While doing some freelance projects for my New Year website development special, I couldn’t help but notice a trend that comes up in almost every site; keyword domains. Clients are either interested in finding a great keyword domain or already have one ready to go.

Leading SEOs and even Google’s Matt Cutts have confirmed that keywords in domain names offer benefits to search rankings. The benefits have been observed by many and even thought to be too much by some.

My personal philosophy and reasoning for using keyword domain names extends beyond this primary benefit. In this article, I will share some ideas on keyword domains and why I think everyone should consider using them.

Keyword Targeting

The #1 reason that keywords in domain names are beneficial for SEO is not because of some secret Google algorithm, it’s simply that other web properties will link to your website using the keywords in your domain or business name.

• Business Name – It’s 2012 and the domain name should now be an essential part of naming any business. I’m sure you’ve heard that picking a domain name can be frustrating. Many business owners are not familiar with keyword tools or the domain industry for that matter. This leaves an opportunity for those in-the-know to gain a significant competitive advantage using keywords in their domain.

• Generic Domains – These are the “Holy Grail” of keyword domain names, representing the exact match term(s) and nothing else. Generic domains are typically highly valued and sought after virtual real estate. However, it is still possible to acquire them on the aftermarket or speculate on new and emerging industries. Generic domains can provide tremendous boost to SEO efforts.

• Long-tail Domains – Opportunity awaits those willing to venture into the territory of longer domains. Three word domains are fast becoming commonplace and are being used to rank for exact match phrases, products and services. Developing one or more long-tail keyword phrase domains can set you up to receive consistent targeted leads from organic search traffic for those terms.

You can use the popular Google AdWords keyword tool to discover high search volume / low competition keyword phrases that may be available to register as .com domains.

Branding

It’s true that brandable domain names can work just as well as purely keyword domain names; a previous post covered all those details. As mentioned in the editorial, keywords can also play a part in the branding process.

• Keyword + Brand- Using a keyword connected to a unique brand identifier is a great strategy for those on a budget or in a somewhat crowded niche. These domains can be easier to find and may help you along the brainstorming process of naming your business.

For example, a Raleigh Catering company could find SEO benefit using a domain like RaleighCateringPros.com. The Pros suffix is relevant to the business, but will not be searched for by new customers. However, over time, the site will gain backlinks which include the phrase “Raleigh Catering.”

• Short Links – Many businesses and publications are beginning to use their own custom domain names as link shorteners. This can potentially provide additional SEO benefits through social network sharing as articles propagate through the web.

Keywords provide instant recognition which is great for usability, advertising and marketing. They also bring preconceived expectations, so be sure to deliver with relevant content.

Remember that domain names are essentially your cornerstone for SEO. You’ll still need to work hard to optimize you website, it’s content and engage in a constantly changing social web.

Do you use keywords in your domain names? Are you struggling to find a viable domain? Please leave a comment below to share your experience using domain names for SEO.

Using Domain Names as the Cornerstone of SEO DotSauce Magazine

If you’re not familiar with Premium Listings, it is essentially a domain aftermarket setup within GoDaddy’s storefront. Any domain managed with them can be priced and featured within the registration path of those searching for similar domains. I’ve previously written about some of the success I’ve had and how to setup Premium Listings on GoDaddy.

Here is the message I received from my account manager with the interesting parts highlighted:

Many of my clients are actively using our Premium Domain channel as a way of acquiring high value domains for a very small investment. In several situations, paying more money for the one right name is better than pay registration fees for 10 mediocre names.

I  have access to our master inventory of domains currently available through our Premium Domains offering. I want to help you build the value of your portfolio by making sure you’re buying the right domains, not just a lot of domains. Let’s run some searches from our list to show you that there are many domains you might be interested in acquiring. What specific keywords or niches are you actively looking  in when buying domains?

We have been hard at work developing a tool that will allow us to sort through the massive inventory of premium domain assets and being alerted when new names are added based on your keywords. This was very much a manual process up till now. Please send me your top 5-10 keywords as soon as possible.

Just a simple reply from your email with the keywords will help me to set this up.

This is great news for both buyers and sellers. It looks as if VIP account holders will soon be able to target current Premium Listing domains of interest by keyword and monitor new listings as they come in.

VIP account holders are a great audience to market the new service to. I’m sure this will bolster sales as domain buyers sign up for keyword alerts and discover good deals.

Presently, domain investors are associating the Premium Listings aftermarket with selling because there is no easy way to browse or discover good deals.

If the new service offering does well, I’m sure GoDaddy will consider making a Premium Listings keyword search and alerts tool available to the public.

Would you be interested in signing up for Premium Listings alerts? Will this encourage you to list your domains? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

GoDaddy Begins Marketing Premium Listings to VIP Accounts DotSauce Magazine

By actively building your online presence and dedicating time to proven online marketing and sales techniques you can start selling domain names more frequently.

In this article, I will share tips and techniques that have benefited me in the past and continue to provide great outlets for selling domains today.

[Header image via Flickr]

Personal Branding

An important starting point for domain flipping is to have a legitimate identity. Nobody truly wants to do business with an anonymous person. If you can own your name online I highly recommend it; MarkFulton.com is one of my most prized possessions. Create a website and interlink your social profiles as a platform to build your personal brand identity.

Blogging

After setting up your identity on the web my next recommendation would be to begin blogging. This can either be at your personal web page or a new company page or brand identity. Write a few posts about topics related to your domains, the domains themselves, post a sale, share some news; the point is to get original content indexed and have an outlet to advertise and accept inquiries.

Email List Building

With your blog setup, now is a great time to setup an email list and start capturing verified emails. Offer an incentive whether it be blog updates,  domain deals, a free download or eBook. Use a dedicated newsletter management service such as MailChimp that will not only let you send out your blog updates, but email your list directly and track conversions.

Networking

There are millions of people who buy domain names, build websites and start online ventures who are not exactly involved in domain industry circles. Network with fellow domainers on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, then spend some time branching out to related industries. Connect and engage with people you are sure know what a domain name is and maybe even own a few already.

Keyword Niche Marketing

A popular, albeit dated, domain flipping tactic is to market to small businesses, blogs and on forums associated with the keywords in a domain.

I don’t recommend commenting on blogs, posting on an excessive number of forums or spamming business owners. These practices can leave a permanent record of your domain sale and are usually not effective. Alternatively, you can target hashtags or keywords on Twitter using InboxQ.

Domain Forum Engagement

After you’ve checked out some of the niche forums, don’t forget we are flipping domains after-all. If you are confident that your asking price is reasonable enough for fellow resellers, compose a sales thread on NamePros and DNForum ($50 membership) for one of the easiest and fastest methods of domain flipping.

Domain Auctions

The right auction both online and offline can provide good exposure to your domain sale. You’ll have the most success here with well-aged domain names. Consider submitting your domains to some of the leading free domain marketplaces, live domain auction events or online auctions such as Flippa and Cax.com for a great opportunity to flip domains.

Advertising

Spending a little money to advertise a sale can pay off for the right domain names. Consider creating a banner or text advertisement campaign to feature on a high-traffic destination to get targeted exposure. Google AdSense and Facebook Ads are cheap and could spark a sale.

What are your top domain flipping techniques?

Thanks for reading through my tips and techniques for selling domains, now it’s your turn. I would love to hear about your own domain flipping practices. Share your story in the comments area or just fill us in on a great domain sales resource.

