It’s The Ideal Time To Buy Dot ME Domains

In my last post, I really enjoyed discussing dot co domain names. It seems like dot co is on fire right now and everyone has at least a few in their portfolio. I’m thrilled that I picked up a handful myself. Today, however, I’d like to shift gears and talk about another great TLD, dot me. I’m going to make the argument today that it’s the absolute perfect time to register dot me domain names, more so than any other TLD on the market!

Dot ME Was The Hot Topic of July, 2008

Dot ME Domains

It was on July 19, 2008 that I registered my first dot me domain. In the weeks that followed, I accumulated many great dot me names such as DRIP.me (I’m a big fan of DRIP investing, or dividend reinvestment plans). It made perfect sense: Dot me was all over the press and it was a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Really, July 2008 was just like July 2010! However, it was all about dot me at the time and now it’s all about dot co.

Very quickly, however, most of the best dot me domains got registered. The folks at the dot me registry did such a great job promoting their TLD that all the top domains were gone pretty much as soon as August, 2008 rolled around. July 2010 sure reminds me of July 2008. If you see a great dot co, register it now! Otherwise, it will be gone.

Dot ME Domains Are Dropping Like Crazy

Here’s the craziest part of July 2010! With all the hype around dot co, people are forgetting that it’s been two full years since dot me had its big debut. What does two years mean, you ask? It means the first dot me domains that were registered are starting to drop! We’re in a rough economy right now and people may not have the funds to renew their dot me domains. Moreover, many of the early investors in dot me may have been hoping for a quick sale that they never got. One thing is for sure: Dot me domains are dropping and I’m absolutely amazed at some of the names I have been able to pick up over the last week.

I mentioned above that I picked up DRIP.me back in 2008 because I’m a fan of DRIP investing (dividend reinvestment plans). Well, just last week I picked up Dividend.me as a hand registration on GoDaddy. I was absolutely shocked that I got this domain (49,500 exact searches/month and 1,500,000 phrase searches/month) in addition to a few others that are even better. Each and every day, I continue to find great dot me domains that I’m able to hand register because they dropped. I’m honestly having better luck with dot me than dot co because there’s little hype around dot me right now, creating the investment opportunity of a lifetime. If you thought you missed the boat back in 2008, it’s now your time to get the dot me domains you really want!

Why I’m a Huge Fan of Dot ME

In my last post, I discussed many reasons why dot co is an amazing TLD. Today, I’d like the make the case that dot me is just as powerful as dot co, in its own unique way. First and foremost, dot me is personal. So many domains have that amazing personal tone when you add "me" as the TLD. Let’s look at the two examples discussed above, DRIP.me and Dividend.me. Both of these have such a nice ring to them. They’re personal. They’re user-centric. They’re domains that create a connection!

I’m also a huge fan of dot me because it’s cheap right now. On GoDaddy, dot me domains have historically cost around $19.99/year (about $10/year cheaper than dot co). However, GoDaddy has a promotion right now for just $8.99! Your first year is only $8.99 and every year thereafter is at the regular price. In my opinion, this deal is too good to pass up.

Another reason I’m more excited about dot me than ever: Dot me domains are selling in the aftermarket. Dot me is still new enough that only time will tell if it has longevity on the secondary market. Preliminary indications, however, are really promising. Want proof? Just check out ccTLDInvestors.com – dot me domains are showing up in the weekly ccTLD sales stats consistently (at high prices)!

Last, I’m a fan of dot me because it’s a domain that works organically! Over the last year, I have developed four of my dot me domains into several-page minisites. Even though it’s the ccTLD (country code top level domain) of Montenegro, dot me has been marketed as a big gTLD (global top level domain). Google has validated this marketing model and is ranking great .me sites in its US organic results. My dot me sites have been real winners! So, what are you waiting for? Time to go scour GoDaddy for some awesome dot me opportunities!

Image of URL Bar © iStockPhoto – tiridifilm

Dot CO Domain Names Rock

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jul 27 27

If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of domain names and domain name development. So far this year, I’ve set a new record in terms of number of domains registered! I’ve been mostly focusing on dot com, dot net, dot org, dot me, and now dot co. Moreover, I’ve developed at least 18 domains so far this year. In short, I’ve caught the domaining bug and can’t get enough of this stuff. Today, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss dot co and why it’s the perfect time to register your do co domains!

