The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Morning Folks!!

Truth be told, I make a Living on Folks that Think Completely Different than Me. That's right people who completely disagree with me in fact. It is because they see the world differently that allows me to make money. To get a head start. To have what they need before they know they will need it.

I know that if you are building your empire on .somethingotherthandotcom and you have a great success or even a modest success, that you are going to have a need, want and a desire for my .com. Now I did not know this when I bought my dotcoms. EXPANSION is what provided that knowledge.

.Whatever will enjoy some success. However their success does not translate to many of us nor the end-user. But it does put them on the journey of knowledge and when they pass a certain point, it is pretty easy to predict their need, want and desire and then their actions.  You can also predict their anger or disappointment or frustration. But some of those emotions are starting to dwindle as again knowledge replaces them.

If everyone thought the same it would be hard to make money. It is the different ways of thinking that are the fuel for capitalism.

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

This post may not be as meaningful without reading my first post earlier today.

Candy.com = empire.

.Candy= empire

BUT

Hard.candy.com, chocolate.candy.com, dietetic.candy.com = unlimited variations =

vs

hard.candy, chocolate.candy, dietetic.candy single domain names that are difficult and may be impossible to expand and compete with each other. They are likely owned by hundreds of different folks. That seems to divide a market not be able to take over one.

So the latter you have to win all 3 variations and the hundreds of thousands of others to take control but with candy.com you get them all as add-on.

So I as the .com owner compete with the registry not with the single domains. I already own those. All the others compete with each other. I have EVERY variation and combination they can come up with. EVERY single one and the confusion all those folks combined will cause will also cause Candy.com to grow and expand and become bigger and more powerful.

And the owner of the whatever.candy owns ONE! He controls ONE! And he expands how??

My value is DESTINED to skyrocket and I just demonstrated  ONE reason why. Just one. There are many. It has taken me 2 YEARS and dozens of blog posts right here that examined this issue from top to bottom and side to side.

And tomorrow I will be posting the video that will be watched from every corner of this industry and beyond. I hope it plays as well out here as it did inside the conference room. We kicked things around and everyone made their points and the future tells all.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

At the end of the day I believe it will be sub-domains that will be the most triumphant of all. When it is all said  and done, sub-domains have more of a chance to bring order and clarity to the Internet than all the .whatevers.

There were no skyscrapers before room ran out and they had to build up. So if their argument is right, they have just as good a chance to build up, as build on .whatever. But it will be the headwinds of .whatever that will drive the building of skyscrapers. These fortune 500 companies already have their skyscrapers and since they are about branding why would they want to sheer away their power and stature by their own hands?? Makes no sense to me.

So I look at my 404's and sub-domains are #1. What are they looking for there? How did they get there? Why?

Cotton.Candy

CottonCandy.com

Cotton.Candy.com

Point is as the .com owner I have ALL variables and they don't. They have 1.

Test it yourself.

Sneakers.Nike

NikeSneakers.com

Sneakers.Nike.com

Which do you think would be easiest to teach the masses? Look what happens below. Are those links? Typos? Huh?

If Nike.com is your root, then pretty easy to go left of the dot and insert any and every product.Now I know you can do that with Sneakers.Nike.But what happens when you forget the space.Is that Nike.But.I am very confused because I am not sure if it is a typo.But probably not.I am sure it is something else. Of course .com denotes internet and a little less confusing.But choose your poison.

And a sub-domain can be divided again and again.

Recipes.Cotton.Candy.com

.com says Internet.

Why not take the 800 off of the toll-free and add something else?? There is a reason. 800 number means telephone. It means free call. It means easy. It meant in the old days that you did not need a dime in the phone booth to call an 800 number. Convenience.

.com has the same things instilled in us. The masses. Nearly 20 years of constant advertising and constant hearing of something.

The future is nothing more than a casino. But that casino works on historical and empirical evidence to tilt things one way or another.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

If you look to the center right in the picture below you will see a parking lot. Pay Per Park or Pay er Click. SAME THING! I took the photo earlier this week from my Room at the Ritz.

The lot has been there for decades. Maybe it was something else at one time. Maybe it was once developed. Maybe not. Fort Lauderdale is 101 years old. He pays hs taxes and he has a nice lot a block away from the ocean. That's all we do. And once in a while somebody may come along with a larger  and grander plan. Maybe a hotel. Maybe a skyscraper. It's been the way of the world for a very long time. The perfect parallel. Don't ever second guess it!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So I had just about come to terms with leasing one of my adult domains, GayEscorts.com. But then I remembered the Escort.com case and decided that a lease might leave me with some exposure whether real or not and I decided it would be better to do a different setup.

So I used a standard 5 year option purchase of $121,550 that will provide me payments for 5 years and a balloon payment at the end of 5 years or I will get the domain back. Escrow.com holds the paper and while it is not one of the best deals I have made, it is a deal and it is one of the first adult domains I have ever sold.

It takes a domain that earned me $65 last year on ppc and will make me many times that a month now. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Just a quick reminder that TRAFFIC is not totally over. Our silent auction hosted by Above.com is still running and as I write this 23 different domains have bids. Highest bids so far are $12,000 for Postal.com, $10,000 for Hairdressers.com and $2000 for authorizing.com. Menswatch.com and TampaBayCruise.com are the most active with 9 bids each.

http://www.above.com/marketplace/traffic.html?SortOn=bids_sort&SortType=DESC

Auction Ends Thursday.