Domain Flipping: Advanced Tips and Techniques DotSauce Magazine

First, a quick word on why a quality brand is important. A recent study shared by eConsultancy found that just 3% of traffic to eCommerce websites comes from social media, while a staggering 46% comes from brand familiarity. Your domain is your brand.

Brand familiarity boosts web traffic

Brandable: What You Don’t Need to Worry About

Keywords

For once, you can throw Google AdWords keyword data out the window–well, almost. You may still be interested in targeting a specific keyword to be a part of your brand name, particularly if you will be using a two-word domain as a keyword/brand-word combination. You can now create your own words successfully if you follow a few guidelines featured below.

Definitions

The language of the internet evolves much faster than Merriam Webster can keep up. Your brand does not neccisarily need to have a known definition. I decided to name my Twitter forum community “TweetSocial.com” 3 years before it was included in the Oxford Dictionary as a new word for 2011.

What Makes a Domain Brandable?

Pronunciation

How a domain name is spoken aloud is one of the most important factors in determining brandability. Often called the “radio test,” you can simply ask a few friends to spell out a domain name over the phone or in person. If your domain name can not be understood clearly and remembered through word-of-mouth marketing that will hurt your brandability.

Length

While many brands use three-words I recommend first researching two-word options. When it comes to the internet, shorter is always better.

I would estimate the majority of valuable brandable domain sales are between 4 and 6 characters. Virtually all four-letter domains and quality, pronounceable five-letter domains have been claimed, so you’ll need to browse the aftermarket for extremely short brands.

Meaning

Not to be confused with a definition, meaning lends some since of relation to a particular product, service or industry. “DotSauce” is a play on hot sauce, but the dot connects the publication with all things Internet. Use an industry term, relevant word, idea, color, or some other identifier that the target audience will associate with.

Appeal

When looking for brandable domains to potentially resell, you’ll want to make sure that you have meaning, as described above, but you also want to be sure that there is a possibility that the domain will actually sell. I’ve shared some tips for picking domains that have selling potential in the past. It helps to get into the mind of an entrepreneur working in a particular industry; would they find this domain a viable or premium option to build their business on versus a keyword or longer domain?

Discriptors

Some words are simply great or must-haves for certain industries which can make it hard to find suitable brand options. If you’re looking to go the discovery route, you may find the Bust-A-Name tool with built in thesaurus very helpful for finding related words and descriptors for your brand names.

Pull out a sheet of paper and take a few minutes to jot down any quality keywords that may describe your area of interest. You can then plug those keywords into Bust-A-Name along with the other root word you would also like included to see what is available.

Detractors

Now that you know what elements contribute to a great brand, there are a few things you definitely want to consider avoiding when selecting quality brandable domains.

• Doubled up letters (‘SportSShop,’ ‘KinGGames’) – Domains like this do not do well with the “radio test” mentioned previously and it opens up the possibility of losing traffic to typos.
• Intentional misspellings (Flickr) – Dropping vowels, replacing S with Z or doubling up certain letters just looks plain unprofessional and is not good for memorability or usability.
• Unintended meanings – I’m sure everyone has seen the list of unfortunate domains like PenIsland.com. Watch out for hidden meanings you might not want to associate your identity with.
• Domain hacks (Del.icio.us) – Some people are fans of these quirky brands that use the TLD extension as part of the brand name itself to create a word. I believe this can hurt memorability and marketing efforts online and in person.

Researching and flipping brandable domain names is not a walk in the park and it certainly pays to be patient. The right end-user may not come along for a year or more. Now is a great time to start investing in quality .com brands as they are becoming increasingly rare and domain prices are trending upward.

Can’t wait?

Consider joining the DotSauce Domain Club to learn more about domain investing and browse our members-only inventory of $19 .com names, including dozens of quality brandable domains.

Investing In Quality Brandable Domain Names DotSauce Magazine

The Next Web shared the interesting story of how Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, gave a very special gift to Steve Jobs as thanks for his influence and sage advice.

In 2003, Benioff brought a few members of his executive team to visit Steve Jobs. The words of wisdom he would receive turned out to have profound implications for both Salesforce and Apple.

“You have a fantastic enterprise application here, but you’ve got to build an ecosystem.”

The Salesforce.com team took the advice to heart and developed a new technology called “App Store”, where users could buy enterprise applications and run them within Salesforce.

The project ended up launching under a different name, “App Exchange.” But, Benioff liked the App Store name so much that he purchased the domain name AppStore.com and corresponding trademark.

Years later, in 2008, Benioff was in the audience when Steve Jobs announced his own App Store. After the announcement, Benioff went up to Steve Jobs and offered the AppStore.com domain and the trademark rights as a gift, in appreciation of his help in 2003.

Apple now defends the trademark in court and uses the powerful generic brand to reign-supreme over other application platforms. Now that is a domain that is truly priceless.

How Steve Jobs Got The AppStore.com Domain and Trademark For Free DotSauce Magazine

I’m pleased to be sharing a bunch more new bookmarklets I’ve come across recently in a great post by Tom Critchlow on SEOMoz. These SEO-centric bookmarklets provide immediate access to pertinent data from Google and leading SEO tools.

The bookmarklets below may appear like regular hyperlinks, but you will need to drag and drop these links to your browser toolbar or save them as bookmarks for them to function properly. Consider creating a folder to drag the bookmarklets to if you plan on using many of them.

Domain Name and SEO Bookmarklets

These bookmarklets, when clicked from the browser toolbar, will provide quick access to valuable information and analytics about the website currently being viewed.

Bookmarklet: OSE Report (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Open Site Explorer by SEOMoz offers a comprehensive SEO report

Bookmarklet: OSE Top Pages (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Analyzes a domain name for the most authoritative pages

Bookmarklet: OSE Anchor Text (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Displays a report on the anchor text used to link to a domain

Bookmarklet: Google Site Search (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Performs a query to retrieve all indexed pages for a domain

Bookmarklet: Google Cache (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Access the most recent Google cache version of a URL

Bookmarklet: Google Insights (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Performs a search for the term popularity of a domain name without the TLD

Bookmarklet: Google Ad Planner (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Runs a comprehensive report on a domain including traffic estimates and related sites

Bookmarklet: SEM Rush (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Comprehensive PPC  marketing report

Bookmarklet: MajesticSEO (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Displays a report on backlinks to a domain over time

Bookmarklet: Topsy (Drag & Drop link to your toolbar)
Description: Shows the latest engagement activity on Twitter for a particular domain

More Bookmarklets

Get 12 more domain and SEO bookmarklets from my previous article for quick access to data on DomainTools, Estibot, Archive.org, Compete, Delicious and others.

Share the Time Savings

I hope you’ve enjoyed these time-saving bookmarklets for domain name and SEO research. Please consider sharing this post with your fellow web professionals if you found them particularly useful.

What are your favorite bookmarklets? Leave a comment below and let us know which ones you use the most or share a useful bookmarklet not mentioned here.

10 More Time-Saving Domain and SEO Bookmarklets DotSauce Magazine

First, a quick heads-up to Domain Club members, a new available domain list was just published exclusively for you alongside this public sample list. Login now to take a look.

The domains featured below were originally published on the Domain Club private forum on May 15th, 2011. These are the remaining domains that were not claimed by members.

Handpicked Expired Domains

This list of available domains is courtesy of the DotSauce Domain Club and were available as of the time of this posting.

Please do not republish elsewhere. Enjoy!

