Domain Name News

New Model for Monetizing/Leasing Long Tail Domains?

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 07:06 AM PST

Can’t Sell your domain? Sell a website-builder and hosting package instead and generate ongoing revenue

When researching an old list of long tail domain names that I had generated eons ago, I noticed a domain “SoyMilkRecipe.com” that was parked with Frank Schillings’s Internet Traffic, but displayed a different banner on top:

Claim the premium domain name soymilkrecipe.com for Free with purchase of our $29.99/mo. website development services.

If you click on the link in the banner, you land on a page offering you the domain for “free” if you subscribe to a website builder by WebsiteCove.

WebsiteCove.com appears to be a co-brand set up under the MeZine website builder. If the client buys a package that costs $29.99 monthly, the domain seller will throw in the domain name. The terms and conditions don’t appear to show if the buyer gets ownership of the domain name at all or is just subscribing for a perpetual lease.

We’ve reached out to the domain owner and website builder for some information on how well this model works for them, but haven’t heard back yet. The article will be updated if more details emerge.

What do you think about this as a monetization model for leasing long tail domain names? Do you think this is something parking companies should offer?