I have wrote about this before but when I strongly believe in something, I like to express it several times to my readers! Building a sales page for you domain name can increase the value of your domain name and increase your chances of selling it! Here is why and some examples of what I mean and what I do.
Increase value?
Yes, building a sales page can increase value in your domain name because of SERP’s (search engine rank placement). An interested party in a domain name is likely interested because of the keywords in it but if you can point out a nice natural search engine ranking, that increases the value in the domain name. Why? Because it is important to rank well in search engines for at least the matching term of the domain name for those that "search" for those keywords are those who are looking for the specific site! If the domain name ranks higher (or #1) already, that saves time for the buyer and the domain likely gets traffic because of the ranking or can nearly instantly if the term is marketed.
Increase chances of selling?
Yes, having a sales page can help you sell your domain name! Why? It is likely that when somebody is interested in a specific domain name, they will do one of two things. Use direct navigation and visit the domain name directly. Doing so, they will see the sales page and know the domain name is for sale and how to purchase it. Secondly, if they are not aware of using direct navigation, they will like visit a search engine and use the term of the domain name and do a search. If your domain name is not indexed, or not indexed well… it is likely they will not find your domain!
Simply using a domain name parking service will very likely NOT get you ranked very well in search engines. Having a sales page and using the very basics of SEO will greatly help your SERP and allow more eye’s on your domain name!
How do I do it?
I have used both WordPress and a purchased software called XsitePro. Xsite cost me $197 but it has Amazing SEO, even better than WordPress IMO using several of the SEO tool plugins. Why this is, I am not sure, but I almost always can get a site in the top 5 in search engines within a couple months after building a sales page using XsitePro (and using the SEO tools provided). I have ranked well using WordPress, but seem to do better with XsitePro.
Another reason why I like using XsitePro, is because it is VERY easy to create a one page site and you can simply create tons more after you have a template and the text you want to use! It is a lot easier than WordPress.
Examples
Generic Domain Name ~ HandTrowel.com is a sales page I created using XsitePro. The domain name was indexed when I "parked" the domain name at Google but couldn’t be found using the matching term (meaning, it didn’t rank very well parked). I built the sales page and launched the site and within about two months was on the first page of Google for the matching search term, hand trowel. The exact matching term is searched about 4,400 times a month, so it was pretty good to hit p1 with a sales page. About a month later I ranked in the top 5 of the natural listings. I even climbed as high as # 2 on Google for the search term hand trowel. I currently rank # 3 but have stayed in the important top 5. Not only do I get more traffic because of the higher listing, I increased the value of the domain name and put it in a place to be seen by my target buyers!
Brandable Type Domain ~ SEOBuddy.com This domain name was very similar to the above. When I parked it, I didn’t get much traffic and it was very likely not to be found by anybody in the search engines! I built my sales page and BOOM! I built this sales page on Jan 27, 2010. So in less than 3 months I rank # 1 on Google for the matching search term seo buddy. If somebody is researching the term for potential use, not only will they see the domain name is ranked #1, they also can see it is for sale without even clicking due to my terms used in the meta description.
This helps in several ways because the searcher can see the listing and tell the domain name is for sale with out even clicking anything! It increases value in the domain name because it ranks # 1 for the matching search term, which will increase traffic and save the buyer TIME in getting it to rank well.
NoScrubbing.com holds a # 3 natural ranking on Google for the search term no scrubbing. Again, this would not happen without the sale page I developed!
Does it work every single time? No! I do have some domains that I have done the exact some thing as above and the domains do not index well for what ever reason. PaintPail.com I can’t seem to even get indexed but use the same technique as above. GripTape.net I got indexed but it doesn’t do well at Google for SERP’s for the matching term but those are the only two. The majority of time, they rank well and most of the time rank very well.
Overview
These domain names would NOT rank so well without this very simple development. You do not have to be a master at web design or creating a web site. These sites are very simple, you just have to DO IT!
The templates that I created and show above are about as simple as you can get. I add in sales text explaining a little bit about the specific domain name and put a little bit of focus on the easy to do SEO (page titles, meta description, use keywords on the web page). Yes, XsitePro is $197 but I think is worth every penny for the easy of use and you can build as many sites as you want! Does it suck that you can only use it on the one computer you download it on, yes! Once I build the sites, I rarely go back and do anything to them anyway, so it doesn’t matter to me! Secondly, I almost always use the same computer. Being able to spend a few minutes on a domain name creating a sales page web site and getting it to rank well in SE’s for the matching term to the domain name is priceless at $197 IMO! One domain sale will cover that cost easily!
Doing a little bit of development, even a simple sale page is much better than just parking your domain name if you are focused on selling it! Getting a P1 ranking in Google never hurts your chances of selling and will likely put more eyes on your domain name! This SERP will also increase the value of your domain and give you an extra selling point or the KEY selling point to your buyer. You can add some adsense (easy to do in XsitePro) if you would like or some banner ads, but that is up to you. I either like to put a focus on Selling a domain or Parking it to make money or full development.
