FW: Afternic to visit domainers in Europe
Domainer Meeting in Europe Afternic is a sponsor for the Domainer Meeting in Barcelona, July 25-27. While the meeting is being held in Spain, this is not exclusively a European event. Domainers from around the world will be in attendance. This meeting stands apart from other domainer conferences because the primary purpose is networking. We have organized several lunches, dinners and receptions, and there will be many opportunities for relaxing, private discussions and tourist outings. I know that this is short notice, but there are still rooms available at the Ritz-Carlton. I haven't seen it, but I understand this is a terrific hotel in a great part of town. Be sure to register right away to reserve your place in the meetings and at the Ritz-Carlton in Barcelona. Real Estate Domains Remain Hot As Realty Marketplace Becomes More Virtual Article by: Peter Lamson, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Buy Domains "Old Rule: A picture is worth a thousand words. New Rule: A website is worth a thousand pictures," writes Dan Gooder Richards, in the online Realty Times (R) newsletter. Surveys show that the Internet is playing an increasingly important role in property marketing, agent selection and home selection. This shift away from bricks-and-mortar to a virtual real estate market is driving strong demand for real estate-related domains. How Is The Web Impacting The Consumer? Data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that as a result of viewing listings online : 75% of prospective buyers previewed or drove by a home 57% walked through a home which they had viewed online More than 3 in 4 used the Internet in their home search Domain names are used to develop : Personalized realtor sites offering daily property updates, broad-based listings and statistics on target neighborhoods served Sites like zillow.com allow home buyers and sellers to conduct pricing comparisons on specific properties Micro-sites for specific listings even gives consumers the chance to experience a virtual tour before committing to a physical showing Traffic Patterns and Domain Name Selection You've found your domain name and developed your site. Now what? Web site promotion capitalizing on targeted domain names, through keyword and paid search (Google is the most popular venue for keyword purchases), incorporating direct marketing, is a cost-effective strategy to build site traffic. Research Web traffic patterns; Yahoo! (R) offers a keyword search tool allowing you to see total searches on keywords and phrases for the prior month. Visit: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/srch/srch_pr.php and click on the Keyword Search Tool. Real estate-related searches number in the millions each month--identifying a domain name that will capitalize on this traffic is the first step toward a successful real estate business. Consider the example "CarolinasRealty.com", and let's examine May traffic to the following terms on Yahoo! (R): 50,233 searches on "Columbia, South Carolina real estate" 28,405 searches on "South Carolina real estate" 23,352 searches on "Greenville, South Carolina real estate" The sizeable natural search base for South Carolina-related real estate searches is an attractive proposition for a business person setting up the site "CarolinasRealty.com". Where Is the Real Estate Domain Market Heading? A recent study pegged domain name appreciation at 94%, based on study of over 2,000 domains from 2004 through 2005. While the study did not focus on real estate terms in particular, it highlights a general marketplace trend toward higher domain name pricing. The value and importance of virtual real estate tools continues to evolve in service to an increasingly global and more mobile population. This virtualization drive should ensure that real estate domains remain in high demand, with corresponding price appreciation. Featured Real Estate Domain Names BigAppleRealEstate.com 4,400.00 TexasRealty.net 3,088.00 CapitalRealty.net 1,400.00 SummitRealty.net 1,188.00 CoastRealty.net 800.00 FarmLands.com 5,400.00 SouthwesternRealty.com 700.00 RuralHouses.com 1,100.00 ViewRealty.com : 2,300.00 BluffRealEstate.com : 1,650.00 QualityHouses.com 700.00 CanyonRealEstate.com 1,200.00 BeachfrontProperty.com 31,000.00 MAhouses.com 700.00 LuxuryTownhouses.com 3,200.00 MEhouses.com 900.00 Best Regards, Michael Collins VP Marketing Afternic.com