Still working on the Schwartz vs Schilling video and should be up this weekend.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

If you pick a one member WIPO panel you are BRAIN-DEAD and CHEAP and the chances are you will lose your domain. It's that simple. Why even send the $1200? Just lay down!

So Berkens reported that a domain (canary.com) that should have been an EASY RDNH was actually lost because the domainer used a 1 member panel and I am not sure even with that how his attorney could lose, but they did. 1 member panels are the KISS OF DEATH and I have said it for years. You may as well just give them the domain and save a few grand.

So the valuable name Canary.com was transferred to the complainant because why?? Because the domain owner was Cheap or stupid or both? Pick your flavor.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

How stupid can you get?? I would strongly advise staying away from registering domains trying to syphon traffic off of healthcare.gov. I truly believe if you do, you are flirting with losing your freedom. This is not a joke, you mess with the Feds, you deal with your mess.

Now, if you owned those domains getting traffic LONG before this all started, I would think you are safe, but you too could be grabbed as the net does not distinguish between the two. Be careful. This is not something you want to mess with.

The good news is that traffic is getting some long needed attention. The fact that healthcare.COM is getting 30% or MORE of the healthcare.GOV traffic and now it is widely known. This is a BIG DEAL. Widely known.

I mean talk about clusterf*cks, this is the mother of all clusterf*cks. This is what a clusterf*ck looks like. As an industry, we are about to have a front seat to a number of small clusterf*cks.

So don't get caught up in this mess or you may be sorry. I doubt they care if it is a parked page, an actual site or anything else. They use NETS to roundup offenders and they don't distinguish with degree. My prediction is some domainers are gonna have the feds show up on their front door step THIS YEAR!

http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2537691

Rick Schwartz

Good Afternoon Folks!!

As I have stated previously, our sessions were among the best attended ever. The content was real and it was unvarnished and it was stuff you can use right now. But that would not happen without the speakers. The speakers are golden and they are all willing to share. They don't agree on a lot of things and that is why we can hear both vistas of opinion and come to your own conclusions.

So these speakers come to TRAFFIC for a few days and I rope them in to appearing on stage and helping me out. I literally could not do it without them. They give of their time, energy and thought process and I don't thank them enough for what they do to make TRAFFIC such a great event. YOU are TRAFFIC.

So thanks to each and every one of you. Your testimony in the future will be even more important than it is now.

And of course a special thanks to Frank Schilling and Adam Dicker for each holding great dinners. Memorable dinners. Vivid experiences. Plus appearing on panels and Frank participating in a fantastic debate over gTLD's. A debate that I expect to post right here this Friday that was so much fun and was just so cool. So thank you guys so very much. Adam's seminar was worth the price of admission. Schwartz/Schilling was worth the price of admission. Berkens says Meeting of the Chiefs was worth the price of admission .

Thank you to all speakers. Lonnie, thanks for being on Team Schwartz. Ron Jackson, thanks for chronicling the event that is so well done you feel like you are there.

Andee Hill who enlightened us and played a key role in the auction with the help of Escrow.com.

Ammar with his spiffy wardrobe and fantastic taste in robes and the "Toga Party" that followed at Gregg McNair's suite. No details available.

Finally the Michaels. Michael Berkens for all he does throughout the year. The Domains.com keeps me posted on the things I need to know. The guy is like having a research staff on payroll. Michel Cyger, just doing a great job for the industry and a tip of the hat!

Now if I keep going I will never finish this post. I just can't thank the speakers enough. The most knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to domaining.

To everyone else, my deep gratitude and if I were not so exhausted I would go on and on and on. I will have more posts about what I saw as a result of this show. Clarity for one thing. But I have to save that for another day and another post. We are a special business fraternity of forward thinkers that are happy to welcome new folks and have deep regard for each other and their accomplishments. Salute!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

What was the takeaway from TRAFFIC 2013? The mood of those coming to TRAFFIC was more than optimistic. It was almost giddy! I don't think we have seen such excitement since 2007-2008 and I think everyone attending knows we are about to blow the doors off of business. What is coming is what I have been saying all summer in post after post on subject after subject. I wanted to be CRYSTAL CLEAR about the BOOM that is HERE! Here! Not coming. HERE!

A culmination of many years brought us all to this point and from here I see nothing but great things as far as this business is concerned. Now if you are not getting your fair share, change your game and how you approach it. Revise. Clean and clear away previous misconceptions.

Nobody says it is easy but the opportunity is there and with a little effort and thought and planning, you can seize that opportunity. We had a house full of folks at TRAFFIC and they were there for a specific reason. Seize opportunity and they did!

Like I said, you will hear about it as time goes on. You will hear from not just me. But I always want to be on record. And on record early.

As I have said for many years, Howard and I simply facilitate things so you can do months worth of business in HOURS.

So these are THE most exciting times in domaining to date. While some domainers tanked because they played a short-term game, they can still regroup, rethink and try again. It's not a horrible thing to start over armed with what you have learned.

The most surprising thing? The sessions were some of the heaviest attended ever and it was far from our largest show. Very interesting dynamic. Folks were on their game and very cordial and it was just a great week overall.

TRAFFIC does one thing that I think is priceless. It recharges your internal business battery and outlook in a way that is very helpful and meaningful.

The next 12 months will be what dreams are made of. An avalanche of deals are being done. Stunning deals. So all I can say is don't sell yourself short. You have unique assets that have great value.

Rick Schwartz