An Encouraging Domaining Tale

The Domaining business has its ups and downs like any other industry.  There are times of frustration and times of sheer joy, well at least that’s what I’ve found.

This is my official one year anniversary in the domaining world and there have been times when I’ve thought about letting it go and moving on.  However, today I’ve pulled all my domain parking stats together in a spreadsheet, which I do as much as possible to give me a clearer idea of my assets and liabilities and how to move forward.

One particular domain is doing pretty well and I’m pleased to have bought it.  It’s a holiday domain that I hand-registered for $7.50 back in the winter, so I didn’t expect it to do anything really until the holiday season was underway.  I was a bit doubtful about buying it at first, it’s not a short domain, 22 letters long actually, very long-tail in nature, but it was one that I just instinctively felt I should buy.

I did my homework before I bought it, including checking Google Trends and found that according to GT, there’s a sharp rise in people searching for holidays in the New Year, so I parked it up and waited until after Christmas, hoping to see some action… nothing happened, not one unique.

As the months passed, the traffic began to trickle in and clicked-through, (the current percentage is 66.67, so two thirds of all visitors click on an ad).  The traffic and clicks accelerated from about mid-May and may be slowing down now, but it’s an example and a lesson that I’ve learned to be a patient in this business.  The domain has easily paid for itself and is now very much in profit and I won’t be selling it… just yet.

I am no domaining superstar and when reading about the huge amounts of money that others make, it can both inspire and sometimes make you wonder whether you will get anywhere near their success, but hopefully my small success story can be something of an encouragement and a reminder that good things do come to those who wait.

’til next time.

Marcus D. Mercer