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If
the name reminds you of real estate’s MLS (Multiple Listing
Service), that is exactly what it is supposed to do. NameMedia
President Jeff Bennett told us “Domain names—digital real
estate—need the equivalent of the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS) to create a transparent, efficient market between buyers
and sellers. A marketplace where consumers can see in one place
the broadest inventory of what’s for sale and make an informed
choice with excellent customer service. That’s why we have
launched the DLS (Domain Listing Service), the first and largest
distribution platform for domain names in the secondary
market—bringing the same benefits of MLS to the domain
marketplace.”
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Jeff
Bennett
NameMedia President |
“The
key to this platform is expanding demand beyond today’s
marketplaces like BuyDomains.com and Afternic.com by bringing
secondary market inventory to wherever a consumer or business is
looking for a domain name, most often registrars," Bennett
said. "Over the last
eighteen months, we have signed partnerships so that our DLS
inventory now appears in more than 60 sales channels around the
world, including 8 of the world’s top 10 registrars.”
“In addition, we have built extensive marketing
programs to drive awareness and demand, including email
newsletters, online advertising, search engine marketing,
inventory alerts along with many other tools. And we have been
investing in technology so that we can offer benefits like
Instant Transfer Protocol and, soon, expanded auctions. Most
important, we have results: our DLS has now sold domains to
customers in more than 115 countries.”
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Bennett
added, “The
bottom line is that with AfternicDLS there is finally a
marketplace where domain owners can access the industry’s
broadest distribution, the largest sales force and the most
extensive marketing programs to increase their chance of selling
their domain for the highest price. Just like MLS gives
homeowners confidence that their home will have maximum exposure
to potential buyers, AfternicDLS now does the same for domain
owners.”
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course, the natural question for domain owners is how can they
get their names plugged into the AfternicDLS system for maximum
exposure. Senior VP Peter Lamson, the General Manager of
NameMedia’s Domain Marketplace addressed that topic.
“AfternicDLS’s industry leading sales velocity and sales
prices are available to all Afternic members. Afternic members
wishing to sell domains have a choice between two levels of
promotion; the traditional Afternic Marketplace (unchanged since
NameMedia acquired Afternic in November 2006) and our
AfternicDLS Expanded Promotion option for sellers wishing to
maximize sales velocity and pricing.”
For
domains sold via traditional Afternic Marketplace promotion,
sellers pay a 10% commission. NameMedia introduced a new
choice in March when they launched AfternicDLS
Expanded Promotion to provide domain sellers with broader access
to small and medium sized business (SMB) buyers worldwide.
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Peter
Lamson
NameMedia VP & Marketplace GM |
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Lamson told us “The benefits of the Expanded Promotion include:
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3rd Party Distribution Network: NameMedia now has more
than 60 marketing partners who are promoting AfternicDLS names.
This includes 8 of the top 10 Registrars in the world.
2007 announced partnerships include Melbourne IT, Tucows,
HiChina, Xin Net, LeaseThis, China Springboard and
dnZoom.
There are many more to come.
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AfternicDLS Marketing: Our marketing staff drives sales
performance through targeted outbound marketing and advertising
placements. Approximately 300,000 monthly targeted direct
emails are delivered to domain buyers in our proprietary
database through newsletters, alerts, and inquiry follow up
initiatives. Our marketplace also invests monthly in leading
search engines (Google, Yahoo and others) and advertising
placements include the DN Journal, Entrepreneur, Inc.,
The Wall
Street Journal Online and many others.
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Increased Product Conversion
Rates. Our objective is to
have every buyer who visits Afternic or BuyDomains leave having
purchased the perfect domain to fit their needs. This
drives continual focus and enhancements to our user interface,
search algorithms, support tools, and marketing communications.
Sellers
pay a 20% share of the revenue for domains sold via the
AfternicDLS Expanded Promotion service.”
As
we will talk about in other sections of this article, Fabulous,
Sedo and Moniker are also taking new tacks in the secondary
market. The Fabulous Domain Distribution Network is the one most often compared
to NameMedia’s AfternicDLS. We asked Lamson what he saw as
the key differences between the two systems which sometimes
appear side by side at the same registrar.
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“One
of the most significant differences is that we tend to focus on
customer service, execution and results rather than speeches or
market theories,” Lamson said. “Specifically, some key
differentiation points between AfternicDLS and what Fabulous has
talked about include:
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Results:
Q2 NameMedia Domain Sales of over $12 million
versus less than $1 million for Fabulous.
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Platform:
NameMedia’s reseller network exceeds 60 global
marketing partners, including 8 of the 10 largest
registrars in the world. No other provider has this
kind of reach.
