Folks, the price of admission is going up, shooting up! Aaron Wall wrote about domain names again today and has a great anecdote about the hidden costs of using a weak domain name for your business. He also summarizes the value of a good domain nicely
"Domain names may play a big roll not only in anchor text, but also in overall domain credibility, linkability, and defensibility."
And maybe best of all he compares using a weak domain to writing anonymously.
There is No Value in Being Anonymous:
You can spend the money your site is making as a passive income source, but if you believe in what you are doing, and have money in the bank, there is no reason to use a bad domain name. It is like writing nameless.
The message? Invest in a name with inherent credibility and make a name for yourself! The Internet has become so hypercompetitive, you can't afford not to. It's the price of admission today. By the way, MakeANameForYourself.com was registered in 1998. A favorite quote:
Domains will continue to go up in value faster than any other commodity ever known to man. -Rick Schwartz
I also believe Rick's thesis that when the average investor understands domains the way domain professionals do, domains will become priceless. In his words
"you would have to buy the entire company just to get your hands on a great domain."
That's what you are witnessing in Aaron's post - the spreading of this knowledge at blog speed. And it's not just the cost of domain names. Domain costs may be rising faster than any other factor, but competition is also pushing up the cost of Internet adverstising, writing, sales, and programming. Rising costs are a double edged sword depending on where you sit. If you're well established they protect you from competition. Just make sure you understand where the chokepoints are in your industry and find a way to control them.
If you're a new entrant, rising costs makes everything you do more difficult and riskier. But it also sweetens the reward if you succeed.