• DeluxeSoap.com
• TimeshareFAQs.com
• StealthMarketer.com
• RentalTerms.com
• ShopRealtime.com
• LittleFreebies.com
• OnlineMulti.com
• StangRacer.com
• PleasureWand.com
• AutomationDaily.com
• BlastoffBlog.com
• ThumbnailTool.com
• MarketplaceList.com
• WarriorWeek.com
• BodyBlogging.com
• RevenueTrend.com
• InviteZone.com
• SweetAddict.com
• BundledBusiness.com
• ClothingFreebies.com
• AffordableDVDs.com
• BlazerSales.com
• SeasonalSites.com

The original list featured 12 more names that have since been claimed.

To get exclusive, instant access to new and archived handpicked expired domains, read about our Domain Club Pro membership.

Previous Expired Domain Lists

If you didn’t find anything of interest in this list, you’re welcome to have a look at the few remaining domains from the previous three samples.

• Handpicked Expired Domains #1
• Handpicked Expired Domains #2
• Handpicked Expired Domains #3

As always, using this promotional link for $7.49 domains at GoDaddy you can take advantage of special savings on registrations.

Handpicked Expired Domains List, Quality .Coms Available to Register DotSauce Magazine

I came across an insightful article on Inc. Magazine recently featuring 5 negotiation tips that can definitely relate to domain sales.

First Mover Wins

In particular, negotiation tip #3 suggests an idea that is contrary to popular belief. Is it better to ask for buyers to make an offer or to set your asking price? The answer may surprise you.

Some studies suggest that the outcome of a negotiation ends up being closer to what the first party proposes. The article quotes an interesting excerpt from Negotiation, a book by Adam Galinsky and Roderick Swaab.

“In our studies, we found that the final outcome of a negotiation is affected by whether the buyer or the seller makes the first offer. Specifically, when a seller makes the first offer, the final settlement price tends to be higher than when the buyer makes the first offer.”

So, as it turns out, it should prove beneficial to your bottom-line to set an asking price you are comfortable with. Thinking back on my own personal sales history, this seems to make sense. If we look at the industry as a whole, the vast majority of domains that are sold started with asking prices.

Domain investors should definitely take advantage of the opportunity in pricing their domains. When listing your domains for sale on your portfolio or public marketplaces, set a reasonable asking price to put negotiations in your favor before they begin.

Related: Top 10 Reasons Your Domain Name Won't Sell

Still a Place for Offers

Of course, it is OK to accept offers for particular domains you are not ready to price or are not interested in selling in the short-term.

Be sure to research comparable domain sales and analytics for your domains and stay abreast of the latest domain pricing trends to decide if an offer is reasonable.

Negotiation tip #5 offers sage advice for dealing with low-ball offers you will inevitably receive:

Don’t take it personally. If you respond with a cool head, there may be an opportunity to make a deal no matter the starting point.

Related: Domain Sales Strategy: How To Be Three Steps Ahead

Asking Price vs. Make Offer DotSauce Magazine

In an effort to make the monthly link roundups easier to consume I’ve left out updates on marketing, social media, small business and entrepreneurship.

If you’re interested in getting all the updates please connect with DotSauce on one of these networks.

Stay In The Know: Connect With DotSauce

Twitter – (See top of sidebar to follow –>) Join 15,000 others who follow @DotSauce tweets on domains, SEO, marketing and web development.

Facebook – (See top of sidebar to like –>) Like DotSauce on Facebook where you’ll receive almost all the resources shared on Twitter, though more focused on domaining. Plus receive special announcements and exclusive offers for fans.

LinkedIn – If you are a web professional or work in a related industry, I would be glad to have you connect with me on LinkedIn. Twitter updates are broadcast to the LinkedIn stream.

Google+ – Add me to your circles. I’ll be sharing special updates and resources with Google Plus connections soon.

Web Development

It seems the theme for July is speed. Included are several great resources and some big news from Google on the webpage performance front.

Domaining

The domain industry continues to get exposure in the mainstream media. July was a busy month with several major industry moves and great editorials.

SEO

The web at large is catching on that social media and SEO go together. Google+ has been the tipping point, time to get on board.

Thank you for checking out these recommended news articles and resources. I hope you’ve found some beneficial information that can help your business or website.

As always, you’re welcome to share these links with your followers individually or by using one of the share buttons below. Any mentions are greatly appreciated.

Web Development, Domaining and SEO Link Roundup for July DotSauce Magazine

[Header image via Washington Post]

I’ve been disappointed in recent days to see some web industry leaders and mainstream publications come out against ICANN’s approval of the new TLD system, scheduled to go live in 2012.

There are concerns that new TLDs are just money-making schemes that provides no value to the internet, or that trademarked names are going to be rampantly squatted upon. Do you believe any of this is true?

This open survey features a few poll questions that should offer an idea of reader confidence or lack thereof in new TLDs.

New Top Level Domains Opinion Survey

Please submit your answers for the 5 brief poll questions below.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Consider sharing this survey to include your networks’ opinion on new Top Level Domains.

Thank you for your participation. Please subscribe to DotSauce Magazine or come back at a later date to review the results.

Opinion Survey: New Top Level Domains DotSauce Magazine

[Header image via Flickr]

Multiple Domains Multiplies Risk

I have a semi-dedicated server that I use to host all of my web properties, domain development projects and many client websites. Before today, my public directory had something like 100 folders representing multiple domains for various websites, mainly WordPress installations.

I found out the hard-way that exploits within a particularly vulnerable script on one directory can lead to complete access of the public_html directory. In my case, a neglected old WordPress installation came back to bite me in the butt. I also discovered a vulnerability within an old PHP-LinkDirectory installation.

It’s something I should of known was possible, but never thought an exploit would be so bad as to lead to this.

The hackers placed code within .htaccess files, redirecting Google bots to spam sites. Normal visitors, including myself were none the wiser as search rankings were taken over. It’s an all-too-common, devious form of hacking that you should be wary of.

Luckily, several observant readers reported that something was awry with my search listings (they are still screwed up) and I was able to contact Google to remove the suspected hacking warning.

Avoiding This Disaster

Nobody should have to go through the experience of losing all their hard-earned search rankings. There are several actions you can and should take to prepare for and avoid a potential hack when using multiple domains on the same host.

1. Move inactive projects to a new folder, hidden below the public_html level
2. Be vigilant and timely about updating all web software
3. Regularly check notices from Google Webmaster Tools
4. Monitor website content changes through a third-party service such as CodeGuard

I’m not too worried as DotSauce Magazine should bounce back in the coming days and weeks.

I would greatly appreciate your support in sharing our content and +1′ing articles to help speed the process along. You can earn rewards like free domain registration through our loyalty program if you do. Try out one of our share buttons to sign-up for free.

Security Vulnerability When Using Multiple Domains On The Same Host DotSauce Magazine

Domain Holdings has debuted a new domain development platform called DomainPower, a follow up to Rapid Domain Builder, it’s 2010 predecessor . The new development platform will focus on content development for SEO performance and engagement, and will feature multiple revenue opportunities.

DomainPower offers dozens of niche website frameworks suited to specific industries (Shopping, Insurance, Travel, etc.). Sites are enhanced with plug-ins such as social media integration. Enhancement services such as website content, link building and directory submission are also featured.

DomainPower Powered Sites

Here are a few examples of sites running on the DomainPower platform.

