In the shadow of the top-two all-time domain name sales of Sex.com and Porn.com for $12.5 million and $9.5 million respectively, the thought of investing in a premium adult domain name can seem daunting. Truth is, while these sales show how well-positioned the adult industry is for domain name investment, they have also fueled an influx of adult domains that are ill-suited to attract Web traffic or boost revenue. Sex may sell with domain names, as with the adult film industry, but only if the product is attractive enough to catch visitors' attention.
To help deliver a solid return on your adult domain investments, we have gathered some expert tips to bring you more sex appeal and customers.
Generic, Descriptive Domains Remain the Best Bet
They may be simple, but they certainly aren't boring. Commonly used generic terms, as seen in the cases of Sex.com and Porn.com, are best for garnering Web traffic and revenue because they leverage the phenomenon of direct navigation traffic - the result of Web users that enter keywords directly into a browser. In fact, one in six searches are conducted this way, and it accounts for 10 percent of Google's search engine revenues. Evidently, many web users choose this method, and better yet, they are nearly twice more likely to produce ad conversions than search engine traffic, according to recent research by WebSideStory.
While direct navigation traffic is preferred when it comes to quality, these generic, descriptive names (e.g. Centerfolds.com) also often serve as popular search engine keywords and automatically garner high rankings, and thus high search engine traffic, from Yahoo! and Google. Although acquiring domains of this kind require a larger investment - they can often be purchased through auctions at secondary domain marketplaces online -- their return on investment can be virtually immediate from the sheer number of qualified type-in traffic they attract and their built-in advantage with search engines.
Bigger Isn't Always Better
If you plan to develop a website around your domain, generally, the shorter it is, the better the traffic generation. Memorable two-to-three letter, or one-to-two word domain names are valuable because they can easily be remembered by return visitors. The longer a domain becomes, and the more creative license a buyer uses by including hyphens, numbers, and exotic extensions to create their domain name, the less legitimate the site appears, and the more likely it is that the domain will be misspelled or forgotten, resulting in loss of traffic. To avoid this, entrepreneurs should consider registering a number of possible misspellings of their domain name and redirect them to their main website (e.g. AdultFriendFinder.com purchasing AdultsFriendFinder.com).
Should You Pursue .me?
Given the focus on self-gratification in the adult industry, the newly issued .me domain extension offers a unique opportunity to acquire a truly memorable adult domain name. While the .me extension has not gained enough adoption to attract much of the natural traffic discussed above, it is quickly gaining traction with more than 200,000 registrations thus far, and offers domain buyers the opportunity to own unforgettable and highly descriptive web addresses that could be used to brand a new adult site or company. Domains recently available through auction at Sedo.com, for example, include Shag.me, Nail.me and Rock.me.
Diversify Your Domains
Although it is very important to research the natural traffic and general marketability of a domain name, its ultimate value will be determined by how it is used. Often a multi-domain name strategy, consisting of a company's branded website, additional keyword-related domain names that drive Web traffic to the main site(e.g. German retailer EIS.de recently purchasing EroticShop.com to redirect traffic), and the addition of misspellings of these domains, can work well in correlation. Those who have invested in a popular name, but are still in the process of developing their website, should consider seeking revenue through domain parking services, through which a domain owner can monetize their domains by displaying targeted pay-per-click (PPC) ads. The ads are provided by advertising partners of parking companies and payment is given out on a PPC basis. The success of your parked site will depend largely on the simplicity of the name, and whether it contains frequently used keywords.
It's an opportune time to purchase quality adult domains with valuations currently low yet set to rebound as the economy recovers. However, this opportunity requires an investment in domains that are memorable, brandable, and can generate traffic through direct navigation and search engines.
Jeremiah Johnston is general counsel and chief operating officer of the online domain name and website marketplace, Sedo.
This article originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of AVN Online. To subscribe, visit AVNMediaNetwork.com/subscribe
