall anybody asking or even realising I held the plural/singular alternative to what was in their mind to purchase

 

[Edwin]

On the same theme, what about a situation in which there are complementary rather than synonymous products (e.g. a sport which makes use of a bat and ball, where you have both the bat-related and the ball-related domains for that sport)?

 

[alex]

I hope you don't mind me pulling that quote out of context - because my experience tells me your wrong. Sure they may take it if offered but in all my dealings I can never recall anybody asking or even realising I held the plural/singular alternative to what was in their mind to purchase

I appreciate the point and agree that I've not had any experience of selling small portfolios myself. However, there are plenty of examples of companies that have built up small portfolios of generics within their niche for what I can only assume is a similar strategy to myself. Isn't it therefore logical that holding variations has value to end users?

I can only speak for my own motives and experiences, but there are several companies selling extreme sports equipment that have adopted buying related domains and forwarding them, which is what I'm basing this on. I have then myself taken a similar strategy to a) generate targeted traffic, albeit small, and b prevent others from gaining any similar advantages. It is certainly something that seems to work for me, but others will inevitably disagree.

 

[Bailey]

, and b prevent others from gaining any similar advantages. It is certainly something that seems to work for me, but others will inevitably disagree.

Yes but from a domain sales perspective you want a multitude of holders - the more the better - even if they are all just speculating

 

[grantw]

I hope you don't mind me pulling that quote out of context - because my experience tells me your wrong. Sure they may take it if offered but in all my dealings I can never recall anybody asking or even realising I held the plural/singular alternative to what was in their mind to purchase

Have to agree with that, if someone purchases the singular from me for example and I offer them the plural at a knocked down price, 9 times out of 10 they don't want it.

Grant

 

[alex]

Have to agree with that, if someone purchases the singular from me for example and I offer them the plural at a knocked down price, 9 times out of 10 they don't want it.

Grant

Yes but from a domain sales perspective you want a multitude of holders - the more the better - even if they are all just speculating

I see your points from a selling perspective and I agree. What I'm trying to say though is that, from a company end user perspective, there are advantages in holding variations and it is evident from those that build up supporting portfolios that this is perceived. However, what may be the case is that the majority of end users may not be savvy enough to realise the potential of variations, their market may not be suitable, budget may not be enough etc. If an end user wants to buy a single domain to trade through they may not see any point in buying others and will therefore turn down opportunities to buy the variations - isn't it therefore our job to educate them of the advantages and ultimately increase our own revenues?

 

[Bailey]

domains really are the ultimate beauty contest - second or further is off the radar

 

[Bailey]

Alex I do agree to a certain extent. Certainly with development you may well want the alternative extensions. or singular/plural. But, it's not on a end-users radar. I think any of us involved over time know the reality.

It pains me to see massive lists often posted that incorporate every variation. at the gtld level you can understand why an entity may well want the .net .org etc. (depending on the term) very hard to justify on a CCld basis

 

[alex]

domains really are the ultimate beauty contest - second or further is off the radar

That is true and it's good to look beautiful so investing in one strong domain is by far the best option, but if one has the opportunity to increase their bottom line through variations then it is also a valid option to take.

Alex I do agree to a certain extent. Certainly with development you may well want the alternative extensions. or singular/plural. But, it's not on a end-users radar. I think any of us involved over time know the reality.

It pains me to see massive lists often posted that incorporate every variation. at the gtld level you can understand why an entity may well want the .net .org etc. (depending on the term) very hard to justify on a CCld basis

I completely agree with you, was just trying to take both sellers/end users' perspectives. I also agree that extensive lists of different variations is not the way forward. I was just raising the point that if there are genuine advantages to end users in having multiple domains attracting specific customers then we should do more to advertise that so that both parties benefit. I'm also not specifically talking about extensions and plurals, but primary generic domain, generic product domain A, generic product domain b etc.

 

[Edwin]

Looking back through my sales records, I can see over 20 instances where a buyer took a package of 2+ related names from me (either singular/plural, or synomyms) for significantly more than the price of one of the names alone would have been.

I've tended to give a "bulk discount" when buyers take related domains, but I've probably still ended up with 75-80% of the price of each individual name added together. And over the years that's added up to a lot of extra cash coming in, and about 50 more names sold...

 

[alex]

Looking back through my sales records, I can see over 20 instances where a buyer took a package of names from me (either singular/plural, or synomyms) for significantly more than the price of one of the names alone would have been.

I've tended to give a "bulk discount" when buyers take related domains, but I've probably still ended up with 75-80% of the price of each individual name added together. And over the years that's added up to a lot of extra cash coming in...

Is there anything you do to inform customers of the advantages of multiple domains or are they generally already set on the idea? If those who do buy multiples have clear strategic agendas regarding their sites in terms of that they are making informed decisions based on clear perceived advantages, as oppose to someone looking for a good domain for a site, then shouldn't we be doing more to educate customers to make informed decisions to buy more portfolios?

 

[Bailey]

At the end of the day, you survive in this environment knowing what your customers do at their choice - Sadly, not by educating them but understanding their "wants". Certain individuals are first class persuaders and indeed that is a wonderful skill set to hold. but that is not going to change buying habits just increase the potential for that individual

Sure I understand the mindset of the developer but, if you don't understand the "end-users" (I hate that term)you are going to waste a lot of time, money and effort thinking collections or derivatives add value when in fact they don't.

I for one am quite (sometimes very) grateful that this business requires a lot of understanding that dosen't come just from looking in.

 

[willbon]

Totally agree with getting the plural and hyphenated versions... and in .com, .co.uk and even .org.uk and .me.uk and even .net...

When you have the 'brace' of domains for the keyword there is less chance of a competitor beating you in the rankings (presuming all SEO done properly).

Another thing to think about is that domaining is still an 'emerging' sector and as time goes on and more people realise the value in having keyword domains there will be more competition for the keywords and if you have all the relevant extensions and variants I think you'll be in a stronger position than only having one.

At the end of the day this is just logic.

 

[johnnyboy]

Holding variations of a generic domain name may not increase the value of a portfolio of domains but having them may lead to end-user sales you wouldn't otherwise have.

Using your sports domain example, if you owned both, say, baseball.co.uk and bats.co.uk, you could attract two completely different buyers; one could be an organisation that offer baseball news and info whereas the other could could be a retailer that specialises in just selling baseball bats.

Other derivative domains names/variations could be used as a brandable domain name (eg. Telly.co.UK, snookered.co.uk, brollies.co.UK) and hold end-user value so I don't see the harm in having them.