Innovative Analytics and Reporting

While I have not had the opportunity yet to dive into the DomainPower platform (signups are approved manually), I know that their analytics will play an important role.

According to the feature list DomainPower includes A/B testing, alerts for under-performing domains, and keyword tracking across search engines–all firsts for the industry as far as I am aware.

What do you think of DomainPower? Will you ditch WordPress powered sites or standard parking pages to give it a try? Will the revenue share be enough to compete with other emerging parking options? Please leave a comment with your thoughts.

Domain Holdings Raises $2.9M to Energize DomainPower Development Platform DotSauce Magazine

If you have an eye for business, you will be able to see how the Domain Club model is intended to work. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify and discuss a few matters to anyone interested about our process and how specific Domain Club features work.

Group buying sites rely on sales volume to make up for the discounted pricing offered to members. The Domain Club works the same way, offering nice .COM domains to members at a discounted rate of just $19 each.

Domain Club Exclusivity

One of the points I would like to clarify is that while our pricing is exclusive to Domain Club members, our domain inventory is not necessarily exclusively for sale on DotSauce.

I have got back into domain sales recently, putting in work behind the scenes to resell some inventory at a markup.

I’m pleased to report that business is good in just the first few days of dipping my feet into the water of domain liquidation in 2011. That’s right, I am making easy sales of domains currently offered to Domain Club members for just $19 each. In some cases domains have sold for several hundred dollars and many are selling easily for $50-$100.

Domain sales activity and valuations are on the rise, hitting an all-time high in May 2011.

Vision

If I can do it, you can too. That is my true goal for the DotSauce Domain Club. I want to help you succeed and feel the best way to start is with quality keyword, brands, and product domains.

As Domain Club membership grows, both users and myself will reap the benefits of increased activity; more inventory and more content. I hope to continue to prove the value offered by an affordable monthly membership fee for access to exceptional deals on .com domains and domain sales resources.

Join the DotSauce Domain Club today to get first pick of domains for just $19 each and instantly access our private forum where you can learn the best places to resell domains and other insider domain sales resources.

July Update

Members, be on the lookout for a big inventory update and handpicked expired domains list very soon.

I have been quite busy this month, but I have not missed my regular domain research. I will be making considerable additions to the Domain Club inventory and publishing a handpicked expired domains list soon.

Getting Back Into The Domain Flipping Rhythm DotSauce Magazine

IDNX.com will continually monitor trends in domain prices month-to-month. The interactive chart includes 6 years of sales data or over 200,000 domain sales from the world’s largest domain name marketplace.

The IDNX price index value can be directly compared to select economic indicators that seem to correlate very closely.

• NASDAQ 100
• Google’s share price
• Revenues from online ads (US)

Here is a glimpse of IDNX as compared to revenues from online advertising in the US. Domain prices have recently regained strength from a dip in 2008 and early 2009 to grow to an all-time high this year in May.

These comparisons offer an unprecedented view of the domain name industry. It shows domain buyers and sellers are taking their virtual real estate seriously and are making economically motivated, informed decisions.

IDNX provides a great leap forward in legitimizing the often misunderstood world of domains. Cheers to Thies and Sedo for their work and dedication to bettering the industry.

What do you think of the potential for this new tool? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts and consider spreading the good news by sharing this article with your network.

Domain Name Price Index Goes Live in Partnership with Sedo DotSauce Magazine

I have categorized and selected choice updates from the month of June in today’s link roundup.

To receive updates like those featured here, as well as more interesting resources and breaking industry news, please follow @DotSauce on Twitter.

Most of these links are also shared on the DotSauce Facebook page.

Branding & Domain Names

Each month it seems the domain name industry is featured in the mainstream media more and more. With ICANN’s approval of the new generic TLD space this month, I am confident this trend will continue. I found these headlines and resources particularly interesting.

Online Business

I’ve been pleased to read many informative and inspiring articles from respected entrepreneurs and industry leaders this month.

Web Development & SEO

Nearly a dozen great articles on SEO have been featured this month. The industry is evolving rapidly; optimizing for site performance, social engagement and producing quality content are becoming increasingly important to become an authority site.

Marketing & Social Media

These articles can help get you on the right path towards social media success. Get updated on the latest trends and social marketing techniques.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these resources and are able to use what you’ve learned to improve your online business. Join 15,000 others who follow @DotSauce on Twitter to stay in-the-know.

You’re welcome to retweet any of these links to your own following or share the entire link roundup. Have a great holiday weekend!

Domaining, Online Business and Web Development Link Roundup for June DotSauce Magazine

Many domains from the original list have been claimed by members, but I would like to share some of the remaining domain names with the public so everyone can get a glimpse of the great value offered in these handpicked expired domain lists.

Handpicked Expired Domains

This list of available domains is courtesy of the DotSauce Domain Club. Each one was available to register as of the time of this posting.

Please do not republish elsewhere. Enjoy!

• BicycleFans.com
• DuneSurfing.com
• TelephoneTunes.com
• NotepadReview.com
• PrintPrize.com
• DatabaseHelper.com
• ShopUpdates.com
• InternetMini.com
• ReportDisplay.com
• TweetDownload.com
• JPGDirectory.com
• DownloadTouch.com
• ToysAccessories.com
• LocalBreaking.com
• LocalListingsTV.com
• AuthorityCoupons.com
• BeatBits.com
• RomanticTeddy.com
• ArtistsToday.com
• WarriorWealth.com
• ConsolesAccessories.com
• RecessionSpecial.com
• Dozur.com
• Styus.com

GoDaddy is currently offering this $7.49 .com domain registration promotion.

The next sample list is ready to go, so be sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter or our RSS feed.

Previous Expired Domain Lists

If you didn’t find anything of interest in this list, you’re welcome to have a look at the few remaining days from the previous two samples.

• Handpicked Expired Domains Sample #1
• Handpicked Expired Domains Sample #2

Get First Pick of the Best Domains

Want to get first pick of these handpicked lists months before everyone else? It’s just one of the many benefits of Domain Club membership.

Sign up for a Domain Club Pro membership to get instant access to more quality expired .com domains. We can even send you an alert when new lists are published.

Thanks for checking out the third edition of Domain Club handpicked expired domains. Please leave a comment with your feedback or to share a domain you’ve claimed.

Handpicked Expired Domains DotSauce Magazine

I’ve recently discovered a new, possibly better solution for displaying a domain portfolio within any WordPress page using the My Domain List WordPress plugin which is available at CodeCanyon for $12.

As it turns out, this plugin is a great way to both market your domains for sale and manage your portfolio privately.

[Header image via Flickr]

Automated Whois Information

One of the key perks of My Domain List is automated retrieval of whois information. This is a great feature which enables you to keep up-to-date on all of your domain information from multiple registrars in one central location.

My Domain List Management

The following data is displayed for all domains within a private domain management page.

• Domain registrar
• Owner name
• Whois creation date
• Ownership change date
• Expiration date

These details can be displayed publicly as part of your domain list table or kept private.

If you would like to manage your portfolio with My Domain List while keeping some domains private you can do that as well. Select the “Unpublish” to set a domain to only be visible through the domain management page.

Your domain list is displayed by placing a shortcode within a post or a page and customizing it to suit your needs, as in this example.

[my-domain-list-portfolio show='owner,extension,registrar']

With this initial release of the plugin there are some features left to be desired (such as domain search and categories), but all the essentials seem to be covered. The UI is well designed for both owner and visitors and the Make Offer process is user-friendly and inviting with a fixed priced domain.

