I’ve been using my DIY Domain Parking template since the start of the year so thought that now would be a good time to go through the process I use to monitor the performance of a group of domains. As an example, below is a report which details the Q1 2013 stats for of a group of parked domains from my portfolio.
I register and hold my domains at NameSilo and this costs me just under £6 per year for each name. Therefore I’m looking for a domain to be making £1.50 per quarter in order to break even.
I use a simple traffic light system to divide the domains performance into chunks that make it easier to deal with.
Green
Domains on the list which I have highlighted in green meet the £1.50 break-even criteria and in many cases surpass this which means they will be giving me a fairly healthy ROI. The domains towards the top of the list (i.e. the best performers) are the ones that I will look further into with regards the possibility of developing them out into minisites. Check out the process I follow when assessing whether to turn a parked page into a minisite for more information on this.
Amber
The domains highlighted in amber need more careful monitoring during Q2 to see if there are any movers and shakers. If there isn’t significant improvement then the domains in this area will most likely be allowed to expire at their renewal dates. The last thing I want is dead-weight when it comes to my domains so it’s important that I keep on top of this group to see what happens with them. An important consideration however, is to check on the performance of these domains with regards any affiliate income that was generated during Q1. They may be performing badly in terms of ad revenue but doing well in other areas and it is essential that this is not overlooked.
Red
The red domains are prime candidates for letting expire or selling off cheap before their due dates. I’m a real believer in removing poorly performing domains from my portfolio so unless there is some stellar affiliate income coming in for these then they are going to have to go! Even domains in this group have the ability to turn it around though so I won’t be too hasty in wielding my axe. I’ve got a finance based domain name that averages £8 in CPC but gets only 1 or 2 clicks per year. This domain has taught me the lesson of always monitoring performance as well as giving a domain sufficient time to deliver the goods.
Overall performance
So, how did the domains do as an overall group?
- 47 domains in the group
- Annual registration costs of £282 (47 x £6)
- Q1 ad revenue of £54.15
- £54.15 x 4 = £216.60 yearly ad revenue
Therefore, based on current ad revenue performance these 47 domains will cost me £65.40 per year to hold.
However, I estimate that they will at least break even once I’ve factored in the affiliate income which they will generate across the year.
The lack of profit is of course disappointing but on the other hand I know that if I’d left my domains parked at my previous administrator then I wouldn’t be getting any revenue coming in at all.
Therefore I see this as a good result as I can hold them without hemorrhaging my bottom line and can build some of them out into profitable minisites in the future. This is allowing me to have a bit more freedom and be more speculative with my domaining which isn’t a bad thing.
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