Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - domain purchase

Vanessa · 11-15-2009, 05:44 PM

ellie,

There's some good things pointed out here about buying this domain. From my perspective paying a premium for a domain is a solid choice when the name is intricately tied to to revenue or equity in a company. Most start ups and new websites do not have any brand equity or good will value and should take into consideration where this premium fee is cutting into for the overall business budget.

As Brutha pointed out the fee for the domain should be a small % relation to your overall budget for this business. The domain alone will not make you money and having an exact match domain in a competitive market may give you a leg up in traffic but have you looked at the data to know this to be true and what kind of return would that be?

When Digg started, they wanted the domain dig.com but it was taken and available for 8k. They didn't want to spend their precious start up funding on buying it since they were cashflow sensitive. So they added a g at the end and built the value and brand they were capable of without the original domain.

Also if you're concerned about having to be the exact phrase people think about for a shopping-related site. Look at and model the success of sites like woot.com and kaboodle.com Neither has an especially keyword rich or market giveaway domain but each has built value, a unique shopping experience, have growth in traffic and better conversions as they go along.

When I read your first post, what I actually saw was that you personally want this domain because you think you have to have it, as though all success hangs from this one decision. From that perspective, if you're emotionally driven to buy the domain, you're going to do it even if you don't want to part with the money. Ideally you should feel good about the expenses you have related to growing your business.

Success in a business website rarely comes down to one specific factor like domain name. Instead, it's your overall model, your effort and what the market responds to that makes it the success you envisioned.

11-15-2009, 05:44 PM	#13 (permalink)
Vanessa Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sunny Florida Posts: 194	Premium domains when premium cashflow ellie, There's some good things pointed out here about buying this domain. From my perspective paying a premium for a domain is a solid choice when the name is intricately tied to to revenue or equity in a company. Most start ups and new websites do not have any brand equity or good will value and should take into consideration where this premium fee is cutting into for the overall business budget. As Brutha pointed out the fee for the domain should be a small % relation to your overall budget for this business. The domain alone will not make you money and having an exact match domain in a competitive market may give you a leg up in traffic but have you looked at the data to know this to be true and what kind of return would that be? When Digg started, they wanted the domain dig.com but it was taken and available for 8k. They didn't want to spend their precious start up funding on buying it since they were cashflow sensitive. So they added a g at the end and built the value and brand they were capable of without the original domain. Also if you're concerned about having to be the exact phrase people think about for a shopping-related site. Look at and model the success of sites like woot.com and kaboodle.com Neither has an especially keyword rich or market giveaway domain but each has built value, a unique shopping experience, have growth in traffic and better conversions as they go along. When I read your first post, what I actually saw was that you personally want this domain because you think you have to have it, as though all success hangs from this one decision. From that perspective, if you're emotionally driven to buy the domain, you're going to do it even if you don't want to part with the money. Ideally you should feel good about the expenses you have related to growing your business. Success in a business website rarely comes down to one specific factor like domain name. Instead, it's your overall model, your effort and what the market responds to that makes it the success you envisioned.