Today’s NamesCon sponsor spotlight interview is with David Warmuz, founder of Trellian, the company that owns Above.com. David shared information about Above.com and he offered some domain industry insight.
NamesCon will be held at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in less than one month. Nearly 900 people have signed up to attend the conference this year, and 1,000 attendees are expected. We hope to see you there!
If you have any questions for David, you are welcome to leave them in the comment section.
What is your company’s mandate, what sets you apart?
We believe that managing a domain portfolio should not be as time consuming, frustrating and costly as it is. We also believe that there are inefficiencies in the way domain traffic is monetized, and that domainers deserve to get much higher RPMs.
Based on these beliefs, we have two core mandates.
The first mandate is to help domainers get higher RPMs via our free Monetization AutoPilot platform, which uses proprietary technology to make parking companies compete with each other in real-time for each and every domain visitor. AutoPilot’s Maximizer feature takes the competition and RPMs to the next level by enabling premium direct advertisers to bid in real time against parking companies for the same traffic.
Our second mandate is to help domainers reduce the time, cost and frustration associated with managing their domain portfolio. We accomplish this by providing free domain management tools and discounted pricing via our Above.com Monetization AutoPilot platform, Registrar and Marketplace. These tools were built by industry pioneering domainers to improve access and control over decision-making data, to save time and costs, and to avoid frustrations.
What sets us apart is that we are not a parking service. In fact, Our Monetization AutoPilot platform helps domainers operate at a level above parking services. No longer do domainers need to be constantly analyzing stats and changing name servers in their hunt for higher RPMs from parking companies. AutoPilot does all the work for them, driving RPMs higher by making the parking companies compete for their traffic. And AutoPilot’s Maximizer system drives RPMs to a whole new level by enabling premium advertiser to bid on the same traffic.
Another way that we stand apart is by having our own advertiser network, called Trellian Direct Search Network, which operates a proprietary bidding platform that enables high quality buyers to acquire domain traffic via AutoPilot’s Maximizer system.
Finally, we also stand apart by using the monetization stats from a domainer’s AutoPilot account to drive decision-making tools within the domainer’s Registrar and Marketplace accounts.
Who benefits from your product or service?
Our Monetization AutoPilot service benefits domainers who want to end the vicious cycle of constantly analyzing stats and changing name servers in search of higher RPMs. AutoPilot eliminates all that work. Once it is set-up, it runs on its own, making parking services and premium advertisers compete for traffic in real-time. Domainers can rest assured that each and every domain visitor is sent to the highest paying monetization channel. It’s the last time a domainer will ever need to change name servers.
If domainers are looking for a free service that consolidates, stores and generates reports for historical and daily stats from all their parking accounts, then AutoPilot offers this service at no charge even if a domainer is not yet ready to switch to AutoPilot’s name servers.
Domainers who want to save time managing renewals, transfers and registration details will benefit from a wide range of free tools available within our Above.com Registrar. In addition, Domainers with large portfolios will be interested in the cost savings offered on bulk renewals and registrations.
Domainers looking for help generating Buy Now prices will be able to quickly get domains priced and sold using the StatsPowered Buy Now pricing tool available in our Marketplace. Our unique Verified Stats feature also helps domainers who want to quickly earn the trust of potential buyers.
What factors have contributed to your company’s growth and success?
First of all, we started developing software solutions for online businesses way back near the beginning of the internet era in 1997. Over the years, we have been first to market with many amazing, technologically advanced, online software solutions. So it is safe to say that a key factor in our success has been our ability to keep ahead of the curve in terms of innovation and technology.
Secondly, great staff. No matter how good the idea, it will never get traction without great staff behind it.
Another key to our success is the fact that all our domain-related services, features and tools have been designed and developed for our own personal needs as domainers. Having tools created by those that use them first hand is a huge advantage in understanding how a tool is to work and what it is to achieve.
What’s the story behind how your company was founded?
Prior to Above.com’s Monetization AutoPilot platform launch in 2008, industry pioneering domainers David Warmuz and his late brother Ren Warmuz were frustrated with the time and effort spent analyzing data and changing name servers trying to find the monetization channel offering the highest payout for each domain in their portfolio. Since they owned one of the largest domain portfolios in the world at the time, serious automation was needed to help manage their day to day domaining needs. So they set out to create a sophisticated, automated solution that would find the highest paying monetization channel for each domain visitor while at the same time providing full transparency to the domain owner.
When development of the platform was near completion, they showed it to domainer friends who immediately asked to use this technology for their own large portfolios. This was the spark that resulted in the launch of Above.com, which made this powerful technology accessible to all domainers at no charge.
What major milestones has your company accomplished?
In our Marketplace, we recently sold Rankings.com for $100k and Cosmetics.org for $20k.
But from the perspective of our AutoPilot clients, we are helping them quickly reach milestones every month with respect to increased RPMs and revenues.
How will your company engage attendees at the upcoming NamesCon?
We will be sponsoring a booth at NamesCon again this year. In addition, we will be putting a collateral piece in the conference bag. But by far the most important way we will be engaging attendees is by networking and building relationships.
Can you tell us about your first time at NamesCon and what you got out of it?
This will personally be my first NamesCon. However, Above.com was one of the original NamesCon sponsors, and we have continued each year to be a sponsor of this great event.
What was one of the most memorable sessions or keynotes at a previous NamesCon?
As mentioned, this will personally be my first NamesCon.
How has NamesCon helped your company achieve its goals?
Networking is the key. At past NamesCon events our team was able to spend quality time reinforcing old relationships and building new ones. It is interesting to point out that our team was able to reconnect with domainers that we had not seen at industry events for many years. This is a great example of the value offered by NamesCon.
What are your thoughts on the new TLDs?
We support new TLDs in three ways. First, our AutoPilot Maximizer system is set-up to sell traffic from new TLDs to our premium advertiser partners. Second, we have worked with many of the top registries to make new TLDs available for registration on our Registrar. And third, new TLDS are actively sold in our Marketplace.
What are you most looking forward to at the upcoming conference?
With such an impressive roster of attendees, speakers and media at NamesCon, this is the perfect event for us to launch and promote Above.com’s new website. The website, as well as the collateral material to be distributed at the conference, will more clearly articulate the value and benefits that our services provide to domainers. As a result, we are very excited about rolling out our new, compelling brand messages at NamesCon. We expect to generate a lot of interest from domainers who will now fully understand that Above.com can help them increase RPMs.
Of course, we also look forward to the networking and informative sessions and presentations.
Where can attendees find out more about your company, product or services while at NamesCon?
We would enjoy meeting with new and old acquaintances at our booth. Be sure to ask us how our AutoPilot platform can drive your RPMs higher. And don’t forget to visit our new Above.com website to be launched just before NamesCon.
