Getting the right proxy domain might sound easy, and it is as long as you follow a few simple rules. The right domain can massively impact your earnings, and since it is one of your only expenses it’s important to get it right.
Begin by considering which domain extension you would like to use. The most common is .com, with .co.uk, .org and .net also being popular. These domains will cost between $5 and $10 to register. The alternative is to go for .info, which are usually available for a dollar, or even a ‘free’ domain such as .co.cc. As with any business, higher costs should result in increased profits. There is no point in paying for a domain if you earn as much money as you would with a free one. As you might have guessed, the cost isn’t the only factor that proxy webmasters should consider.
The more common extensions (such as .com) are much better for SEO purposes, with these regular domain extensions seemingly getting better search rankings than their cheaper or free counterparts. The flip side to this is that search engine rankings don’t matter to some proxy webmasters. The logic here is that a proxy with a good search ranking will be a blocked proxy, and good search results take time to develop (again resulting in a blocked proxy). Obviously other webmasters strongly disagree, and believe that organic search traffic is the way to quality traffic and the increased earnings that come with it. It’s important to realise that there is no right or wrong answer here, and it’s best to see both options as useful but different strategies.
The other important element is that certain domains are trusted more, and are more memorable. The more premium domains (.com etc) win here, and also have a higher resale value if you plan on selling your proxy down the line. They’re also a lot more adaptable. It’s also important to remember that .info domains are cheap to register, but are just as expensive as a .com to renew. So if you plan on holding onto your proxies and domains for more than a year you might to want to stick with .com domains. If you’re a new proxy webmaster then a .info can be a great way to start out with hardly any money needed.
Once you’ve chosen your extension, you’ll need to choose an actual domain. There are two conflicting arguments here, and it’s all about SEO again. Those who favour organic traffic and good search results will always opt for keyword rich domains. Google and the other search engines prefer sites with relevant domains. So proxy.com will tend to rank better in results for ‘proxy’. Likewise, unblocksites.com will rank well for ‘unblock sites’. However, these sites are easily blocked by business owners or school staff. Your brand new site will be unavailable to many users as all sites with ‘proxy’ in the domain will be blocked. That’s not to say that you wont still get significant traffic, but it’s all about your strategy. A compromise would be to choose a proxy domain with other keyword rich terms such as ‘unblock’ or ‘unfilter’, which are less likely to be blocked but still receive many searches. As a proxy webmaster you’ll want your site to be unblocked for as long as possible. This means that users can browse sites using your proxy for longer, which will increase your revenue. That’s why some webmasters avoid any keywords at all in their proxy domains. So again it really depends on how important SEO is to you.
Whether you’re targeting a keyword rich domain or not, try to make your domain memorable. A huge portion of proxy traffic will come from type-in referrals and repeat visitors, so the more easy a domain is to remember, the more traffic you’ll get. Generally speaking, shorter domains are more memorable. Once you’ve found an available domain that you’re happy with, you’ll need to choose a registrar. We recommend Godaddy for a few different reasons. They are nice and cheap on both registrations and renewals, with plenty of discount vouchers available to keep costs low. The other important aspect is that if you decide to sell your proxy or domain then other webmasters will appreciate the domain being parked at Godaddy, which can bump the price up a bit. Try to keep your domain registrations in one place, or things can get a little confusing with renewals etc.
So, proxy webmasters should really decide on their marketing and promotion strategy before choosing a domain. Decide whether you’ll be targeting search engine traffic. If you will, then choose a keyword rich premium domain (.com, .net.co.uk or .org), keeping in mind that certain terms such as ‘proxy’ and ‘facebook’ will be automatically blocked by some filters. If you have another strategy in mind, and SEO isn’t important, then keywords aren’t going to do you many favours so pick a shorter memorable domain. That’s less likely to be blocked as quickly, which will result in increased profits. Try out a few of the different options, and see what works for you.