Google Goes Sour on Domain Tasting

Friday, January 25th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Google Goes Sour on Domain Tasting

DomainTools Blog is citing a “confidential informant” as the source for speculation Google will soon crack down on domain tasters using Google AdSense for Domains.

…Google will stop monetizing all domains if they are less then five days old. This potential new policy change by Google could stop all Domain Tasting in its tracks.

Domain tasting simply means the option to return a registered domain name within 5 days–typically useful if you misspelled a word or decided not to launch that “Google killer” after all. However, savvy domain tasters have exploited the loophole and register hundreds of domain names at a time, use Google’s AdSense for Domains product to test the earning potential of a URL, then cancel those domains that don’t make money. A nice little earner for domainers and Google, not exactly the best experience for search users.

Here’s how a Google AdSense for Domains site might look:

If it’s true that Google’s policy change will pretty much nuke domain tasting as a way to make a quick buck. And, it’s not just domain tasters that will lose out, Google itself is rumored to be making millions from domain tasters.

It was disclosed in court that one partner that Google had was generating as much as $3 million dollars a month from the practice and that was after Google’s revenue share. Oversee.net and other companies have been using this practice for years and it will have a direct impact on them. The gravy train of free money might be coming to a halt very fast. This policy change at Google should be announced to the channel partners soon and it will have a huge echoing impact on the Industry.

All eyes are now on Yahoo to see if it will follow suit.

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9 comments on “Google Goes Sour on Domain Tasting”

emad Says:

January 25th, 2008 at 11:57 am

“The gravy train of free money might be coming to a halt very fast.”

Domain tasting is big business. Oversee.net is a growing company, for example, that just got a lot of money from investors after already acquiring Snap Names *and* Moniker (which also owns Traffic Club…a way to monetize your domains with PPC).

I don’t know if this will have as big an impact on domain tasters as people think. The traffic usually comes in through type-ins for the better domains (not search engines). If you have the traffic, you’ll figure out what to do with it.
Jayson Says:

January 25th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

It be interesting to see if Yahoo follows suit. They have a little different business model and are, at least it seems, hurting for money so I don’t think they will anytime soon.

Those sites are pretty annoying though.
Is Google Bringing An End To Domain Tasting? Says:

January 25th, 2008 at 5:39 pm

[...] a commentor at Andy Beal’s blog, offers a different perspective saying: “Domain tasting is big business. Oversee.net is a growing company, for example, that just [...]
Utah SEO Says:

January 26th, 2008 at 8:20 pm

I’m actually surprised this didn’t happen sooner.
Mobile guy Says:

January 27th, 2008 at 3:23 am

This technique is a little complicated for average blogger.
nmw Says:

January 28th, 2008 at 5:53 am

Perhaps this is why shares in the Google stock (GOOG) lost 10% in a couple hours the other day.
Seomotion Says:

February 11th, 2008 at 4:19 am

There are a lot of companies which can replace Google in Domain PPC
bhavik Says:

February 11th, 2008 at 6:33 am

This technique is a little complicated for new bloggers…..they shuld have knowledge to use this….
Domaining Domainers » Blog Archive » Domaining Domainers definition of the Domains Industry Says:

May 21st, 2008 at 6:58 pm

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