Strategic Domain Name Selection for Increasing Traffic and Conversion RatesJeremiah JohnstonCOO & General CounselSedo.com, LLC

Should your domain strategy include domains besides your primary brand?

First, a few background premises:

Domain names are not just a brand name

Descriptive “Direct Navigation” domain names receive targeted traffic (keyword search = keyword domain)

Descriptive domain names benefit from brand recognition effects w/o being a brand

Effective Branding v. Protecting Trademarks

Marketers want names that immediately convey what the product is or does

For this reason, marketers prefer names that are descriptive, laudatory, or suggestive

of the product or service with which it is associated.

However, the level of trademark protection for a descriptive, laudatory or suggestive

name is lower than a name that is fanciful or arbitrary.

Trademark Spectrum

Generic Descriptive Suggestive Arbitrary Fanciful

No Protection Less Protection Most Protection

Bikes, LLC BabySoft Lotion Sony

Do people really search via domain names?WebSideStory Research:

- “Over 64% of users arrived at sites by direct navigation, compared to 35% via search engines and links.”- Some users don’t distinguish between search bar and browser navigation bar:

Ex: Top Searches on Yahoo.com:

- Some browsers auto-complete (add “www” and “.com”)

4 times as much as“Paris Hilton”!

Case Study: WiFi.com

Keyword domain name, not a brand name!

Describes exactly an entire category; no superfluous additions

One-word, short, and .com extension

Built-in direct navigation trafficCan a purchase like that really have a positive ROI?

Purchased through Sedo for $225,000

Wifi.com – averages 15k visitors each month

Traffic through pay-per-click program costs nearly $10,000 per month.*

$10k x 12= $120,000 annually

Purchasing the domain: approximately $225k

* Based on the current bid price of $0.66 for the term “wifi” on the Yahoo network.

Case Study: WiFi.com

Utilizing Direct Navigation to Capture Consumer-Driven Web Traffic

Which would you trust for health advice?www.HeartDisease.com or www.Merck.com

Where would you shop for a niche product like ballet shoes?

www.BalletShoes.com or www.Zappos.com

Which link would you click, searching for “Home Business”?

www.HomeBusiness.com or www.BT.com/business

User: “Yes, that’s what I’m looking for!”

Instant Recognition: The Power of Keyword Brands

Case Study 2: Poker Domain Portfolio

Acquired all possible point-of-entry keywords related to poker

Just redirect the traffic, or make an SEO-optimized gateway page

This portfolio is forwarded to an affiliate program:

Over 6,000 active players have signed up through the domains

Generates over $15,000/ month in affiliate commissions

How much would you pay for traffic like that via PPC?

Portfolio of 23 poker domains, eg, “Poker-Odds.de”

Results for „Kreuzfahrten“on Google.de

kreuzfahrten.de is #1

Results for „Cruises“on Google.co.uk

Cruises.co.uk is #1

BONUS #1

Better Organic Search Engine

Placement

Most people still link with your domain name:

“I buy domains at Sedo.com”

“I found a WiFi provider at Wifi.com”

Therefore, if your domain contains your keywords, you automatically generate many incoming keyword links

Google interprets that as your site being a popular source for info on keyword

It’s not a guarantee, but there is solid evidence it helps!

Better Organic Search Engine

Placement

ABC - OnlyTheyKnow.com Ad Council - TheTVBoss.org

Ad Council - DontAlmostGive.org American Egg Board - NaturesMiracleFood.com American Heart Association - BeatYourRisk.com

American Express - 800TheCard.com American Express - Apply4BlueSky.com American Express - MyLifeMyCard.com  

American Express - StopPong.com American Lung Association - AsthmaControl.com  

Anheuser-Busch - BeeResponsible.com Anheuser-Busch - Bud.TV

Anheuser-Busch DesignatedDriver.com AOL - TotalTalk.com  

AstraZeneca - GettingItRight.com Atari - TestDriveUnlimited.com

Aubuchon Hardware - HardwareStore.com Audi - NeverFollow.com

Banana Republic - FindTheArtInTheEveryday.com Bank Of America - Loans.com  

Bayer - NoFleas.com

Bayer - WonderDrug.com

Barnes and Noble - Books.com

BellSouth FastAccess.com

Boeing - NewAirplane.com   

Burger King - HaveItYourWay.com

Burger King - StackersUnion.com

Burger King - SubservientChicken.com

Busch Gardens HeroSalute.com  

California Milk Advisory Board - RealCaliforniaCheese.com

Calvin Klein - Bras.com

Calvin Klein - Underwear.com

Campbell's Soup - MySoup.com

Carnation Instant Breakfast - MyMorningFuel.com  

Church & Dwight - Arrid deodorant - WetnessProtectionProgram.com

Chevron - WillYouJoinUs.com  

Citibank - StudentLoan.com

BONUS # 2

Use of Campaign-Specific Domain

Names

BONUS # 2

Why Use Campaign-Specific Domain Names?

Better conversion rate: specific domains can be an exact match to the niche that the user’s looking for

Easier tracking: how many people visited the domain from that campaign?

Brand association: Bank of America is “Loans”

Brand disassociation: RestlessLegs.com is an independent information source, not a pharma

company sales pitch.

BONUS # 2

How much is your campaign worth to you?

If it’s worth more than $10,don’t do this!

1. Identify your top keywords in each market

2. Develop a list of target domains by pairing keyword + TLD

3. Immediately register anything that’s still available!

4. Browse domain marketplaces like Sedo.com for domains containing

your keywords

5. Use a Domain Broker (info at www.Sedo.com/broker) to help

acquire domains not listed for sale

How to Incorporate Keyword Domains into

your SEM Strategy

Thank You!

Questions?‣Jeremiah Johnston :: jeremiah@sedo.com

‣http://www.sedo.com