The best aspect about the domain industry is the entrepreneurial spirit that I believe every domainer has.

bill-hartzerName: Bill Hartzer

Business: Advice Interactive

Forum Nickname: Bhartzer

Twitter: @bhartzer

Facebook: facebook.com/bhartzer

Best Development Project(s):

Probably the best dev project is my own site, BillHartzer.com

Best Domain Sale:

1998, sold hotresume.com for $XX,XXX

I started in the domain name industry based on necessity. I needed good domains for my own development purposes, and have been buying and selling websites and domains for quite some time now.

I’m generally a website marketer and content generator, as well as an Search Engine Optimization expert. I’ve been driving traffic and generating content (blogging, writing articles, etc.) to my own sites and to my clients’ websites since the 1990s.

I perform highly technical SEO audits of websites, as well as provide monthly SEO services. Most recently, I’ve been studying, researching, and writing about the New gTLD domains and how their marketing impact. I currently run the Advice Interactive digital marketing agency, based in the Dallas area.

Before I entered the domain industry, I was a technical writer, writing computer software manuals, then moved into online content and SEO for the website of the company I worked for.

Q. What do you feel is the best & worst aspect about the domain industry?

A. The best aspect about the domain industry is the entrepreneurial spirit that I believe every domainer has. There are some domineers who really want to develop their domains, and I’m just as enthusiastic as they are to want to develop each and every domain that I own. The goal is to develop them into fully-fledged profitable businesses.

The worst aspect of the domain industry, I believe, is greed. I understand that we all want to make a huge profit from our domains. I’ve been both on the buying and on the selling side of domaining. I’ve helped my marketing clients buy domains, and it’s frustrating when you come across a domaines who just wants more for a domain than it’s really worth.

Q. Who are your role models in the domain industry? Who are your role models in life?

A. I won’t mention any specific domains, but I know a few individuals who have bought great domains and just didn’t sit on them. They took those great domains and built them into multi-million dollar, profitable businesses. Two people I have in mind sell products on these domains, and although they’re domainers, they’re really great entrepreneurs.

Q. What monetization or selling methods do you focus on the most?

A. I don’t currently have one particular monetization or selling method. I prefer to find a domain that I have an interest in that I can create content for and develop into a sellable or profitable website. I do have names that I just like–and am parking for now, with a plan of developing at one time.

Q. Where do you believe the domain industry will be in one year?

A. In one year, I hope to see more domainers accept that the new gTLDs are here to stay. As we see more brands start to use them, the public will be more aware of not-coms as they’ll be developed sites.

Q. What advice would you give newcomers?

A. As a newcomer, I would concentrate more on using available statistics, such as keyword research and traffic statistics to gauge the value of a domain. Don’t let your “gut feeling” lead you down a path where you’re investing in domains that you “like”, “just because”.

Use real data, such as the number of searches per month, average CPC (Cost Per Click) prices, and other data that’s quantifiable. I’ve bought too many worthless domains in the past based on my “gut feeling” and wasted plenty of money.