My Domain List Screenshots

Here are more screenshots of the Domain List display and the private back-end. You can review the full plugin documentation here.

My Domain List – Full Demo

Incoming Offers Stats – Displayed on WordPress Dashboard

Optional Pagination by Letters

Get My Domain List

My Domain List is available exclusively at CodeCanyon. The WordPress plugin is reasonably priced at just $12. This is a bargain for being able to manage and market your domain names for sale.

Let me know what you think. Please leave a comment below if you decide to give it a try.

My Domain List WordPress Plugin: Market and Manage Your Domains DotSauce Magazine

I’ve also published a new recently expired domain list today at the Domain Club forums for premium members’ eyes only.

Today’s sample list is a bit longer, but I imagine the majority will be claimed just as quick.

Handpicked Expired Domains

This list of available domains is courtesy of the DotSauce Domain Club.

Please do not republish elsewhere. Enjoy!

• ReviewReader.com
• EmailDock.com
• KeyboardMobile.com
• ComputersAuthority.com
• CodingManual.com
• EnergyMonth.com
• CancelFlights.com
• CaliforniaLovin.com
• PromoPurchase.com
• ExoticsBlog.com
• HeadlinesBlog.com
• AntiqueBasket.com
• PowerfulMachine.com
• ChartAstrology.com
• ChristianChain.com
• LandSelector.com
• UpdateGenie.com
• DownloadCover.com
• AdvertExpert.com
• TradingDistrict.com
• FuturityNews.com
• EmploymentAffiliate.com
• NetworksInstalled.com
• ImprovingIncome.com
• ElectronicsClassified.com
• PowerfulList.com

GoDaddy is currently offering this $7.49 .com domain registration promotion.

The next sample list is ready to go, so be sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter or our RSS feed.

If you’d like to get exclusive, instant access to choice domains, learn about Domain Club Pro membership which includes high-quality handpicked expired domain lists, exclusive $19 domain inventory, and many other resources and services for domain investors.

Thanks for checking out the Domain Club expired domain lists sample. Please leave a comment with your thoughts or to share a domain you’ve claimed.

Expired Domains Available to Register DotSauce Magazine

Domain Club members won’t claim all the available domains and they’re often cherry-picking from our high quality $19 domain inventory, so I’ve decided to offer sample lists for all DotSauce readers to enjoy.

This first sample list was taken from the initial handpicked expired domain lists offered exclusively to DotSauce Domain Club Pro and Business level members during our launch 3 months ago.

Handpicked Expired Domains

Please do not republish this list.

• CollegePhilosophy.com
• TradingFiles.com
• WeeksWeather.com
• BloggingBrand.com
• FightsMedia.com
• IdealNotebook.com
• LinkRedirects.com
• UpdateSolutions.com
• PerfectLullaby.com
• LasikOptics.com
• BooksBase.com
• BlogSignature.com
• BenchTraining.com
• NetworkPackage.com
• DeskMemo.com
• TransportFood.com
• FlirtProfile.com
• PoliticalRankings.com
• PreviewCasinos.com
• UsefulDownload.com

GoDaddy is currently offering this $7.49 .com domain registration promotion.

The next sample list is ready to go, so be sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter or RSS feed. And, of course, you can always get a Domain Club Pro membership for instant access.

Heads Up Domain Club Members

A new handpicked expired domain list will be published on the member forums later today!

Claimed Domains

For a glimpse at activity on the inside, here are a few of the domains from the same list that were available to Domain Pro Club members, but have since been claimed.

• ThemePulse.com
• WheelForums.com
• CaliRiders.com
• WatchRank.com
• ExpertArticle.com
• WallpaperCloud.com
• GreatBookmarks.com

Don’t miss out on great finds like these. Learn about the many Domain Club Pro membership features, including exclusive access to new and archived handpicked expired domains.

Pro and Business level members are able to register these domains on a first-come, first-serve basis and can set up a convenient email alert to stay on top of newly published lists.

I hope you find one of the domains from this list of interest and are able to see the value in this particular Domain Club feature. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or would like to say thanks for a domain that you’ve registered from the list. Your feedback is always appreciated.

Handpicked Expired Domains Available To Register DotSauce Magazine

I’ve made some adjustments to our Plus membership to appeal to those interested in claiming one or two quality .com domains from our inventory each month.

Affordable Plus Membership

Plus members can now take advantage of up to two $19 .com domain deals per month for an affordable $9 membership fee.

Join the DotSauce Domain Club today to start making money reselling our quality .com domains.

Handpicked Available Domains

In addition to their pick from our $19 quality .com inventory, Domain Club members enjoy private access to regularly updated, handpicked lists of recently expired .com domains. These domain lists are made available to Pro and Business level members on our member forums.

Beginning next week, I will begin to publish small samples of these handpicked expired domains to the public here on DotSauce.

The samples will be taken from earlier month’s lists so that members have plenty of time to consider claiming any available domains before they are published.

I have to remind everyone who has the best lists, right? There have been 6 full lists and 2 bonus lists published on the inside since the Domain Club launched.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the DotSauce Domain Club I would be happy to help. Contact me here or leave a comment below.

Bringing Back Handpicked Expired Domains! + New Domain Club Offer DotSauce Magazine

I take great pleasure in curating and sharing the most valuable articles, editorials and resources related to domaining, online business, marketing, web development and SEO. I hope you’ve had a chance to use and pass these resources on to your following.

It’s been some time since the last Twitter link roundup. I had considered discontinuing that post series, but the content shared in May is definitely worth a second look even if you did happen to catch the updates on the DotSauce Facebook page or the @DotSauce Twitter feed.

Domaining

Domain name industry news, articles and resources from DotSauce and around the web.

Small Business & Startups

Big collection of inspiration, editorials and resources for small business and entrepreneurs.

Marketing

Powerful techniques and tips for the constantly evolving world of online marketing.

Web Development & SEO

The latest in website development, design, management and optimization.

Like what you see? To stay up-to-date with our online business resources, follow @DotSauce or Like DotSauce on Facebook to receive ALL the updates. Thanks for connecting!

Domaining and Online Business Link Roundup from May 2011 DotSauce Magazine

[Image via Flickr.]

This particular piece of software called FeedNamer recently launched with a bang, using one of those very loud and long landing pages.

The application extracts words and phrases from RSS feed headlines and scans for domain availability. Supposedly hundreds of valuable domains are up for grabs using this method. I have my doubts.

I will admit the landing page is fairly well done for conversions, I can imagine this sort of thing taking off as some domain flipping courses and apps do. You’re getting what seems to be a pretty neat piece of automation software for $44. I’m sure a handful of you might even buy FeedNamer because I’m writing about it right now, even though I’m telling you NOT to.

The creator, Brad Gosse claims to be an 11 year veteran internet marketer, but I have to say he does not seem very experienced with quality domain names as evidenced by comments made in a video introduction. The examples provided are typical “dreamer” domains that someone just beginning to build a portfolio may think is valuable; domains with obscure niches or unprofitable speculative domains.

Putting the FeedNamer Concept to The Test

Knowing how simple the software is, I wanted to test the validity of the claims that good domain names can be extracted from RSS feed headlines. So, I put the concept to the test using free web based tools.

1. Find headlines

I used DotSauce News to get the latest headlines from 17 leading business blogs and 16 awesome marketing blogs.

