So here is my current issue... I have my owned my own web solutions business in a very popular us city for about 6 years now. and... I have a client that I provide SEO, web design, and graphic design to. I have built a great relationship with the client and have done a lot to bring his business from small time to now doing really good. anyways... I was doing some niche/keyword research the other day and I ended up finding a really good domain name. Now here is the delimia I am having at the moment. The domain name that I found is perfect for the current marketing that my client is in, So I am not sure if I should offer the domain name for sale to him or to his competitors... The domain that I found is the most searched exact keyword phrase which gets 1,600 search per month. The other main keyword for the market is 210 exact searches per month. I am not sure what I should do here, I asked my partner, roommate, girlfriend, and I am just stuck... I have had experience flipping domains but this is a unique case here. I really wanted to see if another marketing/seo expert would be willing to chat with me on here or on skype. I would prefer to keep it private and talk to one other professional if we talked via skype. Thanks Everyone!
Do you own the domain right now? If not, is it a free reg, or is it for sale on a domain marketplace like Sedo? If you can just register it freely, and as long as it's not a brand name, then I would recommend to register it asap. Give your client the first option to buy it. If he doesn't want it, or doesn't want to pay a fair price for it, then no one can fault you for shopping it around. If the domain is a brand name, then just stay away from it. Hah - can you tell I'm a programmer (IF ... ELSE ... IF)...
I do own the domain name, I had to purchase it when I saw it available. Since I do SEO for the the client in the same industry I already know this is a good domain because of the keyword research and time i have put into the niche.
I think it mainly depends on the value of the domain (you should know it approximately) and the value of your client. If the domain won't bring you a lot of money if you sell it to another customer and there is a risk to lose your current and obviously good client then probably it's better to go with him. Especially if he is willing to pay more than the reg fee.
I think have 2 options for you 1. You can give it to other friends or brother/sister. Then you can ask friend sell it to anyone: your client or his competitors. Your client won't know about it is your domain. If you introduce this domain to your client. At this time, he can refuse it, then you sell to his competitors. But if his competitors are successful with this domain, your client won't be happy. 2. You can sell to your client with cheap price or reasonable price, it will make your service is excellent. My clients usually ask me think for them the name of domain for their products or services. Then I give them some names and register for them. It's free for my thinking. But they don't remember about it, but anyway I think it's okay for me. hic hic
You say that you have built a great relationship with your client, continue building it by offering them the domain. If you sell it to their competitors you risk losing your client and all the work you put into building the relationship. Offer it to them at cost and tell them the value of you doing them a favor "over and above" what other companies would do. They will probably appreciate the gesture and refer other potential clients to you, etc. Good karma with long term clients beats short term gain from a single domain sale to their competitors.
"Need to talk to another pro" - lets start from here...there is nothing professional in ur thoughts selling the domain to the guys competitors. So think about it, trust is the key to successful business