How exactly does Direct to Advertiser work?

Direct to Advertiser (D2A) is exactly that. Traffic that would have gone to a parked domain goes directly to an advertiser.  This monetization method is also called “zero-click,” in that there is no “click.”

How are domains selected  for the Direct to Advertiser model?

1. SmartName partners do not need to do anything; the SmartName platform will take care of everything. In short, visits will go directly to an advertiser if we can earn you more money than on our enhanced PPC parking system.
2. Advertisers have to want the traffic. They do not take all traffic, as advertiser needs and qualifications vary.
3. Domains should be keyword-rich with natural direct type-in traffic.

Why am I seeing no clicks? Does this mean I am not generating any revenue?

Direct to Advertiser  earns you revenue per visit, not per click. You will earn revenue, but may not see a click – this is normal.  Some domain names may have both D2A revenue and PPC revenue, as we work to maximize your earnings.

To learn more,  contact the SmartName account management team at 781-839-7952.

• Our industry leading sales team has the experience to connect buyers and sellers faster
• SmartName has the largest partner distribution network in the industry, giving your domain the highest visibility possible by listing it in a multitude of different places

That partner network just got a huge shot in the arm – Afternic’s Domain Listing Service (DLS) announced a major “win-win” for both domain sellers and buyers at the recent T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference: DLS-listed domains now appear in the main GoDaddy search results when there is an exact match. Afternic, a sister company of SmartName, is the listing service for all SmartName domains that are for sale.

This means that DLS, already the world’s largest domain marketplace, now includes 6 of the world’s top 10 resellers, reaching an audience of 50 million prospective domain buyers monthly. All of your domains that are listed for sale through Afternic will reap the benefits of the partnership.

You do not need to have your domains at Go Daddy to take advantage of this distribution.

If you have questions, please call the Afternic Customer Service team for more information: 1-866-351-9586 (Toll Free) +1 781-839-7990 (Worldwide).

>> Read the press release

SmartName’s sister company, Afternic, has put together many groupings of niche domains. From cloud domain names to lists of travel names, our sales teams have put together bundles of names to make it easy for our buyers to gain a foothold in any marketplace. Check out our examples below:

If you are interested in any of these names or want to inquire about other niche bundles, our domain consultants will be happy to assist you. Reach them at 866-722-9500 Toll Free or 1-781-839-2850 Worldwide.

1. List your names for sale on Afternic
2. Park with SmartName – or Afternic, which is powered by SmartName
3. Price your names

It’s been wonderful to see all the people sell their domains through Afternic’s DLS network, and maximize their parking revenue through SmartName’s advanced optimization techniques.

I have my own domain portfolio, as I’ve been building websites for many years and I have an Internet marketing/SEO background. I own a few hundred names: most have been hand-registered over the last several years and they’re primarily 2, 3, 4, word .com search terms. Some are good, others I can’t wait to drop! In short, nothing fancy.

As my focus is maximizing parking revenue, I’ve been testing my own names across the variety of monetization models available to Afternic partners – Enhanced PPC, Direct-To-Advertiser,

Ecommerce, Content, and Development. I continue to see amazing results even for newly registered domains – many pay for themselves in parking revenue alone.

Over the past few months, I’ve been slowly adding names to Afternic’s domain sales platform, taking advantage of the extra reach of the Domain Listing Service (DLS) premium promotion.

The results: I’ve already sold two names!

What’s interesting is that only two sales paid for my entire domain portfolio investment for a whole year.

NameMedia pioneered domain sales through parking using both its Afternic brand and SmartName. The massive distribution and global reach is available to all Afternic partners. Check it out – you won’t be disappointed!

Contact us today and let us help you maximize your revenue.

Best regards,

Ted

Director, Monetization Services

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. kicks off Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. In advance of the conference, I’d like to make something perfectly clear: I am not Andrew Allemann.

For those that don’t know, Andrew Allemann runs DomainNameWire. He’s pictured on the left above. I’m on the right.

Clearly we’re not the same people, but we are sometimes mistaken for each other. Who could make that mistake? Certainly not the other person in the picture (ahem).

Now I do see the similarities. Wire rim glasses. Similar hair colors. In this picture the blue shirts and black coats add to it. But we’re not the same person.

If you see someone trip and fall at the conference or say something stupid, and you’re not sure which of us you saw, please assume it’s Andrew.