I also tested extracting keywords from popurls mobile pages. Any page with feed headlines will work.

2. Extract phrases

Using the free web-based GetRank keyword extractor tool, I was able to replicate the FeedNamer software functionality by simply entering any URLs containing feed headlines.

I can’t say for sure that this keyword extractor is equal to the one used by FeedNamer, but I imagine they use comparable dictionaries. You will get a list of phrases as shown here.

3. Bulk availability check

Last week, DomainHole launched a fast and free bulk availability checker. I pressed the developers on Hacker News and they have confirmed no data is being logged.

Tip: You don’t need to format the text or type .com at the end of each line.

Simply plug the two or three-word phrase results you get from the keyword extractor into the bulk checker and you’re finished.

So, what is the result? Unfortunately, it’s as I expected; nothing good. I was unable to find any domains worth registering. To the developer’s credit, FeedNamer does mention that you will have to filter through some junk, I just can’t see any diamonds emerging from this junk pile.

I tried multiple different feeds and categories. Here are a few examples of my typical results:

If you haven’t already guessed, I am not a believer in this particular method of available domain mining. Do you see any domains even remotely valuable here? I for one wouldn’t want to be tasked with skimming through lists of this poor quality.

I highly recommend going with a domain suggestion tool that uses verifiable keyword data such as TailWords or DomainHole suggestions.

What do you think of the FeedNamer concept? What are your favorite domain suggestion tools? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Don’t Waste Your Money: FeedNamer Tool Flops DotSauce Magazine

However, SEO publications are far and wide sharing a much different story. They cite Google’s latest search ranking algorithm changes (dubbed the ”Panda” update) as the final blow to exact match domain value for SEO.

The debate came about slowly as search results pages evolved to something completely different than what was seen a few years ago (shown below) and has climaxed in recent weeks.

Aaron Wall of SEO Book Chimes In

One of the leading authorities on SEO, Aaron Wall of SEO Book, has just published a detailed editorial on how Google killed category killer domains.

He has personally stopped buying domains for SEO purposes and points to numerous factors for the decline in category killer domain value.

Here are the major points he writes about:

1. Search engines influence domain valuation
2. Authoritative brands have received a healthy boost
3. Social search provides additional boost to brands
4. Larger and more numerous ads and product listings
5. Localization features may be harmful to GEO longtails
6. Small sites don’t matter
7. Anticipated new gTLDs

These all seem to be fairly reasonable observations in my opinion.

The World’s Not Actually Ending

Please note that Aaron does not believe all domains are doomed. We are talking about exact match domains; that is, keywords or keyword phrases that represent a search string a user would type into Google.

I own dozens of these and still feel that they have great value and potential for other reasons than SEO benefit. So, you don’t need to take this as the literal end of the world. There will still be a thriving liquid market for domains.

Aaron made the following important point when responding to one comment.

“There is plenty of buying budget for domains in the say $50 to $5,000 range, but the main point of this post was that the high-six and low-seven figure domain names are at this point often becoming malinvestments.”

What’s Your Outlook?

Do you think Aaron is right or wrong about these domains?

I’ve posed the following poll question fairly straight-forward in the hopes of getting a balanced result. Please select the answer you feel most accurately predicts the near future of category killer domains.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Thank you for responding to the poll question! Please check back soon for the results and feel free to share your thoughts on the precarious future of exact match domains in the comment area.

Aaron Wall Declares Category Killer Domains Dead: Is He Right? (POLL) DotSauce Magazine

Domain investors looking to expand their portfolios and make more sales are invited to take a look at our inventory and other value added services offered exclusively to Domain Club premium members.

Today’s update has a little something for everybody.

These 9 domains are now being offered for only $19 each to Domain Club premium members.

As you can see, there are a handful of short brand names as well as popular keyword domains with promising search volume.

Standout Domains

• National Diabetes Month is November, so that domain represents an excellent opportunity to develop.
• Thousands of website owners search for HTACCESS tutorial each month.
• Baroque Guitar is a great niche product domain
• A domain with considerable age (6yrs) has also been included, Telephone Prank is a great generic phrase.

And in-case you missed the previous update, here’s a look at more recent additions.

For additional stats, the complete $19 domain inventory is available in a convenient sortable table.

Domain Investors’ Central

With membership at the DotSauce Domain Club, you can grow your portfolio and resell quality domains for nice profits. With just one domain sale your membership fee can be repaid many times over!

Our inventory is sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. Join today to claim your favorite domains.

Visit the Domain Club features and pricing page to learn about affordable membership plans and other valuable services offered to domain investors.

Exceptional New .Com Domains Available to Domain Club Members DotSauce Magazine

This is a guest post by James Agate, founder and SEO Director at UK based SEO consultancy Skyrocket SEO.

So the supposed end of the world has come and passed and I don’t know about you, but nothing seems to have changed. However, there is another apocalypse on the horizon and this one is infinitely more likely!

Regular readers of DotSauce Magazine will have seen the news that Google is talking about tuning down the SEO value of exact match domains in the SERPs.

This post is going to be a sort of “end of world” survival guide if you will – how you and your domain portfolio can survive the carnage. I’m not saying keyword domains are dead just yet, but Google recognises that, as things stand, this is a flaw in their algorithm.  So, there’s certainly something big on the horizon that you are going to want to be ready for.

Consolidate and Conquer

I suspect many of us are guilty of owning one too many domains, the urge to pick up a couple more ‘great names’ is just too hard to resist. I suspect also, that you, like me have big plans for every domain you buy, but I’m as guilty as the next guy for not always following through on those plans —  usually for lack of time.

Now is your chance to consider consolidating your domain portfolio and look to build out a handful of the really great domains you own into really great websites. Cast an objective eye over your digital real estate and assess which sites have the greatest potential, even if your domains already have a website on — you need to make a decision which ones you are bringing with you when the apocalypse comes.

You’ll see the importance of consolidation later on in this post — it really would be time consuming and expensive to carry out all of my recommendations to a large-scale portfolio. It would be possible, but you would need to seriously scale your investment.

Identify your cash cows and rising stars and retire the dogs in your portfolio.

[Image via Flickr]

Think Brand

Whether Google will admit it or not, the search engine increasingly favours brands based on their judgement that brands usually provide a better user experience and they tend to offer up higher quality pages. Therefor, it makes sense if you are going to make a change from depending on the strength of your keyword domain to relying on the strength of the website itself, you are going to need to either create a brand (preferable) or at least mimic some of the brand signals that Google references.

Brand signals such as:

• A physical address listed on your website and cited elsewhere (Google Places, Yelp, Yell etc)
• Useful/interesting/engaging content
• Customer reviews
• Press/blog mentions
• A unique site design or at least a customised template
• Corporate profile pages on sites like LinkedIn and Crunchbase

These are all things a brand would have, so you need them if you want to be seen as a credible website rather than a mere keyword domain.

Get Social

Social signals are now a ranking factor, so getting your social on is a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of tactic. Because you are A) enhancing your ranking and B) reducing your dependence on search traffic by creating another user/customer acquisition channel.

You don’t need me to tell you that social media is huge. There are 1.8 million status updates on Facebook every 20 minutes and 1 in 13 people on this planet are on Facebook. Astounding!

Social media marketing is a fantastic way to spread the word about your website and add even more proof (in the eyes of Google) that your website is a trusted and legitimate entity.

