shags38
Top Contributor
The wounds have little chance to heal as I continue to stumble and fall, tripping over at every small obstacle, but I get up again and have a look at those smiley icons next to my writing pad and smile back (not sure why).
I wasn't necessarily trying to figure it out, not wasting time and energy on the exercise when I just happened to stumble upon it just a short while ago. It hit me like a ton of bricks but still brought a smile to my face, because you see I have become somewhat insular to these types of things now - it has taken a while but ....
Mark, David or whomever is NetFleet in here please do not take any offence as none is meant - I am just allowing my emotions and thought processes to exude ... yes, some might even say.... I am coming out of the closet, others who know me better know that it is an incureable trait ..... verbal diorrhea (we need spellcheck in here ..... without downloading another program).
So, if you have nothing better to do with your time then read on, otherwise skip this and go to another thread
A rare occurence today - I had a few minutes to "surf" so I decided to surf the netfleet site, venture into the dark corridors, go where no man has been before. I just picked on a category where I knew I have some names listed for sale - some of the near 600 I have listed on the site. After getting through page 3 and not seeing one of my names (150 listings) someone turned the light on so I went to the last page and worked backwards - BINGO!!!!, instant success. The same applies in most other categories in which my names are listed.
Is it because everyone else listed their names before me? No,no,no... not at all.
It is for 2 reasons, both of which make me smile. It appears the listings start with the highest "quality index" ranked name and work down to the lowest ranked. So how is the ranking worked out - check out the information on the site, it is very informative, doesn't make a lot of sense however it is informative. At this point I will ask the eternal question - what came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer to that can be found in the information about quality index values and how they are assessed. I could tell you the answer however why should I spoil your fun - if you enjoy word puzzles you will love this one.
The other reason, which is integrally tied to the first but is not should also be painfully obvious to the sleuths in you - my signature offers a clue.
I now know why the many, many end user visitors shopping for a domain name for their new website for their business do not find my names (and those of many other members / clients) - I'm not talking about the other domainers that visit the site because there are not very many of them apparently - the majority of visitors to the site are buyers.
So what is one to do? SPEND.com.au seems to be the answer - or it could be BUY.com.au - see if you spend money you can have your site(s) in the spotlight section - or you can buy lots of domains in the snapper auction to earn some points to spend on putting your domains in the spotlight section - confusing .... do you buy or spend?
I figure I will spend so I can get my sites in the spotlight section so other domainers click on them to have a gander that then increases the quality index of my names that then brings them forward possibly into the topp 200 names in a given category that then puts them in the face of the many, many end user shoppers.
One problem with that plan ..... I would have to throw some camoflauge paint over the numeral 3 that I have in most of my names which are 3D related because it appears that numerals have a negative effect on the quality index of a name.
The other issue with such a plan is that I apparently am asking too much for my names ..... or the ratio between the starting price and the target price doesn't fit the mold - so taking $200 as a maximum "suggested" starting price if I list my names much beyond about $400 the pricing ratio gets blown out of the water ...... so if I figure the target price is fairly around $3000 then the name will never have a good quality index based on that particular criteria .... add to that the numeral factor and I would have to hand out telescopes to the potential buyer for a 3D site name. But I really shouldn't feel too bad about the 3D names thing, my other names are keeping them company in the quality index basement.
One day, one day someone will wake up and say .... "hey, this system of rating or valueing domain names really sux ..... searchers typing in threedeetelevision are deserting the google and yahoo search boxes and typing the name directly into the address bar, fooling google and yahoo into thinking that the numeral 3 is not popular as part of a search term" ..... Matt Cutts is the guy who needs to wake up with that thought process
So Mark, David or whomever NetFleet is ...... no offence intended, at least you provide a site for us (or is it for you and we are supporting it?? ).
So, as the topic title says - this country needs not only another couple of domains for sale sites but also some form of marketing that helps drive customers (read real customers, non domainers) to those sites.
It can be done .... it will need someone to co-ordinate it and it will need funding .... I for one would have no problem whatsoever paying a listing fee in the knowledge that it was being used in a marketing effort to attract customers.
Current inventory = 30,000 @ $6 listing fee per name = $180k = a lot of marketing buying power. Try setting up a poll Mr DN and see how many of the members of this forum would participate in such a program - if it is less than 51% then send for the white van for me.
