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Meet a Domainer: Simon Johnson, Kikabink

Monday, 09 August 2010 10:19

Name: Simon Johnson

Business Name: Kikabink
Website: DomainerIncome.com
Current City: Melbourne, Australia
Forum Nickname(s): I use my real name on forums - Simon Johnson. You can usually find me on both DNForum & NamePros.

Tell us more about your company:

* Kikabink owns and operates DomainerIncome.com, and manages investments in domain names and web sites.

* Domainer Income helps people find, evaluate, buy and manage, profitable domain names. There are a number of different parts covering the entire lifecycle of domain investment.

Markets: We bring together multiple markets including auctions, expired domains and private sales - all in one place. We also provide a very wide range of metrics over the top of this, so investors can make an educated decision as to whether or not to invest in a domain.

Investment Platform: We help investors to manage their portfolio, just like they would any other asset, such as stocks. You can track a range of information about your domains including expiry dates, DNS servers etc...

Reporting: We enable investors to find out which domains, categories or vertical markets are profitable. This is done by tracking expenses and revenue. For example: registration costs, escrow fees, brokerage fees, domain sales and parking revenue. We have high level graphs (popular with Executives), right down to the detailed tables - so you can see what is performing and what needs improvement.

Market Intelligence: There are two aspects to this. The first is Trends, which is based on keyword analysis of new, expired and refunded domains. This enables investors to see what keywords are popular and what domains have just been registered, expired or dropped.

The second part is our Parking Index. This shows us how many domains are parked with each of the leading parking companies, and how the numbers have changed over time.

Domain Sales Figures: In order for people to accurately value their domain, we provide a historical database of domain name sales. This uses the concept of comparables (like in the real-estate industry), where you can see what similar properties have previously sold for, in order to value your property.

Access to Domainer Income is on a subscription basis, with both Free and Professional (paid) memberships.

Best development project:

Often, the simplest developments are the best. One particular site comes to mind is in the party niche and turns over consistent revenue. Its a very simple CPA site that is optimised just to get people to take one action -> click!

Best domain sale:

We have only sold domains under exceptional circumstances - when the offer was too good to refuse! Our focus has been on development and parking. We are always interested in new approaches to monetization and may change the mix in the future.

Hobbie(s) (besides domaining):

When I'm not working I'm spending time with my family.

1) How did you start in the domain industry?

I first used the Internet in 1989 and later co-founded one of Australia's first ISPs (isp.com.au). There was no ICANN or industry associations back then. Having said that, there was no domain monetization aside from putting banner ads on sites, which only really started happening around 1993.

Given my exposure to the Internet was initially from an educational viewpoint, I had a very non-commercial, almost "purist" viewpoint of what the Internet should be and how it should be used. That changed over time as I started to see the initial commercialisation of the Internet, which largely started with commercial advertising in the form of posts on newsgroups (usenet).

It really wasn't until the mid 90's that I registered my first domain name. In terms of the industry, it was early 2000's when I started participating on popular forums like DNForum. The problem was that I wasn't participating enough (my focus was also on writing a book - that's another story), so my DNF account got deleted! I didn't realise this until I went to login and had to reregister it again in 2005. Since then I've tried to be consistently active, helping people where possible.

2) Talk about a time when you had to overcome major obstacles.

The creation of Domainer Income has been a process of overcoming one major obstacle after another. It takes a significant amount of infrastructure and intellectual capital to be able to process information like we do. I have lost count of the number of late nights and weekends where our programmers and I have "hit a dead end" and had to start again with another approach!

3) What was your career or job before entering into the domain industry?

I've previously worked for large multinational corporations in the areas of Information Security, Fraud Prevention and Risk Management. My experience has been across a wide variety of sectors including FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), banks, insurance companies and airlines.

4) What do you feel is the best aspect about the domain industry?

The ROI. For example, you can buy a domain at auction, park it, and it immediately starts paying you back.

5) What do you feel is the worst aspect about the domain industry?

1. People who deliberately buy or register domain names containing trademarked keywords.

2. Negative media publicity. Unfortunately there are a small group of people who do the wrong thing and obtain the attention of the media. This type of activity can have a negative impact on the industry.

3. A lack of editorial independence and transparency in some parts of the blogging community. As such, it can be difficult for newcomers to distinguish between advice from a professional (eg: an experienced domain investor) versus someone (such as a "weekend domainer") who stands to gain, or is paid by a vendor to advertise a product or service.

6) What monetization methods do you focus on the most?

Development, CPA and Parking in that order.

7) Where do you believe the domain industry will be in one year?

* We are going to get more of an insight into domaining companies. For example, the Demand Media IPO.

* We may see another ccTLD "landrush" and with it, another round of advertising.

* A small focus away from .com, towards ccTLDs as a means of diversification.

* Increased focus on local search.

* Increased pressure on parking companies to disclose revenue splits.

* As the profile of domain investing increases, we will see more people trying to break into the industry. A natural consequence of this will be people coming out of the woodwork selling "get rich quick schemes", copycat products and imitating existing services. Given their lack of experience and track record, this may have a negative impact on the industry. For example, unintended negative media publicity and legal issues around the use of confidential information etc..

8) What advice would you give newcomers?

1. Stop - don't buy anything yet and don't quit your day job.
2. Read everything you can on domain investment first.
3. Set realistic expectations early. Expect to fail a few times before you have a win.
4. Get a mentor. Find an experienced domain investor (someone who does this for a living) who can guide you.
5. Decide on a monetization model that is acceptable with the level of risk you wish to take.
6. Start small, invest your profits and grow; then take some $$$ off the table.
7. Remember that this is not a game or a hobby - its an investment.
8. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
9. Focus on ROI and don't fall in love with the domain.
10. Take time to celebrate your successes. Life is short.