Dot CO, The Next Big Domain Extension

Dot CO

So you may be thinking, what the heck is dot co? Dot co is actually the country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia. However, it’s being marketed as the next big global top level domain (gTLD). Just think about it: When you hear dot co, do you think of Colombia? Or, do you think about such concepts as: company, corporation, commerce, commercial? I personally think of the latter and so do the folks behind dot co and domainers worldwide. In fact, over 100,000 dot co domains were registered within the first half hour of this new TLD going live! Another great data point: Overstock.com bought o.co for $350,000. Can you believe it?

It’s Your Chance To Buy The Domain You Really Want

If you’ve ever tried to register a domain name, I’m sure you’ve run into the same problem as myself: Most of the great ones are taken! These days, if you want a great generic dot com, dot net, or dot org, you’re going to have to go to the aftermarket. I actually went to the aftermarket earlier this year to register IJL.net. You may wish to read about my experience buying domains on Sedo, one of the top places to buy premium aftermarket domains.

Now, let’s say you want to build a big portfolio or simply don’t have the big bucks to shell out for that perfect domain name. This is exactly where dot co steps in. In my opinion, most end users (especially those coming from PPC and SEO) aren’t really going to care whether you have a dot com or dot co domain. Dot co in the end user’s eyes is about as close to dot com as you can get! So, go ahead and register that domain name. You’ll finally be able to get the name you want.

Dot CO Is Great For PPC and SEO (Maybe Not So Much For Branding)

So I know what you’re thinking. How can I build a big brand around dot co? Most users are only familiar with dot com and will try to go to my site, but enter dot com and end up elsewhere. I’m totally with you and am not going to argue. If you’re trying to build a big brand, it’s all about dot com.

However, let’s say you don’t care about building a huge brand. Rather, you’re trying to build a direct business that gets most of its traffic from PPC and SEO. In this case, I’m all about dot co! In other words, whether you have a dot co or dot com, I don’t think your PPC click through rate will differ much. In terms of SEO, I also expect dot co to thrive. Why? I’ve built out four dot me (another great ccTLD being marketed as a gTLD) sites this year and all are doing very well organically. In terms of SEO, I expect dot co to follow in dot me’s footsteps.

Dot CO Is Not Cheap

So, where can you register dot co and how much does it cost? Registration is very simple. I recommend going with GoDaddy, one of my favorite registrars. In terms of pricing, you’re looking at 29.99/year which is very expensive in the world of domains. For the same price, I could buy three dot coms instead! As such, I have been relatively conservative in my dot co strategy. I only register dot co domains that have at least 20,000 exact match searches based on Google’s Keyword Tool External. Otherwise, the domain must have some serious special meaning for me to shell out that much money. While this may not seem like too much money when you’re registering one domain, it can really add up when you’re trying to build a large portfolio.

Interested in learning more about domain names? I also highly recommend my article about ccTLD domain names in PPC. One of my sub-goals this year: Buying as many great ccTLD domain names as possible. In addition to dot co and dot me, I’m also focusing on dot in, dot mx, dot es, and others!

PPC Ian Featured On Teen Domainer

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Mar 11 1

Hey Everyone,
Today’s another exciting day! Shortly after getting interviewed by Jonathan Volk and getting featured on John Chow, today I’m featured on Teen Domainer. For those of you that don’t know, Teen Domainer is one of the best domaining blogs on the Internet!

Guest Post

As you may know from my 2010 goals, domaining is a focus for me this year. Specifically, I wanted to develop at least six domain names and attend at least one major domaining conference. I’m excited to announce that I recently crossed both of these off my list. I have six new 5-page minisites live and also attended T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas back in January. I’m really excited that I’ve learned so much and now feel like an advanced domainer (a great compliment to my pay per click background).

One thing that has really surprised me is the fact that the pay per click world knows very little about domaining. Similarly, I have found that the domaining world has a lot to learn about pay per click. It makes perfect sense to me: Both subjects are extremely complex. If you master just one of them, you definitely have my respect. However, I truly see huge value in mastering both. There are great synergies in leveraging domain strategies in pay per click and vice versa. To that end, I decided to focus on pay per click search engine marketing strategies for domainers in my guest article on Teen Domainer.

