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

 'The single
biggest cost website owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being
lost.' Since it is invisible, you have to look HARD and DEEP to see it.
Are you willing to do that? Do you have a website? Would making 10x-100x more
than you are now be important to you? The next few paragraphs can help you
accomplish that and it is free for the reading. You are even entitled to disagree with me but you would be 100% wrong. Don't get those feathers ruffled yet. I am gonna make anyone who reads the following and has the NERVE to understand it, a LOT of money.

This is the 3rd
time I have pointed this out during this short blog. But I have never devoted
the time to dissect this ONE piece of the puzzle. This KEY piece.

Let's start like
this. The last thing I will tell you why this is so important to me.
But I WILL tell you. But before I do this let's look at this the right way. If
you have a store onMain Street or in the mall and 1000 people walked in and NOBODY bought anything, would you
continue to do business as usual or would you make some adjustments? Well if
you do nothing, you will soon be out of business. On the net, MANY think there
is a different equation. Are they kidding? If you make no sales, you will soon
be out of business.

So let's say you
sell widgets. 1000 customers come to your website and nobody buys your widgets.
You think that is OK??? You close 1 in 1000 and you think THAT is OK??? You
accept that? Are you nuts? You would not accept this in the REAL world and you
should not accept that in the VIRTUAL world.

Assuming you
have good widgets and there is a market for your widgets then there are
techniques to close more sales by improving your website and your customer
service. Why do so few even talk about this? Well how many people in the
universe even know about this subject? Then from there you have to separate the
ones that actually know what the hell they are talking about from the ones
that are full of crap.

All I can tell
you for a FACT (assuming you have a good product or service) it does not take a
lot of effort to take 0 in 1000 or 1 in 1000 to 10 in 1000 and maybe 100 in
1000.

And NOW the
REASON why I am so hung up on this single BOTTLENECK. When I send traffic to
folks that are only closing 1 in 1000 I am making a fraction of what I could be
making if they closed more sales. So for every million I make TODAY, that same
traffic could easily earn 10x that. 100x that. THAT is the reason. Selfish as
it is from where I sit, it's not selfish to tell merchants that they are aiming
LOW when they should be aiming HIGH. Merchandising a website is no different
than your physical store. Your traffic flow is no different than your physical
store. But to be blunt, it takes a different set of talents to close a sale on
your website than it does in your store onMain Street  or in the mall. Wine is wine
until you find a connoisseur to explain the difference between a $5 bottle of
wine and a $500 bottle. Art is art until you find an expert to show you the
difference between a $10 print and a $10 million original. So if you want to
see what is not visible to YOUR EYE you need to find folks that have the talent
so you can use THEIR EYE!

The problem is
probably only a few hundred people on the planet have such a talent, maybe
less. So you either have to find them (And they are likely not available) or
learn to see this for yourselves. The best I can do is introduce you to this
line of thinking. How did I learn? Lots of experimenting over many years
with hundreds of millions of unique visitors to my domain names. I had to learn
to make lemonade from lemons from the ground up and using virtual lemons.

'The single
biggest cost website owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being
lost.' I cannot repeat this enough. Not visible to the naked eye. At least
an UNTRAINED naked eye. I see it like I see the screen in front of me. It is
THAT clear. I hope you can see what I see. If you don't see it....it's not
because it is not there.

Have a GREAT Day!

I have been making daily posts for more than a decade. Long
before the 'Blog' came to be. So I have no deep passion to continue
to do that. However I do want to get some of what I have shared privately
with other domain owners out to a larger and more general audience. It was hard
enough to convince domain owners that 'Type in'' traffic was a
very valuable commodity and it had direct connection with the value of a domain
name. I think I have done a good job here comparing that traffic to
'Mineral rights' like an oil well. I am trying to melt things down to
some simple foundations. The first being to have folks understand how bad they
screwed up by missing this multi billion dollar business that is STILL under
the radar.

