Pixelrage.net

Over the past few weeks, the ongoing conversation piece between myself and my friends is how one of my old domain names has become the exact name of a TV series. What has happened as a result has been surprising…in a disappointing way.

Back on March 21, 2010, a show called “Jerseylicious” sprang up on the Style Network amidst the hype of “The Jersey Shore.” I first heard about this new show through a casual conversation with a friend. When she uttered the word “Jerseylicious,” I freaked out. I’ve owned Jerseylicious.com since September 10, 2007. It was originally intended to be one of my never-implemented business ideas (one of about 200+ ideas, of course) for sports jerseys for women. The idea never came to fruition, but I hung on to the domain name. Then, a TV show with the exact name sprung up, and I got really excited.

Of course, most of us know that TV show websites are usually sub-pages off of a TV network domain name (Network.com/ShowName), but there are exceptions. There’s no doubt that a studio would want to own the .com for their new show’s name, though. With that being said, I was hoping for an email waiting for me one day with an attractive offer for this domain. It never happened.

As for the domain itself, it’s being parked on Parked.com and I’m monitoring it on a daily basis. It only gets from 30-80 type-ins per day, and hasn’t made a cumulative dollar yet. Surprising. Before you wonder why I’m releasing this information, I had already lost hope of getting an offer for the domain, so, it’s become more of an internet marketing case study.

I think the big lesson I’ve learned here is that domaining is a lot harder and less predictable than you think, and there are a lot of factors that have to come in to play for you to ‘expect’ a big payoff. All of the planets need to be aligned: the domain name must be high profile, but it must also be of utmost priority for actual use in the short-run with no alternatives. If both of those needs aren’t met, then you’ve got a dud on your hands.

If you’re wondering about SERPs, “Jerseylicious.com” doesn’t even appear in any of the search engines for the single keyword search “jerseylicious.” For years, it used to be #1, Google page 1, but was quickly wiped out once the show came into play.

In my case, this show was no “Jersey Shore.” It didn’t go viral, it didn’t get hype, and it’s only on the Style Network (sorry Style Network). Imagine the guy who wound up buying TheJerseyShore.com or JerseyShore.com many years ago. There’s no doubt that either would be a goldmine waiting to happen. That just wasn’t the case here for underlying reasons. However, it’s a great conversation piece for years to come.