That is ass about I hear you say ..... the norm is that you pay a commission if and when your name sells (not on NetFleet, I know it is free) .... that is the way it is and has always been. So the only ones making any money are the site owners because they do nothing to sell your name(s) other than provide a tiny bit of storage space in their server. If you want better exposure to increase your chances of being seen then you sign up for some form of promotion generally resulting in a higher commission being paid if and when your name sells, or pay a fee upfront. For that extra commission / fee / platinum membership the site owner moves your entry from one storeage spot on the server to another. For BIG BUCKS some sites will offer the services of a REAL PERSON, an expert who has all the global connections needed to get the maximum price for your domain name (yellow pages).
The system does work though, apparently. Some sellers get lucky and then the site owner gets paid which allows him to keep the site open and to buy that new merc. Apparently if you have a couple of million names on your site a satisfactory number actually get sold each month (not sure what that number is however I believe it to be small). The site owner is working hard to sell your names. The odds for winning lotto are nearly as good as selling a site on Sedo for any reasonable return. Numbers are great things to play with, just ask our Treasurer(s), past and present
I have seen all manner of figures bandied around in here (and elsewhere), about this, about that - lots of guessing, supposition etc ..... to be expected in such a forum in such an industry....."industry" , a very loose term I would think ...... to be an industry it would necessitate at least 100 businesses doing $100k plus to make the grade (industry quality index rating) - and that is in the Eastern suburbs, now on the north shore ...... see, more unreliable, pie in the sky figures.
So are there any legitemate figures available about this domaining industry? I would like to be proven wrong however any figures are speculative, just like investing in domain names.
I jumped in the deep end totally ignoring good advice (or any and all for that matter) - so that is bad news for you guys ..... I have to be around until I sell all my names (about 600 .au and more than double that in .com), so based on the best unreliable figures I have seen it will take me 74.6 years (that is allowing 28% of my names to drop) ..... so, sit back and relax ..... I'm gonna be here for a long time. (toilet paper is supplied, in bulk, free of charge at the end of every one of my posts).
So - does anyone have any serious thoughts or ideas on how the marketing of sites such as NetFleet can be done, beyond what is being done, to the benefit of all of us including NetFleet ..... dig deep people and think beyond the hexagon.
cheers,
Mike
p.s. I wasn't finished but had to stop, the tips of my typing fingers are bleeding
I wasn't necessarily trying to figure it out, not wasting time and energy on the exercise when I just happened to stumble upon it just a short while ago. It hit me like a ton of bricks but still brought a smile to my face, because you see I have become somewhat insular to these types of things now - it has taken a while but ....
Mark, David or whomever is NetFleet in here please do not take any offence as none is meant - I am just allowing my emotions and thought processes to exude ... yes, some might even say.... I am coming out of the closet, others who know me better know that it is an incureable trait ..... verbal diorrhea (we need spellcheck in here ..... without downloading another program).
So, if you have nothing better to do with your time then read on, otherwise skip this and go to another thread
A rare occurence today - I had a few minutes to "surf" so I decided to surf the netfleet site, venture into the dark corridors, go where no man has been before. I just picked on a category where I knew I have some names listed for sale - some of the near 600 I have listed on the site. After getting through page 3 and not seeing one of my names (150 listings) someone turned the light on so I went to the last page and worked backwards - BINGO!!!!, instant success. The same applies in most other categories in which my names are listed.
Is it because everyone else listed their names before me? No,no,no... not at all.
It is for 2 reasons, both of which make me smile. It appears the listings start with the highest "quality index" ranked name and work down to the lowest ranked. So how is the ranking worked out - check out the information on the site, it is very informative, doesn't make a lot of sense however it is informative. At this point I will ask the eternal question - what came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer to that can be found in the information about quality index values and how they are assessed. I could tell you the answer however why should I spoil your fun - if you enjoy word puzzles you will love this one.
The other reason, which is integrally tied to the first but is not should also be painfully obvious to the sleuths in you - my signature offers a clue.
I now know why the many, many end user visitors shopping for a domain name for their new website for their business do not find my names (and those of many other members / clients) - I'm not talking about the other domainers that visit the site because there are not very many of them apparently - the majority of visitors to the site are buyers.
So what is one to do? SPEND.com.au seems to be the answer - or it could be BUY.com.au - see if you spend money you can have your site(s) in the spotlight section - or you can buy lots of domains in the snapper auction to earn some points to spend on putting your domains in the spotlight section - confusing .... do you buy or spend?
