Why PPC Advertisers Should Prefer Parked Domains

Here's an excerpt of a comment I left on John Battelle's What Percentage of Yahoo's (and Google's) Revenue Comes from Domainers post:

If you look at this from the advertisers' point of view, domain ads should actually perform better than even search ads. Why? There are no organic search results to compete with. That's the theory, anyway. In practice, too many of the parked domains participating in the Yahoo and Google ad distribution networks are not equivalent to searches. They're garbage.

If you've read my posts documenting specific examples of garbage traffic from parked domains both from Google AdWords and from Yahoo Search Marketing, you might not expect me to write a post making the case that PPC advertisers should prefer parked domains. Be aware of the garbage, but also understand the value of generic keyword domains that are equivalent to search. I'll use the example of rumcakes.com (which has been mentioned by quite a few domainers). Look at the syndicated Yahoo ads:



Now, look at those same 4 ads spots on a Yahoo search for rum cakes:



Questions to think about:

1. Is typing rumcakes.com into a browser bar equivalent to typing "rum cakes" into a search box?
2. Which ads look more compelling?
3. Which ads should have a higher CTR?
4. Would the lack of organic search results on the parked domain favor the PPC advertiser?
5. Are PPC search ads content?

Notice that some of the ads are in a longer format on the parked domain than the Yahoo search result. That's a competitive advantage that Yahoo had over Google. I don't understand why they chose to copycat Google's ad format. Yahoo should offer a separate domain advertising product, independent of the existing sponsored search and content match products currently available in Yahoo Search Marketing. The longer ad format should be emphasized as an advantage over Google's AdWords/AdSense system. No, Yahoo shouldn't drop search. They still have options.

For some views on domaining from some other search engine marketing professionals, I suggest these posts:

• Top 4 Lies Domainers Tell Themselves
• Domain Names, Developed Domains, and Expired Domains
• Synergy Between Domain Names & Keyword Based Search Engine Optimization Strategies
• The Politics of Search: it’s just beginning…

Apogee Tags: generic domains, domain names, google adwords, adsense for domains, yahoo search marketing, domaining, domain parking