Can a domain be too good?
 

cams.com? How do you get buzz for the name? It is hard to brand a term like that. Would kleenix want to own tissue.com? Lots of sites are successful with names that have nothing to do with what they are. Is that better?

Other side: tonso f type in s that are free sales. Increased type ins because it is easy? No idea.

No, a domain can never be to good.

would you rather have adult.com

or

mega-porn-sites-for-you.tv

It really depends.

Type in traffic converts great.

Branding yourself (ex. Viaga, Google, eBay, Honda) can also be fine.


In the end, if you have a mad advertising budget (7 figures and above), I think you should go for brandable over type ins/generic.

With that kind of budget - go for both.
A brand that gets type ins.

It is because of your thinking that I know ...
one day someone will just walkin in and grab
SexEducation.COM / SexEducation.NET / SexEducation.ORG and SexEducation.TV from me.

A brand that creates type ins by word of mouth.
Perfect for an online and brick and mortar chain.

Cars.com is a good example of a site that does both. Lots of advertising.

One drawback is that with a specific generic domain, you might lack the flexibility of a unique name....amazon.com, for example, started with books, but now sells dvds, furniture, tools, and all sorts of stuff, whereas books.com (if it hadn't been bought by Barnes & Noble) would be kind of limited in that regard. Some generic terms are broader than others, like buy.com. Another example discussed on GFY a lot is men.com...that could cover a lot of different areas.

That being said, I still think cams.com is a great domain for development. I mean it does have that drawback, it wouldn't really lend itself to selling cat food, but it's great for marketing anything cam-related. (Webcam access like it's doing, other streaming media, and/or any sort of camera/photography products).

Good question.

I had some people specifically say that my big one couldn't be branded. They made some good points, but I still thought otherwise.

I looked at it from a very long term standpoint. I knew the value of Internet properties had no where to go but up, so even at the incredibly high price I paid, in the long run it would be a completely risk free and profitable investment.

The type-in traffic on the big one word domains is constant and never stops. Its free money not requiring an ounce of advertising and marketing cost.

I've posted two deals on here I'm doing next. The big gay domain deal will be finalized this week and my other big straight adult domain will start right afterwards. The built in traffic is enormous and both are hugely brandable and will make a shit load of money for the guys who responded to my post who are going to make money from them too.

Everyone should have at least a couple of really gem properties in their portfolios. On top of the money they make on their own, they are so powerful from a dealmaking standpoint they're worth their weight in gold.

When I go to biz deal meetings and people see that puppy in my portfolio its instant respect and power. So you have to look at the ancillary benefits too. They are immense.

"ancillary"

I bet that is the first time that word has been used on this board.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Type in traffic there for the domain is great. You have to differn't aspects through branding a domain like has already been said can branch off into many area's example:amazon.com though I think cams.com is very good and short domain. Simple to the point and very easy to remember. When you have a techonology new as the internet and new people getting online daily having something easy to remember and short is golden...You can't get much more simple then cams.com

Great post. I have noticed that your buy has returned money to you in that people come to you as a buyer of big domains. So you are getting first pick.

I do now onw anything as untargeted as men.com. You would know but that is pretty unfiltered traffic is not worth what a type in to cams.com is.

:helpme

sorry if it does not meet your standards. but thanks for increasing the level of discourse on GFY.

sure thing :thumbsup

The reason I even brought htis up is cams.com was in pretty good hands and notmuch happened to it. Candy.com was in the news etc and is dormant. Porn.com is dead in the water and has to be one of the best domains for just brute sales.

great domains eitehr make so much people just milk them or it is harder to do much with them.

KRL, I don't agree 100%, but I love your content :thumbsup

http://www.porn.com/404.html WTF?

yep, it just goes to show ya how it doesn't always work out

tonso f type in s

I seriously had no idea what that was until just now...

tons of type ins.

I was like what the hell is a tonso.

glad i wasn't the only one who didn't know wtf he was talking about at first!

i thought it was a new Acura type S or something

then i got reamed for not helping the level of discourse on GFY

LOL

Risk free? Pardon? Are you insane? Or just creating more hype for your names?

There's absolutely no guarantee that domain names will retain their value over time. In the years I've been in the business, there's been three or four boom/bust cycles, and these days, domains are valued pretty damned high.

They might go higher, but they might also lose their value from partially to entirely.

Type-ins are a very reliable source of gold, but that could change in a NY minute if technology changes.

I see your point, this is a GREAT thread indeed.

This also applies to adult domains.

Hotsex.com for example may be a very valuable domain with it's type-in traffic, but Bangh Bus was easeir to brand for sure.

very scary thought that's always in the back of my mind. that's why everyone should be diversifying... offline.

dunno, but this domain worth alot for sure !

Thank you Professor.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

i hear there is a ton of money to be made in top end domains.

but how in the world do you get your hands on them? arent they all taken?

:thumbsup :thumbsup

The lesson is the same on the way up as it is on the way down... Anything can happen, be prepared.

I did an ad deal earlier this year with the fellows that owned Car.com. They sold it during the summer for $48 Million.


:Graucho