I figure I will spend so I can get my sites in the spotlight section so other domainers click on them to have a gander that then increases the quality index of my names that then brings them forward possibly into the topp 200 names in a given category that then puts them in the face of the many, many end user shoppers.
One problem with that plan ..... I would have to throw some camoflauge paint over the numeral 3 that I have in most of my names which are 3D related because it appears that numerals have a negative effect on the quality index of a name.
The other issue with such a plan is that I apparently am asking too much for my names ..... or the ratio between the starting price and the target price doesn't fit the mold - so taking $200 as a maximum "suggested" starting price if I list my names much beyond about $400 the pricing ratio gets blown out of the water ...... so if I figure the target price is fairly around $3000 then the name will never have a good quality index based on that particular criteria .... add to that the numeral factor and I would have to hand out telescopes to the potential buyer for a 3D site name. But I really shouldn't feel too bad about the 3D names thing, my other names are keeping them company in the quality index basement.
One day, one day someone will wake up and say .... "hey, this system of rating or valueing domain names really sux ..... searchers typing in threedeetelevision are deserting the google and yahoo search boxes and typing the name directly into the address bar, fooling google and yahoo into thinking that the numeral 3 is not popular as part of a search term" ..... Matt Cutts is the guy who needs to wake up with that thought process
So Mark, David or whomever NetFleet is ...... no offence intended, at least you provide a site for us (or is it for you and we are supporting it?? ).
So, as the topic title says - this country needs not only another couple of domains for sale sites but also some form of marketing that helps drive customers (read real customers, non domainers) to those sites.
It can be done .... it will need someone to co-ordinate it and it will need funding .... I for one would have no problem whatsoever paying a listing fee in the knowledge that it was being used in a marketing effort to attract customers.
Current inventory = 30,000 @ $6 listing fee per name = $180k = a lot of marketing buying power. Try setting up a poll Mr DN and see how many of the members of this forum would participate in such a program - if it is less than 51% then send for the white van for me.
That is ass about I hear you say ..... the norm is that you pay a commission if and when your name sells (not on NetFleet, I know it is free) .... that is the way it is and has always been. So the only ones making any money are the site owners because they do nothing to sell your name(s) other than provide a tiny bit of storage space in their server. If you want better exposure to increase your chances of being seen then you sign up for some form of promotion generally resulting in a higher commission being paid if and when your name sells, or pay a fee upfront. For that extra commission / fee / platinum membership the site owner moves your entry from one storeage spot on the server to another. For BIG BUCKS some sites will offer the services of a REAL PERSON, an expert who has all the global connections needed to get the maximum price for your domain name (yellow pages).
The system does work though, apparently. Some sellers get lucky and then the site owner gets paid which allows him to keep the site open and to buy that new merc. Apparently if you have a couple of million names on your site a satisfactory number actually get sold each month (not sure what that number is however I believe it to be small). The site owner is working hard to sell your names. The odds for winning lotto are nearly as good as selling a site on Sedo for any reasonable return. Numbers are great things to play with, just ask our Treasurer(s), past and present
I have seen all manner of figures bandied around in here (and elsewhere), about this, about that - lots of guessing, supposition etc ..... to be expected in such a forum in such an industry....."industry" , a very loose term I would think ...... to be an industry it would necessitate at least 100 businesses doing $100k plus to make the grade (industry quality index rating) - and that is in the Eastern suburbs, now on the north shore ...... see, more unreliable, pie in the sky figures.
So are there any legitemate figures available about this domaining industry? I would like to be proven wrong however any figures are speculative, just like investing in domain names.
I jumped in the deep end totally ignoring good advice (or any and all for that matter) - so that is bad news for you guys ..... I have to be around until I sell all my names (about 600 .au and more than double that in .com), so based on the best unreliable figures I have seen it will take me 74.6 years (that is allowing 28% of my names to drop) ..... so, sit back and relax ..... I'm gonna be here for a long time. (toilet paper is supplied, in bulk, free of charge at the end of every one of my posts).
So - does anyone have any serious thoughts or ideas on how the marketing of sites such as NetFleet can be done, beyond what is being done, to the benefit of all of us including NetFleet ..... dig deep people and think beyond the hexagon.
cheers,
Mike
p.s. I wasn't finished but had to stop, the tips of my typing fingers are bleeding