Great interview but is it a great business model?
I recently viewed a great interview on DomainSherpa.com. Link: It's Not Too Late to Hand Register Domains and Build a Million-dollar Business - With Adam Hawley
Zipsurance purchased 12,500 domains by incorporating a zip code + the word insurance ... examples ... 35401insurance.com, 33530insurance.com etc. The company leased the domains to insurance agents in their respective zip code (and offered exclusivity) for approximately $500 to $600 annually for each one and grossed over one million dollars in 2012. And they simply redirected the zip domain to the insurance agents' regular website.
However, I can't find much about zipsurance.com today. I wonder if they are still in business. Or if their business model didn't work long term by insurance agents not renewing after the first year. I understand that most people don't do a local search using their zip code but usually type their city + business category, such as "atlanta chiropractor".
I would love to hear feedback and discussion on this. Do you think that using zip codes in domain names would be a sustainable business model in leasing domains to local businesses? Or because most city + business category domains are already taken ... what about incorporating the zip code + city + business category ... using all 3 components in the domain name?
Zipsurance purchased 12,500 domains by incorporating a zip code + the word insurance ... examples ... 35401insurance.com, 33530insurance.com etc. The company leased the domains to insurance agents in their respective zip code (and offered exclusivity) for approximately $500 to $600 annually for each one and grossed over one million dollars in 2012. And they simply redirected the zip domain to the insurance agents' regular website.
However, I can't find much about zipsurance.com today. I wonder if they are still in business. Or if their business model didn't work long term by insurance agents not renewing after the first year. I understand that most people don't do a local search using their zip code but usually type their city + business category, such as "atlanta chiropractor".
I would love to hear feedback and discussion on this. Do you think that using zip codes in domain names would be a sustainable business model in leasing domains to local businesses? Or because most city + business category domains are already taken ... what about incorporating the zip code + city + business category ... using all 3 components in the domain name?