Please check out my guest article on Teen Domainer and let me know what you think! I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Brian from Teen Domainer for featuring my guest post. It’s a true honor to be featured on such a prestigious and awesome blog, one of my personal favorites!

Sincerely,
PPC Ian (Ian Lopuch)

Image of Guest Tag © iStockPhoto – wragg

Condo Domain Names

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 1 2

Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I’m a huge fan of investing. I’m a proponent of stocks, bonds, 401ks, real estate, and of course domain names. Over the long term, investing is the primary way you can get ahead and achieve financial freedom. Today, I’m excited to present a unique domaining strategy that is not only an investment in itself, but is also a way to add equity to the investment you made in your condo. Let’s talk all about buying and developing domain names relevant to your condo complex.

My Wife and I Purchased a Condo Just Over A Year Ago

To provide some context, I’d like to first highlight my personal story. Just over a year ago, my beautiful wife and I purchased our first home, a condo on the San Francisco peninsula. We absolutely love being homeowners from two perspectives. First, we enjoy the high quality of life, amenities, pride of ownership, and of course the ability to make improvements to our home. Second, we are huge believers in the investment value of real estate. One day, we hope to fully pay off our mortgage, putting us one step closer to financial freedom. Moreover, we’re contemplating the idea of renting our condo out one day when we move into our next home.

Real Estate Prices Are Down In This Bad Economy

While we got a great deal on our place, especially since we purchased after the market fell, there’s no doubt that today’s real estate market is a bit crazy. Not only are prices down, but homes are sitting on the market longer before selling. In this type of market, it’s important to do whatever it takes to make your condo and your condo complex more desirable than the next.

Historically, sellers have achieved that extra appeal by upgrading their kitchens and bathrooms, adding wood floors, and investing in a fresh coat of paint. For all you domainers out there, I’d also like to propose that you create equity value for your condo and condo complex by developing a condo domain name.

Domain Names Add Equity Value To Your Condo Complex

Condo Domains

The following idea is really simple, yet extremely powerful in my opinion. Many condo complexes that were built more than five years ago have absolutely zero web presence. Our condo complex was built about 10 years ago. Even though it’s relatively large and has over 100 units, the only information online exists on those big real estate aggregator websites. As a domainer, I went ahead and registered our condo complex’s domain name today with the intent of building out a site with the following features:

General information about condo complex
Pictures highlighting our complex’s beauty
Perhaps a few videos
A contact form where I can respond to inquiries about our complex, or at least direct them to the appropriate party
Perhaps some information highlighting recent sales and also real estate agents in our area (Later I could charge agents a small advertisement fee)

In my opinion, this site will add immediate equity value to all homeowners in our complex. It will create a name for our condo complex and make it memorable for buyers searching on the web. Buyers will now have an added reference point that showcases our condo complex as the premier luxury development in the area (as opposed to all the other complexes that have no web presence).

Two Exit Strategies For Your Condo Domain

I wanted to highlight two great exit strategies for your new condo domain. If you’re like my wife and I, you hope to rent out your condo one day when you move on to your next condo or single family house. If you already have a great domain ranking for your condo complex, you’ll have a great head start in getting leads for possible renters.

As another exit strategy, you could always sell your domain to a local real estate agent. Agents these days need clients more than ever and I’m sure they’d be super happy to leverage your condo domain as a way to generate more leads.

Consider Domain Names For Other Condo Complexes As Well

Here’s the crazy part: I had to register the dot net TLD (top level domain) because the dot com was already taken. Moreover, as I started to look for other condo complexes in our area, many of the dot coms were taken but not all. A For the entrepreneurial domainer, one great strategy might be buying up the names of condo complexes and then approaching the respective HOAs with a two tiered business plan: (1) Sell them the domain name, and (2) develop a website for them that adds equity value to their complex (of course, show examples of your work).

To close out, I wanted to wish you a happy new year and all the success in the world in 2010! I brainstorm new domaining business ideas regularly and am looking forward to sharing more of my strategies with you in 2010.

Important Disclaimer: Please make sure to check the USPTO to see if your condo name is a trademark before registering any domains. I highly discourage registering trademarked names.