As the web becomes more social, there are millions of pages that are asking to be shared, liked and tweeted. This means you need to get ahead of the curve and look for ways to make your website stand out.

Services like Punchtab (see the Rewards feature here on DotSauce) help you to encourage interaction and engagement with your site and its content. It taps directly into that trend for social gaming, rewards and basic human need to compete.

Punchtab is free at the time of writing and it’s pretty new, but is an awesome tool, so I’ve no idea how long it is going to stay free for.

Strategic Linkbuilding

We all know links are essentially votes of confidence and not all links are created equal. Like it or not, links still form the backbone to Google’s algorithm and for the foreseeable future they are going to be a major ranking factor.

An exact match keyword domain used to ensure you could rank quickly and relatively easy for a keyword term without the need to do very much link building — now you are going to need relevant, authoritative and good quality links.

Google says you need to earn links and they’re right, there’s no substitute for a bulging yet natural link profile but these things don’t happen by chance. You need to help other websites recognise that you’ve earned the right to a link.

Linkbuilding tactics:

• Blogger outreach
• Researching and knowing your market – reach out and connect with potential partners
• Giveaways – to generate attention for your website
• Guest posting
• Embeddable badges
• Press releases
• Linkbait
• Ego-linkbait – as a way of getting attention from the players in your market
• Sponsorships – not always within budget but there are many smaller conferences and events now that you may be able to sponsor for a small amount of cash

Produce In-depth Quality Content

Tuning down the value of exact match domains and the recent Panda update means you need to work twice as hard if you are going to prove your website is good quality and worthy of the search traffic it receives.

Information retrieval experts were involved in the algorithm changes that made up the Panda update. The word in the trenches (and I have to say I’ve seen this first hand), is that Google is getting pretty close to being able to algorithmically detect the quality of content and assess whether a web page has been crafted by an expert or spun by a machine or some $2 an hour writer. Google’s subject modelling technology means that in addition to things like spelling, grammar and formatting checks, it can also recognise if a piece is factually accurate and if it covers the key points. Google may even be attempting to check out the author and see if other trusted sources around the web cite this person as an expert.

Developing subject expertise is no easy task, hence the reason to consolidate your portfolio and concentrate on a few areas. Alternatively, if you are still looking for scale, you could of course hire market experts to write for your website — but this may eat into your profits considerably.

How will Google tell the difference between a keyword domain that’s gaming the search results and one that’s a genuinely worthwhile and rank worthy website? Well, by assessing the quality factors we’ve just discussed. It’s the reason that when the time comes and Google finds a fix for this flaw, Tennis.com will do well and websites like 1200-calorie-meal-plan.com are going to feel the pain.

Most keyword domains can be turned into a brand and if you put the work in now — you’ll be laughing when the update comes that sees hundreds, thousands or even millions of keyword domains get obliterated in the SERPs.

I’d be happy to answer any questions in the comments section below.

[Header image via Flickr]

How To Survive The Exact Match Apocalypse DotSauce Magazine

I’m sure many of you can relate to this. When doing expired domain research, all too often I find myself in disbelief and laughing at some of the phrases some person took the time to claim and possibly make a website for.

Here are some older expired domains I found to be so odd that I wrote them down for laughs later on.

• MmmmBeer.com – Sponsored by Homer Simpson
• LaserFreezer.com
• ProfessorPeanut.com
• ChildSwap.com – The latest in reality day care TV
• OldHo.com
• RobotZilla.com
• ChopstickHero.com
• DietCock.com
• SpellingNazi.com
• Weeklings.com – You 9-to-5′ers are so weak!
• AnimatedTattoo.com – I hope this never gets invented

Amazingly, some of these domains have been registered again.

Since I am going through the May 21st drop list anyway, I’ve pulled some more humorous domains to show these maniacs are registering every day.

• NordicChair.com – 2012 successor to the Nordic Track, sit and get fit!
• AmericanReam.com – I’m really hoping this was a typo
• KnittedVest.com – Sorry Grandma, even GoDaddy can’t get this business off the ground
• FreelanceGamers.com – Where do I sign up?
• Rugaholics.com – An addiction only limited by floor space
• DonutPorn.com – Microwave 8 secs for best results
• FriendStable.com – Don’t forget to feed Jimmy
• CrapSoftware.com – May be in-demand in Japan, but my toilet doesn’t have a computer yet

Don’t drink and register. You may break one of these important rules of domain sales; making sure a domain has value to begin with. When it comes to domains, not every man’s treasure is worth $10 per year.

If you’re interested in domains that are truly valuable, check out the high quality expired domain lists offered to DotSauce Domain Club premium members.

Have you seen some wacky expired domains lately? If you remember any of them, post and share some laughs with everyone in the comment area.

Expired Domains That Made Me Laugh DotSauce Magazine

Reyes found that those who have Google Apps setup on their domains are particularly vulnerable to a social engineering exploit. However, any personal or business domain that is allowed to expire may be vulnerable to identity theft. This warning is not necessarily restricted to those using Google Apps.

Being the owner of a domain obviously enables a person to create and use any email addresses, even those that may have been used in the past. With website histories and domain Whois registrant email addresses being archived, there is due cause for concern.

Additionally, expired domains may become a target for identity theft as news leaks out.

[Header photo via Flickr]

Google Apps for Domains Disaster

It is potentially very easy for a would-be criminal to use old email accounts with malicious intent. Reyes has provided us with a first-hand demonstration.

"This Domain Has Already Been Registered With Google Apps"

After verifying ownership of his new domain, Reyes was able to gain access to an existing Google Apps for domains account including stored emails, contacts and calendars. This leads to being able to access more sensitive information such as passwords to social networking accounts, shopping and online banking.

Personal Information Compromised

The Google Security team responded to news of the exploit with a statement that it is important to renew a domain or export your personal information. Google may be updating the domain verification process as a result of the incident.

Two Solutions to Avoiding Identity Theft by Domain

The risk associated with expired domains is so obvious that it is often overlooked. A little common sense goes a long way in protecting yourself.

1. Export and Erase All Personal Information

Before allowing any domain name to expire, erase any email accounts and personal information.

Inform all of your contacts that you will be using a new domain and provide them plenty of notice and follow up reminders to update your contact information and email address.

None of your accounts on other websites should be using email addresses associated with the domain.

2. Renew Your Domain Name Indefinitely

Domains can be registered for a maximum of 10 years. Doing so will put your mind at ease and is also said to give some website authority for SEO purposes.

All domain registrars have the option to register for multiple years or to automatically renew a domain. Be sure to have valid payment information on file. You’ll also want to be sure you are receiving email notices from the registrar. You don’t won’t those renewal reminders getting lost in a spam folder.

It’s also a good practice to use an administrator and registrant email address that is not associated with the domain name. Otherwise, you may be vulnerable to domain theft if your website or email address are hacked.

Take special care of your personal and business domains to keep your identity secure! If you are selling or re-branding, take the proper steps before transferring ownership and seek out a reputable buyer.

Please pass the word along about the security risk associated with letting domains expire.

Security Warning: Expired Domains Vulnerable to Identity Theft DotSauce Magazine

There are dozens of popular outlets and opportunities for small businesses to take advantage of in online marketing today. SEO, SEM, social and B2B networks, Google Places, newsletters, fan pages, blogging and many more elements make up a new way of doing business online.

Web Equity Infographic

I am thrilled to share this great infographic by Google maps and local search expert Mike Blumenthal. It summarizes the most beneficial practices in search and social marketing and places domains strongly at the core.