If I encounter folks that STILL can't grasp how valuable and
important that a domain like Hotels.com is and still sees no value in having
thousands of NEW customers lined up each and every day at their business, well,
do you think I am going to waste my TIME with THEM?? At least come to the point
where you smack your palm on your head and say 'OH!!!' If you can't
do that......don't waste time here. Follow the plan of etoys.com. They spent
tens of millions in advertising and their GENIUSES in their IT department
FAILED to have the traffic folks were typing in directly to the browser bar get to their site. It was
Thanksgiving Day 1999 I think. Commercial after commercial. etoys.com all day
long. So I typed 'Etoys.com' into the browser bar. Guess what?? I get
a 404 error!!!! Why?? Because the GENIUSES in IT could not get into the minds
of a customer watching a commercial and figure out that they won't type in http://www.etoys.com.
So they lost a HUGE amount of the customers and to this MOMENT, they don't even
know. Why do I bring this up? Well besides losing hundreds of thousands in the
stock, it illustrates why Internet ONE collapsed. Tech guys ran marketing
because marketing guys were clueless and they had to depend on folks that had
no clue about marketing. Add that to the flawed impression based ads and you
had the makings of a collapse.

So now I rambled a bit. But it connects to something I said
last week that needs to be understood. 'The single biggest cost website
owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being lost.' I often say, and
I truly believe, that more sales are being lost on the net than actually being
made on the net. Read more about it on my April 17th post 'Truth to
power.'

So now that I have defined a couple things let me get back
to the purpose of this blog post. This is a blog that I know domain owners will
appreciate. But as much as I like you guys, it isn't for you directly. It is
for the masses in the corporate world that don't get it. It is for the masses
in the investment community that are missing one of the easiest way to grow
money with the lowest entry fees of any commodity ever. It is for the guy on
Main Street that
has 5 customers a day walking thru his doors that can easily be transformed to
thousands if they knew the path. It is for domain owners to point to so that
others may have a quick understanding of what a GREAT domain name represents.
Then taking it a step further.

I hope folks will use these limited posts to help folks
grasp the power of domain names. It can be overwhelming and complex at times.
My job is to simplify how folks look at domains and the importance they have.
Besides the outright business of a domain name it is also becoming
a status symbol, a collectible and a statement.

What once was a game played by a few dozen people is now a
thriving industry that is supported worldwide and now has a dozen or more trade
shows each year. The premiere event is T.R.A.F.F.I.C. which is the largest and
is by invitation only. This just illustrates why domain names are in such
demand and why prices of this commodity has gone up faster than ANY other
commodity EVER KNOWN to mankind. Besides .com there are some 330 country codes
plus other extensions and new ones coming. So the opportunity is not over. On
the other hand each day that passes makes entry more difficult unless you come
with a thick wallet. It is not uncommon for a domain purchased for $100 in 1996
to sell for $100,000 just a few years later.

People will be leaving comments on posts here for many years
to come. The debate may be heated at times, but the blog today with 15
posts in April 2007 will be more active a year from now with limited posts.
Consider this ground zero for the great domain debate. The debate is really
over. The story has been written, but there are about 6 billion folks that
still need to understand and embrace.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

In business
every decision I make is based on a set of assumptions. Some assumptions prove
right, some prove wrong and some prove not to even matter. But you have to base
an improvement or a change on an assumption. If the assumption proves wrong,
your job is to step back and start again. DO NOT just continue on. MOVE BACK
because that is your benchmark and you don't want to abandon that benchmark
until you reach a new plateau and can sustain that plateau. Without a “Working
assumption” I would be lost. I would rather be wrong, make a mistake and correcting
the mistake than being “Lost.”

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz

Domains and a
website are the exact intersection of art and science. To me this is where they
collide and merge. First of all many if not most will not even agree with the
statement that a website is where art meets science. To me it is crystal clear.
And very simple.