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Lamson
speaking at the Silicon Valley
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference in 2006 |
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Demand Creation: Rather than passively waiting for buyers to
find a seller’s domain name, AfternicDLS members benefit from
promotion on major search engines and leading SMB sites, as well
as AfternicDLS comprehensive market programs that include
monthly themed promotions and direct email marketing. No other
provider is doing this demand creation.
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Yield: Sellers are able to list their domains on AfternicDLS for
as much – or as little – as they choose. For example,
in the past month, sellers have successful sold domains for as
high as $300,000 and $75,000, and as little as $10. No other provider
has our years of experience in domain selling.
-
Marketing: Seller support services, including Telephone, Email
and Instant Chat Sales Support, Personalized Appraisals, Domain
Alerts, Home Page Promotion Upgrades, Secure Escrow Services and
industry leading parking through ActiveAudience. No other
provider offers this range of marketing tools.
"The
bottom line: for domain owners looking for the broadest
distribution, the most comprehensive marketing and sales
support, and the highest value for their name, there is no
offering that comes close to our DLS service,” Lamson said,
adding “As Dan Warner of Fabulous said in January of this year
"BuyDomains and Afternic are unequivocally today's leader in
domain name agency sales. In particular, their personal
involvement with customers add real value to the transactions
and provide superior sale service.”
Lamson
said AfternicDLS sells more than 3,000 domains a month and has
signed up more than 100,000 members. “The second quarter of
2007 set new records across the board for the company and July will be the best month in the company's history,” Lamson
said.
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recent years, domain monetization discussions have centered on
PPC programs, even though in most cases, the vast majority of
domains in a given portfolio are not strong revenue generators
via PPC. Many domain owners have been reluctant to sell, even
though the sales channel is the only way to earn a return on
investment for those names. With the ongoing expansion of the
aftermarket we asked Jeff Bennett if he felt that domain owners
should be giving the sales channel the same consideration they
give PPC monetization. |
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"NameMedia’s
view on domain portfolio investing is to maximize total
investment return by implementing a balanced investment
strategy utilizing a blend of monetization options,” Bennett
said. “Certain domains are best suited for PPC or Content
Development, while others are best suited to take advantage of
the spread between a wholesale market (savvy domain investors
who buy in volume) and a retail market (individuals and
consumers looking for a particular name).”
“VeriSign
recently reported that total .com and .net registrations now
exceed 69 million, and 24% of these names are “parked” which
one could interpret as being held by investors for development
or resale. Since the the majority of these names presumably
receive little to no traffic, it makes sense to have a balanced
“build and sell” approach to portfolio management.
Sellers may wish to protect the “head” of their portfolio,
while targeting the “long tail” for divestiture,” Bennett
said.
“To
execute against this strategy, the first thing a domain seller
needs to do is set a clear sales objective. How quickly
are they looking to complete their sale? What ROI and sales
price are they hoping to achieve?”
Bennett
added “Answers
to these initial questions should serve as the basis for a
portfolio owner’s sales strategy. Selling quickly may come at
the expense of a lower negotiated price. Holding out for maximum
value may require a prolonged sales process. We advise most
domain owners to look for a sales solution that offers the
greatest end user reach and personal assistance. Promoting a
domain portfolio to large “end user” buyers is the most
effective method to sell low trafficked names, as SMB’s will
be purchasing on brand potential rather than a name’s organic
traffic,” Bennett concluded.
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Kelly
Conlin
NameMedia Chairman and CEO |
The
domain aftermarket has enjoyed a great ride in recent years.
Things have been so strong lately that there is now talk about a
top, or even another bubble, in domain valuations. We went to
NameMedia Chairman and CEO Kelly Conlin to find out how he
thought things would play out over the next year or two.
“Internet
business fundamentals are far different than the conditions that
existed during the tech bubble in the late 1990’s,” Conlin
said. “Business models are matured and are generating real
profits and consumers have adopted the Internet as a means of
communication and commerce that is unparalleled in human
history.”
“The
global business community continues to migrate from traditional
to online media as its preferred method of communication with
current and prospective customers. Newspapers and Yellow
Pages are facing challenges to the business models they have
enjoyed for a century,” Conlin noted.
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“Our
management team has extensive experience launching and operating
businesses abroad. We see growth coming from many places around
world as online migration is not limited to the United
States.
Korea is now the most connected country in the world.
China is a giant in the making. Our recent announcements
in the Aftermarket demonstrate our ability to expand across the
global markets.”
Conlin
added “A
central requirement of every business expanding their online
footprint, or moving online for the first time is the need for a
compelling domain name. Companies already online need
additional domains to support new marketing initiatives and
product launches. SMB’s need domain names to create
their online identity.”
“While
ups and downs are inevitable in any market, the long term
outlook for the Aftermarket is extremely bright,” Conlin
concluded.
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