SmartName offers a unique combination of a full range of domain monetization options and the leading domain marketplace. Last month’s SN newsletter announced enhancements to our innovative Direct to Advertiser – also called “zero click” domain monetization – option. This month, we’ll take a look at all of the different parking options we offer:

High Performance PPC Landing Pages: Our industry-leading PPC pages are fully optimized to maximize revenues. Through years of testing, we’ve found what generates you the most revenue.

Full Content Templates: These SEO-friendly templates allow you to populate your parked page with dynamic content, which can help build traffic to your domain and increase its resale value.

Instant Shops: Instant shops are PPC ecommerce-style landing pages, well-suited to domains that are product orientated. You can set up a live ecommerce site in minutes, as well as develop resale value as you earn.

For Sale Templates: For sale templates are for no to very low traffic domains and focus on lead generation for a sale. They help convert visitors to a sale with an on-page contact form, clear call to action, as well as a phone number, which goes directly to our dedicated domain sales team. PPC ads are also on the page to help drive you revenue.

Mobile Templates: Mobile traffic has grown exponentially over the past several years. SmartName’s mobile templates are specifically built to render clear calls to action on mobile devices, improving your users’ experience and your revenue.

Direct to Advertiser: The Direct to Advertiser option redirects traffic “directly” to an advertiser’s page. This option is automatically enabled on all your domains. If an advertiser wants your traffic, and your domain can make more money there versus our High Performance PPC landers, we’ll send it along to help you make more money.

In addition to these parking options, SmartName also funnels all sales inquiries directly to our international 24/7 domain sales team – the best in the industry. Give us a call today and we can discuss the best option for you 781-839-7952.

This growing phenomenon signals opportunity: prospective domain owners looking to acquire or park holiday-themed names could be looking at healthy revenues this season.

SmartName makes this success possible in a number of ways.

First, keyword optimization ensures that your traffic is targeted correctly around “holiday-centric” searches, such as “best holiday gifts” sees your site.

Second, SmartName template and e-commerce options allow you to set up an attractive, customized page in minutes. Want to strike a festive Christmas theme? Choose from the many color palette selections. Have a striking image to match the season? Chose from SmartName’s image library, or upload a custom image. Add a tagline, and your site is ready to start earning!

Finally, SmartName’s tight integration with the Afternic domain marketplace ensures that you can get your names in front of buyers.

>> Learn more about customizing your templates

How does it work?

Domains that go direct to an advertiser bypass the parked lander and literally go direct to an advertiser bidding on the terms in, or associated with, your domain names. Some call this monetization method “zero-click”.

Your domains will go directly to an advertiser based on a few things.

1) We will only send your domains to the advertiser if we can make you more money than on our enhanced PPC system.

2) The domains have to qualify. Advertiser needs and qualifications vary, but your domains will need to be keyword-rich with organic traffic.

To view this monetization option, check out the “Redirection” Tab right in your dashboard. Know that there is no action needed on your part; if your domains can make more money using this Direct To Advertiser method, they will be automatically redirected. Our systems will take care of everything.

Please know that Direct To Advertiser is just one of many ways that SmartName works to help you make more money. Our enhanced PPC system, along with our Ecommerce and Full Content solutions, allows you to make more money from more of your domains. And our direct connection to AfternicDLS allows us to sell your domain names on a global stage.

If you have any question, or would like to learn more about how we can help you make more money, please contact your account manager.

If you are using this method via our stage.smartname URL, you will need to do one of the following two options below to ensure your pages continue to render and earn revenue:

1)      Change the Domain Name Servers (DNS) for your domain to:

ns1.SmartName.com (64.95.64.222)
ns2.SmartName.com (64.95.64.87)

2)      Use a CNAME or an A Record. (In this case you would not change the name server that is currently resolving your domain).

CNAME: For sub domains like www.yourdomain.com, create a CNAME to point to www10.smartname.com.

Example: www.domain.com IN           CNAME                                www10.smartname.com

*NOTE: when using CNAME, no other DNS record can exist (e.g., SOA, A, NS, MX, etc). If other records exist, you’ll need to use an A record, below.  If you’re not familiar with these types of DNS changes, please change your name servers to: ns1.SmartName.com, ns2.SmartName.com

A RECORD: For yourdomain.com, create an A Record to point to 64.95.64.201.

Example:             yourdomain.com             IN.          A             64.95.64.201