I came across an article featuring Mike’s infographic on the Small Business Trends blog while browsing the new DotSauce News: Business feeds.

Importance of Domain Name

Mike places the domain right alongside the business name itself. This is great confirmation for the importance of a domain name from a respected local search professional. Mike’s description for the core elements of web equity is as follows.

“A business name, a phone number and a domain that NEVER change are at the core of a SMBs online identity. Name, phone and domain; these elements are the glue that allows for both branding, and for the value of that branding to come back to the business. Pick them well and make every effort to retain them forever.”

Mike also mentions in the introduction that all the elements and online marketing tools should work to reinforce and build upon the core of your business; your name and your domain.

Do you think domain names get enough credit as a part of online marketing? What elements from Mike’s chart are you focusing on the most? Please share your thoughts in the comment area below.

If you enjoyed Mike’s Web Equity infographic and agree that domains are important part of online marketing, please share this post with your fellow small business owners.

Domain Names at The Core of Online Marketing (Infographic) DotSauce Magazine

The .co.uk domain name aftermarket is extremely active. In Q4 2010, .co.uk had a higher average sales price than both the .net and .org extensions, quadrupling in value from just $523 in Q1 of 2010 to $2,030 by the end of the year.

The extension is maintaining strength in 2011, currently holding three of the top ten ccTLD positions on the year to date domain sales charts on DNJournal.

If you are new to the UK domain name market here’s a little bit of background about the .co.uk extension and how you can get in on the action.

Nominet UK is the .uk domain name registry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Dr Willie Black and five others in 1996. There are around 9 million registered .co.uk domain names to date. Nominet publishes a comprehensive annual domain industry report which was featured on DotSauce last year. You can view the 2010 Nominet Annual Report here. (PDF)

How To Invest In .co.uk

There are a number of ways you can get into the .co.uk market and successfully make money. Which way you do it depends on your preferences as an investor. Here are some routes your can explore and some resources to help you along the way.

Hand Registration

The simplest form of domain name investing is registering a domain name from a UK registrar such as DomainMonster.com or 123-Reg.co.uk. Here are some key indicators to help you choose a quality name, which you are likely to be able to resell for a decent amount or develop into something which earns you revenue.

Check Google’s Keyword Estimator on Local UK Exact setting to determine how many searches there are for that term each month. Anything over 4,400 and you are on to a winner. Another good indicator is CPC value. Make sure you will be earning more than £1 per click at a bear minimum; any thing less than that and you’ll be left with diddlysquat by the time Google takes their cut.

DomainPrices.co.uk is one of the longest running databases of .co.uk domain names sales and is good for market research. Pay no attention to the likes of Estibot or any other appraisal tools, they are highly inaccurate more often than not. There are still some great .coms which can be hand registered and with six times the amount of .coms in the world than .co.uk domains, there is plenty of opportunity to go at in the UK market.

Aftermarket

There are some UK specific auction sites where sales tend to be much faster for selling and achieving better prices than major marketplaces like Sedo.

AcornDomains.co.uk is the de facto UK domain name forum and a huge resource of information for new and experienced domain name investors.

DomainLore.co.uk is a simple but effective auction site to buy and sell domains quickly and easily. There are many opportunities on these sites too for finding undervalued domain names that portfolio owners are looking to get rid of to fund other purchases.

I would recommend registering on both websites. Bargains can be found and a savvy investor can make a good profit buying at the right price and flipping the domains. A recent example of this would be the sale of TVS.co.uk which the previous owner bought for $1,500 in 2007 and sold last year for $75,000.

Drop Catching

Drop catching is the art of querying the Nominet Whois database lots of times just as a domain name is about to expire in the hope that you are first to “catch” it as its suspended indicator turns back to available. Drop catching is quite a bit different in the UK compared to the US in the fact that pretty much anyone can register as a member of Nominet for a small annual fee and directly query their database to catch domains whereas ICANN accreditation is significantly more difficult.

Drop catching directly through Nominet requires the domainer to have a script written in pretty much whatever programming language you are comfortable with, which can not just query the Nominet database, but input selected domains to scan during a 24 period and then if one becomes available, send a request to register the domain name.

If you are not confident going through the whole process of becoming a member of Nominet, having a script written and monitoring it yourself, then you can simply back order .co.uk domain through many of the UK registrars for a small fee and save yourself the hassle. Just this weekend I caught Cartagena.co.uk, a Spanish and Columbian holiday resort which I intend to sell straight away.

Domain Development

Be a category killer i.e. WeddingPlanner.co.uk

The .co.uk is also a great market for domain development. Finding your own niche is crucial for this and a savvy investor will have a selection of category killer domain names that they are developing either for long term revenue or for a quick sale once traffic and rankings in the search engines have been achieved. When I say “category killer” I mean market-leading domain names, ones that are generic and can “own” a niche.

I have been collecting dog breed domain names over the last 6 months and own a good selection which I am currently developing to drive traffic to a larger dog insurance website once I have finished building it. One of the sites, Rottweilers.co.uk, now gets over 5,000 visitors per month and the way it is built can now easily be rolled out across the other dog breed domain names I have.

Once you have control of your niche in the UK the returns can by rewarding. A significant example of this was MoneySupermarket.com’s purchase of nine UK financial services domains for an initial £4.6m.

I cannot stress enough that having a strategy for your domain name purchases is important. If your business strategy to develop .co.uk domain names, rather than trade them on the aftermarket, then a great tip is to check out places where you can buy existing websites on a good domain name. There are many UK businesses which are going out of business due to the financial climate and a good domain investor can take advantage of this and snap up an aged domain with good authority and existing content for a relatively small investment.

There is no denying that .co.uk is a great domain extension to invest in. Whichever method you choose to become involved with there is certainly still a large amount of opportunity within the UK domain name market.

[Header image by Flickr user Trey Ratcliff.]

What do you think about .co.uk domain names? Please leave a comment below and consider sharing this introduction to investing in .co.uk.

An Introduction To Investing In .co.uk Domains DotSauce Magazine

Domain sales exposure in the old version was decent; as members visited the page the top listings would be seen. With the updated Domain Name Marketplace group, exposure will be brought up to a new level.

Facebook Domain Name Marketplace Upgrade

We now have live notifications and optional email updates. This should encourage members to engage and stay updated on the latest sales listings. We should also begin higher quality domains from industry veterans and brokers.

You are invited to join the newly upgraded Domain Name Marketplace group on Facebook to advertise and browse domain names for sale.

Now that we have to take live notifications and emails into consideration, I will post some rules as a notice to all group members. We should follow certain guidelines to reduce signal to noise ratio. With 900+ members, this group will likely be quite active. Common sense rules will apply when it comes to spacing your posts over time and staying relevant.

I hope that the group works out for the best and begins driving home sales between real verified people. I also look forward to introducing more and more people to domain sales on Facebook by inviting other web professionals and business owners to join.

See you on Facebook. Let’s see what you have for sale!

Other Social Domaining Destinations

You can find the counterpart to the Facebook Domain Marketplace group on Twitter @DNMarket where over 330 verified sellers have advertised domains for sale to over 1500 followers.

Also be sure to join the Domaining group on Facebook for industry news and discussions without domain sales advertising.

Facebook Domain Marketplace Group Upgraded, Join 900+ Members Buying and Selling DotSauce Magazine