Building a sales page can help get your domain indexed for its term (and likely more), increase the value in your domain name by getting the SERP(s) and easily allowing interested parties to know the domain name is for sale! The longer you "put it off" and not build one, the longer it will take to rank better in SE’s and the less chance you have at selling your domain name. If you do not care about the SERP’s, increasing your value of your domain name or easily allowing your customer to know your domain name is for sale… just keep on parking your domain!
You do not have to do your whole portfolio today. Start with doing 1 domain a week…. or 2 a week or whatever! If this interest you, consider doing it but you do have to start as it will not get done by itself!
Ricky
I agree. I took your advice when you first blogged about HandTrowel and I do this now to almost all my domains. It has created offers AND sales. Sure I do get some spam on the forms from time to time but its nice to get those offers out of the blue!
Jamie Zoch
Glad to hear Ricky! Yes, I get a couple spam emails as well from time to time, but I also get offers that I likely would not have without the sales pages! Plus the increase in traffic to several. Glad to hear it is working for you and that you took action and built some!
nr
i would not build a sales page for any domain that you really care about. a small domain that you want to flip for a small profit it could work for but i wouldnt try it with anything of value. a sales page or even parking would be a great way to lose your domain to bad faith registration. it shouldnt be that way but it is. i get emails all the time from the whois with people asking if i will sell them my domain without me even having a sales page or any mention of it being for sale.
Jamie Zoch
@nr,
Yes that is something to consider if you are thinking of building a sale page. The same would go if you are listing the domain name on Sedo, Afternic or a personal portfolio site etc. Unless you are clearly infringing on a trademark, I wouldn’t worry about it that much personally, but that is just me. Simply having a “blank page” could result in you losing a domain name as well, so it is a tough one but something one should consider.
Dan Sanchez
LOL why would you pay $200 for Xsite when you can make a one page html site for free. OR go to themeforest and buy the domain broker theme for less than 10 bucks. It’s much more efficient and will get you better results.
OR just search Surgery supplies on bing and see where my site is ranking.
Jamie Zoch
@Dan,
Everybody has different skill levels in development, so that was the reason I purchased it. Yes, somebody can build there own site without really any software if they know how. Saying somebody can “get better results” I wouldn’t agree with totally because again, it depends on one’s skill level for development.
adinfinite
would it be advisable to stick a few ads or lead capture template o a sales page to monetize the traffic thats not interested in buying the name? Have u ever tried it? Thanks
Leonard Britt
XSitePro2 is easy to learn but I had planned on learning WordPress in the coming months as XSitePro2 has limited template options for certain topics. But with the recent release of XHeader (5000 attractive headers for under $50) there is no longer an urgency to learn WP. I’m still experimenting with the software a little bit but if you want to see a couple of examples of customized headers using imported photos into XHeader beach settings…
http://www.hollywoodbeach.info/
http://www.fortlauderdalebeach.tv/
SL
Nice article Jamie. One point though. If the buyer is an end user, they’ll be changing hosts without being able to do a 301 redirect. Matt Cutts had a blog entry on the loss of ranking if a redirect isn’t used.
Of course any incoming links would remain but the buyer may be expecting the rank to maintain. Caveat emptor, just viewing it from the buyer’s perspective.
Jamie Zoch
@SL,
It would really be up to you and depend on the domain a little bit. I personally have put little to no ads just because I wanted to keep the focus of selling. I did try a couple with adsense and they did make a little bit but nothing great. I guess it doesn’t hurt to give it a try if wish.
Jamie Zoch
@Leonard,
You may want to adjust the header size on both. They well extend to the right of the page “box”. Ohhh, it appears you have your Right Sidebar set to something like 20px for padding. You can switch that to 0 in XsitePro if you want and it will extend your text box area over to match up with your header.
Jamie Zoch
@SL,
but I wouldn’t see them losing rank if things are transferred over correctly (do not change dns) and a site is added right away when the new owner takes ownership of the domain. I have done that with expired domains that I have purchased and held rank or improved it by adding a site quick. Don’t get my wrong, it could happen and lose rank if they just do a 301 to their main domain but “technically” that isn’t the best choice with the domain.
I can always host the site for them
Dan Sanchez
Skill levels do vary, but it really isn’t hard to learn to replace text from a template. Then upload it to a file. Oh wait… Domainers!
mike
is it more valuable for an investor, a website that ranks in top serps for some keywords, than a domain that is new,?
- how much would value increase for a domain like this?
- or do investors prefer to buy a new domain or a dropped domain and develop it?
thank you
James P
This makes sense, its easier for most folks to visualize the worth of the domain name…A template page with at least some kind of tailored logo or graphic.
Thanks!