Art? Why art?
Well that is pretty easy. The art is the website. The feeling you get when you
are on the website. Is it static and boring or is it warm and cozy? Are the
colors easy on the eyes? Is the contrast right so it is easy to read? Do you feel
welcome? These are all elements of art and there is a little science behind
some of that because of an overlap. We know what colors work best. We know what
things touch the senses. We know how masses will react when specific stimuli is
applied. That sounds like science to me. Science on the art side before we even
get to the science side. Confused?

Now on the
science side we talk traffic. How potent is that traffic? How targeted is the
traffic? What is the source of that traffic? How much you pay for that traffic?
What that traffic is worth and finally what that traffic produces in the way of
profits.

Once you have
the traffic and you have the fuzzy feeling art the next component of the
science is how the traffic flows thru your site. As a site owner you are also a
traffic cop. Just like a supermarket or a department store, your job is to
gently guide your customers to where YOU want them to go to BUY what
YOU want them to buy. If you gain control than at least 75% will be guided to where
you want. Your job is to tweak one link at a time. One new position at a time.
One new color at a time. One new anything at a time and then wait until you see
a real result. Art and science together at last!

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

The power of
domain traffic is far from understood. But in most cases it is highly targeted
and potent. What if I told you that type in traffic from domain names is a
bigger number than the numbers American Idol pulls? What if I told you that
instead of 'Idol' doing it a couple times a week, with domain names
that traffic is generated every single day of the year? And what if I told you
that instead of having 50 million viewers with different interests watching the
same commercial the domain name can give you the power to advertise to just one
segment with the same interests?  Did you hear that? Do you understand
what that means? The power these domains possess? Imagine what that would do to
the sales of the end user. Imagine which way the rates would go if they doubled
or tripled their business. 

In fact the
daily visitor count for all combined domain names DWARFS American Idol and the
buying power is off the chart. This does not even include type ins to brands
like Microsoft.com, Dell.com, Amazon.com, Costco.com and millions of other
companies. These are just generic, keyword domain names from visitors looking
for something specific. You have their UNDIVIDED attention. Why is that
important? Read on! 

Did I mention
that when watching the commercials on Idol that 30% of the audience is peeing.
30% just opened the refrigerator, another 30% just are not paying close
attention and the other 10% are arguing about Sanjaya not being there. Compare
that to a visitor ACTIVELY typing in a specific domain name. That is a MUCH
higher level customer and he deserves your attention. It can be either a brand
like amazon.com or neimanmarcus.com or it can be a generic like colds.com or
shoedepartment.com. All are actively looking to fill a need and you can either
fill that need or lose another customer. Thecomparative numbers between the 2 forms of
advertising are finally starting to be talked about. And that brings me to
another subject. Click Fraud. That's just nonsense! As Dr. John Berryhill
pointed out at a recent TRAFFIC convention, do you hear about fraud when the
newspaper gets thrown away without reading? Do you hear about fraud when all
those folks leave their TV's during the commercials?

It is my
personal belief that this is just a red herring introduced by folks with
millions to lose. But instead of running scared it is TIME for them to fully
embrace the net and realize there are less blacksmith shops today then 100
years ago no matter what they tried to do to save their old set ways.

Don't be part of the 98% of the masses that GIVE UP! They give up, throw in the towel and often when they are at the brink of achieving their goals. 98% just give up. They lose. They lose not by some outside force. They lose not by some force of the marketplace. They lose because their MINDS just gave up. Lost patience, collapsed. That allows the 2% to come along and scoop up YOUR success with little or no effort. You did YEARS of work, they get rewarded for YOUR work in minutes. All because you gave up.

