This is the second part in a series on buying traffic domain names.
Once you’re comfortable that the legal side of the portfolio has been addressed then you really need to dive into the traffic numbers and do some research into where the traffic comes from.
So let’s get back to basics. You’re about to purchase a traffic portfolio. The first question that you should ask is, “Where does traffic come from?”
Traffic typically comes from the following sources:
1. Direct type-in
Generic or short domain (eg. Beds.com, gx.com.au)
2. Typos
Typo of a generic domain (eg. Fruit spelt fruit)
Typo of a weak trademark domain (eg. Joespizashop.com instead of Joespizzashop.com)
Typo of a brand (eg. Verison instead of Verizon)
3. Link based traffic
4. Purchased
5. Hijacked traffic such as tool-bars and NXD traffic.
In the above list of places where traffic comes from I’m making no attempt to try and pontificate on whether they are appropriate traffic sources. I’m only indicating that they are sources of traffic. So please do not get upset at the mention of typo, trademark, purchased traffic etc.
Many years ago I purchased my second domain name and it failed miserably to provide any sort of return. Each and every year I faithfully registered the domain to remind myself to ALWAYS ask the question, “Where does the traffic come from?” In my case, the domain had a lot of Russian bot traffic that didn’t monetise at all. There’s nothing like a $10 annual learning course to remind you of an important lesson.