A lazy post

[Alan]

This is a little bit of a lazy post, but new members get away with it, so thought I'd give it a go.

A few years ago I ( and my business partner now not in my businesses ) purchased a domain name, from the liquidator of a directory that went bust. locally.co.uk it suited our brand at the time.

Now, the domain name has nothing to do with my brand and I'm reluctant to sell it, as it probably will only realise a third or less than I paid for it.

So my lazy question is, what can I do with it without investing very much to make the name work for itself? Ideas please.

 

[Aniela]

This is a little bit of a lazy post, but new members get away with it, so thought I'd give it a go.

A few years ago I ( and my business partner now not in my businesses ) purchased a domain name, from the liquidator of a directory that went bust. locally.co.uk it suited our brand at the time.

Now, the domain name has nothing to do with my brand and I'm reluctant to sell it, as it probably will only realise a third or less than I paid for it.

So my lazy question is, what can I do with it without investing very much to make the name work for itself? Ideas please.

It's actually a rather nice domain and one I would say is worth a bit more than normal due to the pandemic as a lot of people are thinking about "shopping local" etc to support their towns etc.

For where it's main value is held, I'm not sure you can do much without investing much money or time.

I'm picturing a shop directory for people to search for local businesses. Alternatively, I'm picturing it as an amazing brand name for one of those free local circulars that go around with advertising in it; but that's the exact opposite of not wanting to spend much money etc.

I'd buy it for the right price?

 

[Alan]

I'm picturing a shop directory for people to search for local businesses. Alternatively, I'm picturing it as an amazing brand name for one of those free local circulars that go around with advertising in it; but that's the exact opposite of not wanting to spend much money etc.

Yes - well we purchased it from a liquidator of exactly that

I'd buy it for the right price?

I'd sell it for the right price

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I don't think many domains hold much value
Some dodgy sales people use the line it will put you at the top of google
Ad words and good seo put you at the top

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I don't think many domains hold much value
Some dodgy sales people use the line it will put you at the top of google
Ad words and good seo put you at the top

Shopping.uk sold for £45,000 last year, now used on a site that was previously called Redbrain which is, essentially, an affiliate shopping directory. The new name makes a lot more sense and is brandable, Redbrain was already well established though so the seo value was minimal.

There are similar examples where domains have sold for big sums and sometimes only so someone else can't have it. There are businesses out there with strong cash balances and the willingness to spend on what they perceive as valuable assets.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

So my lazy question is, what can I do with it without investing very much to make the name work for itself? Ideas please.

Develop it, sell it or wait for a silly offer to materialise.

A few 'local' domains sold in 2015 for £2,000 to £8,000. All pretty much undeveloped and still on the shelf.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I don't think many domains hold much value
Some dodgy sales people use the line it will put you at the top of google
Ad words and good seo put you at the top

My domain definitely gets rankings.

But you do need to wonder how many people use 'locally' as a search term

 

[Darren_Ssc]

My domain definitely gets rakings.

But you do need to wonder how many people use 'locally' as a search term

It's more of a 'brandable' domain really. However, locally.com looks like an attempt at development that's either been half-****d or abandoned?

The biggest problem with developing these kind of 'shop local' type ventures is that you need local businesses to buy into the concept.

 

[forevergroup]

Unfortunately the clue is in the previous owner went in to liquidation. Even if you went through the expensive and time-consuming exercise of developing this website in an appropriate way to the domain, you would be entering an incredibly saturated market that would be difficult to monetize.

At the moment, the book value of the domain would be zero. As with all things, value is based on perception and it would need to be someone in the space that really wanted the domain.

That gives two main choices I suppose.
1. Reach out to consolidation-hungry players like centralindex to see if they are interested in buying the domain. Or put it up for sale on a marketplace.
2. Develop it yourself, perhaps even with an off-the-shelf directory plugin for wordpress etc, and see if you can monetise it either through listings or paid/auto ads. You'll of course need to build domain authority, SEO and traffic in a particularly crowded place.

 

[UKSBD]

My problem with it is that it just looks strange

It's a funny word and every time I see it I think it looks spelt wrong or is a made up word (even though it isn't).

 

[Alan]

Unfortunately the clue is in the previous owner went in to liquidation.

Exactly - not going there

However, locally.com looks like an attempt at development that's either been half-****d or abandoned?

Not exactly, put in a US town. It has been slowly developing for years - but probably costs the owners more than it earns

At the moment, the book value of the domain would be zero.

The accounting book value is zero - but that doesn't mean i want to give it away

2. Develop it yourself, perhaps even with an off-the-shelf directory plugin for wordpress etc, and see if you can monetise it either through listings or paid/auto ads. You'll of course need to build domain authority, SEO and traffic in a particularly crowded place.

Just for the first reason above.

But you do need to wonder how many people use 'locally' as a search term

Domain names as search terms are not that relevant, itis more about being a memorable brand word. Had no problem getting the domain to P1-P1 for local web design when I was doing that, and clients still contact me years later remembering the name ( only to be disappointed that I don't build client websites any more, despite what the domain says )

 

[Darren_Ssc]

The accounting book value is zero - but that doesn't mean i want to give it away

How much is that then?