Imagine you are 5 years old and you are on a 20 hour trip to Disneyland. It is 11 hours into the trip. Instead of focusing on the reward for putting up with the 20 hour trip, you feel dejected. You are tired and cranky and you want to turn back before you get your reward. That is a TRICK played by your mind and it is YOUR JOB to outsmart your mind. Outsmart the feeling that can only sink you. Now imagine the same scenario after 18 hours. All pain no gain if you quit and turn around. The result, 36 hours of driving with no results to show for your time. But guess what?? 98% of all people do exactly that when it comes to business goals. They quit just before they realize their goal. Instead of the great feeling you get after a great success, they get nothing but a sick feeling every time they look back. Instead of getting fuel for the next task, they added an anchor to their leg and their minds. That automatically makes the next task even harder to have a success with because instead of exercising their “Success muscle” they have exercised and made stronger their “Failure muscle.”

The main KEYS to all this is TIME, PATIENCE and TIMING. If you picked the wrong TIME to do something your results may not be the same if you had chosen the RIGHT TIME. Unfortunate as it is, when the RIGHT TIME comes, many are so battle fatigued that they are ready to give up at the PRECISE MOMENT they should do the exact opposite and work their hardest as their GOAL is right over the next horizon. They just ran out of patience and a great victory has been snatched by the jaws of defeat.

Don't even think about being part of the 98% of masses that embrace failure and fear success. Don’t feed failure and starve success. Don’t be one to achieve failure because you give up on the doorstep of success. And more importantly, don’t fear failure unless you give up and don’t learn anything. Failure on the journey is an opportunity for success unless you give up. If you make a wrong turn on the way to it is only a failure it that is the point you decide to give up. For the 2%, that “Failure” is no failure at all. It is a CLUE to your next success!

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

We speak truth to power, and if they don't like it....TOO BAD! My job is to have domains recognized in the marketplace for the great investment that they are. More importantly it is to have businesses of every industry  look at and understand the source and quality of the traffic produced by GREAT domain names. Massive amounts of targeted visitors looking for something very specific.

This “type in” traffic can be converted into buyers when matched with the right product and website (or as I look at it…….“Mousetrap”) at a higher rate than average traffic. Often at astoundingly higher rates. Now if you don’t know about this then it is your JOB to learn about it. If you don’t believe it then it is your JOB to find out why you are flat out wrong. If you don’t care and you run a website that is dependant on closing more sales, then either wake up or have your competition figure it out and give you years of angst for goofing up!

My job is to help folks understand the importance domain names have in the future of commerce throughout the world and throughout the lifetimes of everyone reading this. To get the highest possible revenue our domains can make and keep prices rising by educating website owners the science and the art of closing more sales and gaining new and future customers.

From where I sit, THIS is the perfect intersection of “Science and art.” The science of targeted traffic. The science of closing more sales. The science of understanding the visitor and so on. The art is of course your  website. Is it flat, dull, boring? The art of your website is an important piece of this equation. The art of how you lead your customer thru the maze and to the cash register at the end of that maze. The intersection of “Science and art” when that sale is made.

If you are paying attention the one question you might ask is how many visitors are we talking about? THAT would be a great question! The answer is stunning. I have an entire post devoted to it. But to just give you a LOUD HINT……..Let’s just say it may DWARF “American Idol” and it runs 365 days a year. Now folks that is POWERFUL. VERY powerful.

The single biggest cost website owners incur is the invisible cost of sales being lost. I often say, and I truly believe, that more sales are being lost on the net than actually being made on the net. If you read this post and you are a company leader and just shrug your shoulders…. there is little else I can say. Your mind is made up. You live in a world where doing the best you can has no meaning. Being #1 has no meaning. You are mediocre at best. And if that ruffles your feathers and pisses you off, guess what?? That is called, “TRUTH TO POWER.”

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

I think that "What if" is an important question to ask if you are looking at the COMPLETE picture. What if my competition can market online better than my company? What if their costs for a new customer are lower than mine? What if they spend 100% of their budget online and I only spend 20%? What if I am losing market share?

"What if".......What if Ford owned Cars.com? Perhaps their financial condition would be better?

