Unlocking the Hidden Value of Your Domain Names

So you’ve got a great idea, you’ve started your e-commerce journey, and part of that journey is… a domain name. Domain names are one of the most important pieces of the digital marketing and e-commerce puzzle, and most e-commerce entrepreneurs collect them. For good reason! Not only do they give your business credibility and authority, but they also help with your SEO and traffic generation efforts.

The problem, however, is that the enthusiasm usually only gets you through the purchasing. 99% of domains go unused and not optimized to benefit you or help you reach your goals. Take me for example; I own about 200 domain names, but I’m only really active on two of them (Emercify.com and MessageBull). In this newsletter, we will discuss some tips on how to get the most out of your multiple domains. We'll also take a look at how Google views them and how you can use them to your advantage!

Where do I start?

Let’s keep with my example. For the over 200 domain names, I added landing pages to my best domain names combined with an opt-in form for getting name and e-mail.This actually generated daily new leads from my domain names, to my surprise. Normally, the domain doesn't get any value in search engines if you don't add a website to the domain. But if you take a few simple steps, you can really maximize what your domain can do for you. This is important for a few things.

First, you can add a landing page with a opt-in form, you can track traffic and leads, and evaluate the organic traffic on your domain. For landing pages, we mostly use Wordpress, clickfunnels or MessageBull Landing Pages to create these simple landing pages. Last months we use our own Landing Page software to create lead pages to get data and leads from our waiting domain names.

The purpose of a landing page is to persuade, convince, and convert visitors into taking some kind of action, such as subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a white paper or e-book, or making a purchase. A well-designed landing page will have a clear and concise message and call to action, minimal distractions, and be optimized for conversion so you can make the most of it.

There are many factors that go into designing an effective landing page, but some of the most important elements are:

1. A headline that clearly states what you are offering and why it is valuable
2. Subheadings that elaborate on the benefits of your offer
3. An eye-catching image or video
4. A form for visitors to fill out to receive your offer (aka a lead capture form)
5. A call-to-action button that encourages visitors to take the desired action
6. Social proof in the form of testimonials or customer reviews
   

Second, you build domain authority for search engines like google, which can be done by optimizing your site further beyond the landing page so that Google’s SEO system displays your domain higher in the list of results. This takes a bit more work, but it can be a great way to generate some extra income. If you have an unused domain that's catchy and relevant, developing it could be a great way to attract traffic and customers.

Both of these tactics are extremely helpful when you decide that you want to launch a real business on your domain name or if you decide to sell the domain name. Domain names are like real estate; they can appreciate or depreciate in value. When you buy a domain name, you're investing in something that may have a lot of value down the road.

How to make money from unused domains?

There are a few different ways that you can make money from unused domains. One option is to sell the domain names directly to interested buyers.

If you have an unused domain name that is valuable, you can always try to sell it. There are a few different ways to go about this. You can list it on a marketplace like Flippa, GoDaddy Auctions, or SEDO.com. You can also try a little bit of leg work and reach out to companies that might be interested in the domain and see if they're willing to make an offer. You can also list your domains for auction and allow people to bid on them.

Finally, you can park your domains and earn money from the advertisements that are displayed on your domain's website, which might help you make a few extra dollars every month.

However, I would advise that it’s not a good practice to put only ads on the domain names you don't really use. At MessageBull, we have tested the feasibility of this practice, and found that it’s difficult to make money doing this. If you do place only ads on your domains, you don't make much money and you are hurting your domain name authority you need later when you want to run an online business on the domain name.

My last moneymaking tip: if you don't use it and there’s no market for your domain name, cancel the subscription for your domain name and save some money! I will sometimes make a list of domain names I want to cancel, share the list on social media to see if someone else is interested. If I don't get any response, I cancel the names. But first I always try Sedo domain auction to see if there is any demand.

To conclude, I would like to remind everyone that domains can make money for you with a few small tweaks. Make your extra domains work for you! Here are some key points to remember:

• Your domain can be an important asset that can generate income for you.
  
• There are a few key ways to optimize your domain to make it more valuable.
  
• Make sure to do your research and consult with experts before making any decisions about your domain.