New to Monetization - The process start to finish!

[rziegler80]

I've read through hundreds of posts in this forum, but I'm still unsure how to START and be SUCCESSFUL.

There is a LOT of valuable information in here for people that know what they're doing. Although I've been collecting domain names (up to about 50 now), I'm not sure that I've been collectiong the right kinds of names, and I haven't made any money from parking -- only selling the domains flat out. I'd like to get residuals, not lump-sum purchases.

So what is it, in all your experience and wisdom, that you think beginners need to know START to FINISH?

Here are some questions to get the discussion started:

1. What is the best process for selecting domain names (specifically for monetization) pre-release, drops, available, etc. What tools do you use/recommend?
2. What is the best way to purchase those domain names? Where? Does it matter?
3. What is the best way to host/park that domain name (and where)?
4. What is the best way to (a) generate content, and ultimately (b) drive traffic to the domain name?
5. What is the best way to get paid?

Add more questions and answers to this thread as you see fit, please.

I want to get started making money from my investments like the majority of the members here... thanks in advance for your help!

 

[grinchlord]

Regarding monetization of domains i recomand to give a try to above.com then see which of parking site is best for your domains.
A lots of ppl here say that netdrive, sedo, bodis and a lots more of thes just read here the threads about traffic & monetization.
Oh i forgot .. regarding of selling domains revenue ... best is to search for end users or featured listings if u want to be able to sell domains

Cheers

 

[nielsencl]

I can give you my opinion on some of these and my experience on others...

1. What is the best process for selecting domain names (specifically for monetization) pre-release, drops, available, etc. What tools do you use/recommend?

Buying domains is easy, even a monkey can do it, so don't start there. Before you start buying domains, plan for what you want to DO with them first. Your main options are:

a)Parking - easy to do, hard to make much money if you don't have domains that get type-in traffic. Some parking providers allow you to promote your parked domains like a site to get more traffic, but most do not.

b)Minisites - Don't make more of these awful, unsightly, and non-productive things. Make them with some original content and taseful design. If it doesn't make much money you can sell it on Namepros to some newbie and try something else.

c)Site development - More domainers are doing this and you may find you can make the most money here, but it takes more effort/talent/money. If done well you can have a site that makes you some money and that will sell for a nice price when you want to unload it on Flippa.com.

d)Flipping / End user sales - Good luck! Some people do this and do it well. Others like me just build up more and more inventory until our wives/mothers/roommates tell us to stop feeding our domain addiction until we can SELL SOMETHING. If we don't, they will contact the producers of "Hoarders" and try to get us on the show...! Dr. Phil no longer works with domainers... he considers them worst than crack addicts... and he's right! They'd sell their mother for a chance to buy "mp3.co"!

2. What is the best way to purchase those domain names? Where? Does it matter?

It varies, but for cheap names, NamePros auctions or fixed price topics and Godaddy closeouts are some of the best places I have found. Most of the domains I buy now have expired and dropped, like RefinanceRichmond.com, Semidark.com, and RentalNotebook.com. It's a lot like panning for gold...

3. What is the best way to host/park that domain name (and where)?

I mostly use TrafficZ and SEOParking, but there is no best place because some domains do better at different places.

4. What is the best way to (a) generate content, and ultimately (b) drive traffic to the domain name?

The best way is to learn to write. The next best way is to have your visitors write for you, and the last way is to have your site generate it's own content. SEO is the best way to generate (not drive) traffic followed by link building.

5. What is the best way to get paid?

Armoured car delivery to your front door. It allows the neighbors to see that staying up all night and investing all your money in worthless domains was not such a fools pasttime after all... or Escrow.com.

 

[rziegler80]

Thank you so much for your help, niel! Anyone else with opinions on the matter?

 

[Fuzzylogic]

I've found success by keeping it simple.

I created sites about my personal interests and hobbies. This way, posting and creating unique content isn't a big deal - it's enjoyable.

I used free Wordpress themes to keep costs down - this let me choose from hundreds of different templates and choose based on what I thought was nice, AND what seemed to be popular among the community.

Utilized the easy plug-and-play options for monetization. Amazon.com and Google Adsense mostly; for a couple sites, I also offer a job board through jobamatic.com and get paid for usage of that.

Choosing domains... Well, I'm a newbie. I try and keep it simple, keep it short, keep it clever, or keep it 'brandable.' I try and choose a name that easily identifies what the website is about and usually contains a keyword that is relevant.

The best way to be paid so far for me is Paypal.

Just a few thoughts from the new guy.

 

[rziegler80]

Domain Names

I'm curious to know more about domain names from a monetization standpoint. I would like to purchase domain names that have the search phrase right in the .com name, but I'm not sure how that works. Could someone please elaborate?

If I'm on Google searching for MMORPG sites, does that mean that I might automatically go to MMORPGSites.com? Or is it just more likely to come up in Google because of the search phrase being in the domain name?

Thanks!!!

 

[Fuzzylogic]

I'm curious also - for example, one of the first domains I bought was popularaccountingsoftware.com

I've done nothing with it, but still seems a semi-popular search phrase slash domain name, albeit a little long, and shows up on the first page of Google results.

 

[Rayaprolu]

Having the search phrase within your domain name is very beneficial, and I think if you can snag a two-worded phrase which has a lot of search traffic, you should buy it, regardless of its length. I had a friend who owned such a domain and flipped it within a week after adding some good content. He pocketed a neat $700, all for a week's work.

 

[rziegler80]

I think if you can snag a two-worded phrase which has a lot of search traffic, you should buy it, regardless of its length.

I would argue that (from a monetization standpoint) you should probably make sure that the domain has valuable search traffic, no? Somethign with a significant CPC? Or am I missing something?

Where's the value in owning a domain name with high search volume if it doesn't have anyone advertising or selling anything off those keywords? Again, from a monetization standpoint.