The POINT of all this.......What if you are hiring folks that are missing the BIG things? What if your CEO got $150 million in annual salary plus bonus and your company lost money? I just love the NEW MATH!! Reward FAILURE!!?? You want me to buy into THAT?? I wonder how all the dead guys I talked about earler would feel about that?

That's when "What if" turns into "No Way!"

What if?

Go down the following list. Many of these companies have already been posted by you folks as you are one step ahead of me. Ask some "What if questions. What if they did not secure the domain name? What if their competitor got it? What if you just are WRONG about the importance of GREAT domain names? What if it was a unique opportunity in time and you would never get a second chance to make the right decision?

What if???

See I think it is one thing to have just missed something. But in the light of all the evidence what if your company is being run by folks that are still missing it?

WHAT IF?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Chips.com Intel inc
Vitamins.com Puritan's Pride
Vitamin.com Nature Made
Plants.com Stokes Tropical
Pens.com National Pen Company
Trashcans.com Dawn Concrete and Stone products
Saddles.com County Saddlery.com
Laundry.com Tide.com
Vacations.com TRAVELOCITY.com
Burgers.com Carl's Jr
Freezers.com Polarpod
LCDS.com Lumex.com
Ink.com FlintGroup
Label.com Bradley name plates
Bottles.com Custom Bottles
Talk.com Cavalier Telephone
Buttons.com JHB International
Carpets.com Al Abdullatif Industrial investment company
Names.com Family-Crest.com
Brush.com Braun Brush Company
Salads.com Foxy Fresh Vegatables
Costumes.com Rubie's Costume company
BreadMachine.com Krusteaz Continental Mills
TreadMills.com Woodway Inc
WheelChairs.com 21st century Scientific
WheelChair.com 1-800-Wheelchair.com
Worldmaps.com The Map and globe store
Gourmet.com Epicurious.com
Visit.com Citybreak inc
Floors.com Mannington.com
Tennisshoes.com K Swiss
Plate.com Kenilworth Steel
Flag.com Aradyne flags
Dentures.com Fixodent
DentalCare.com Procter and Gamble
PoliceBadges.com Berben Insignia company
Sweepers.com contract sweepers and equipment
Foodprocessors.com Kitchenaid

Word.com Merriam Webster dictionary
Eat.com Ragu
Scooters.com Honda
Dogfood.com Petsmart
Motorcycles.com Honda
Dish.com Dawn soap
Collectibles.com ShopatHometv.com
Gear.com Overstock

Heat.com NBA
Open.com American Express
Jobs.com Monster
Coat.com Burlington Northern Coat factory
Go.com Disney
Dig.com Disney
Beds.com Select comfort
Toothpaste.com Proctor and Gamble
Games.com aol.com

Wow.com aol.com
Game.com hasbro.com
Tacos.com TacoBell
Do.com MSN

shoes.com = brown shoe company

IceCream.com Edy's IceCream
Sauce.com Ragu spaghetti sauce
Soap.com Hill Manufacturing
Glasses.com 1-800-Contacts.com
Aspirin.com Bayer
Coffee.com Peet's coffee
Bikes.com Rocky Mountain Bikes

cnet.com owns some great ones such as:

BESTBARGAINS.COM
BROWSER.COM
BUILDER.COM
CATCHUP.COM
COMPUTERS.COM
FUTURE.COM
labs.com
news.com
shopper.com
upload.com
uploads.com
Radio.com
TV.com
Chat.com
Kids.com
KIDS.com
downloads.com
freeware.com
shareware.com
help.com
radio.com
search.com
events.com

Disney owns many. Here are a few.:
Movie.com
Movies.com
Video.com

IAC has many known and many not so known. Here is just a few.

Gifts.com (formerly with ReadersDigest)
Entertainment.com
RealEstate.com
Ask.com
Hotels.com
Chemistry.com
Match.com
etc. etc. etc