PALM BEACH, FL - Michael Gargiulo, best known for his acquisition of three-letter blockbuster domain VPN.com in which he is an “end-user” for his “VPN” business looks to have something else “pretty big” on the horizon; a domain name brokerage business. Although Gargiulo and I had talked before, I first learned of his brokerage business when I had the pleasure of meeting him “in-person” in Ashville at Rick Schwartz’s domain name gathering at The Omni Grove Park Inn (an … [Read more...]
52 Minutes with Michael Castello on Room.com, Rate.com and Whisky.com
PALM BEACH, FL – Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of great domain stories that date back to when domain names were registered only through Network Solutions, and when domains, particularly .com domains, where a lot more expensive than they are today. What I have heard virtually no stories at all about, are those which date back to when domain names were completely free; yep, nothing, first come first serve, no fees. A bundle of interesting stories await domainers in this … [Read more...]
Google Chrome, Once Again, Messing with Domain Names In Browser Address Bar
PALM BEACH – Sometimes I just hate Google, and I must admit, those times come a heck of a lot more often these days than they did in the past. I personally used to consider Google an ambiguous friend; always quietly working for me in the background, creating all new interesting ways for me to beat-out the competition. Assigning me that "competitive edge" through working smart and not hard. Allowing experienced know-how to tear through competitors and level the playing field … [Read more...]
Using Expired Domains and Domain Redirects to Increase Traffic & Rankings
PALM BEACH, FL – While I see domain name redirects in play - almost every day, rarely do I see them tied to an obvious tracking campaign as one I stumbled onto this morning. Most know, that it’s no secret using expired domain names as strategic acquisitions can be good for business. Just as in real estate, purchasing a good piece of commercial property will yield existing foot-traffic, likewise, purchasing an existing or expired domain name delivers its virtual equivalent … [Read more...]
Debunked: Why Do People Still Believe “Domain Name Age” Matters for SEO?
PALM BEACH – I stumbled on a post today about “domain age” and SEO and how it is a long debunked "myth" that domain name age matters when it comes to SEO, and that of course, it does not. But where did this (if even) false believe originate from to begin with?? Why do webmasters and domainers believe that domain age plays a role at all? Where did this myth come from? And was its source even reliable? It came from the horse’s mouth when Google filed its patent for “DOCUMENT … [Read more...]
Surprise, Surprise: ICANN Renews “.Org” Registry Agreement, “Price Caps” Removed
PALM BEACH - On June 30, 2019, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) announced that it had renewed its Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry which operates the .org top-level domain. At major issue was whether the agreement would be renewed “as-is” with long-standing price caps removed. After public outcry a comment period was held with just six (“6”) [about 0.18%] out of 3,252 comments being in favor of removing the price caps; … [Read more...]
NamesCon Europe 2019 Live Auction Nets Under $300k in Domain Sales, Total
PALM BEACH – According to industry news website DNJournal.com, the results for the live domain name auction which took place at NamesCon Europe have been released with a total net sales volume of $297,000.00 from 55 domains sold. There are still hundreds of names which remain available online only until the auction ends on July 2, 2019. For a list of the names sold and their prices as reported on DNJournal.com click here. In my opinion, while it’s still 'politically … [Read more...]
Despite Recent Sales, 2019 Top 100, Still Sluggish in Comparison to Previous Year
PALM BEACH – There has been a lot of noticeable domain name sales lately including the blockbuster sale of Voice.com for $30 Million in cash. Other notable names which recently changed hands while also making headlines were Links.com ($798,000), ol.com ($900,000), California.com ($3,000,000), Nursing.com ($950,000) and Casinos.org ($400,000) just to point out a few. Top domain name sales, those which are publicly listed at NameBio.com, show a total of over $44 Million in … [Read more...]
Web Address Sells for $30 Million in Cash; Represents ‘Extraordinary’ Investment
PALM BEACH – A company which many ordinary people (non-industry) have probably never heard of called “MicroStrategy Incorporated” has announced it has sold an Internet web address, Voice.com for $30,000,000.00 in cash. As you can see, that’s a lot of zero’s in that number and represents what many who invest and trade in Internet domain names likely find so exhilarating about it. For those who are not that savvy when it comes to Internet domain names, this a “website … [Read more...]
Why Verisign ‘NASDAQ:VRSN’ Will Inevitably Get Its .COM Domain Price Increase Sought
PALM BEACH – There has been a lot of talk in tech and domain circles lately about the company “Verisign” (NASDAQ:VRSN), its obvious monopoly in the .com domain game, and it’s long list of subsidiaries, but things really started to heat-up back in October 2018 when the company managed to renew its “cooperative agreement” with the United States Government through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), minus long-standing pricing caps on one of … [Read more...]
Forbes Cites Survey Saying 70.5% Don’t Trust Alternatives Domain Names
PALM BEACH – According to Forbes, 70.5% of consumers don’t trust newer alternative Internet domain names over legacy names. These figures, used in their recent article titled, “Strategies for Getting The Most Out Of Your New Domain Name” were cited from a survey of 1,000 people across the UK who represented a range of ages. Those surveyed were asked, “Do you trust companies with .co.uk and .com domains more than those with other newer domains like .eu, .biz, .net, .fashion, … [Read more...]
Why I Shipped a Car with “Ship.Cars”
PALM BEACH – My son’s car arrived this morning and delivery has been confirmed via email. We had an agreement that I was sending the car as a gift from South Florida to Georgia, but mom was taking care of the transport fee and choosing the shipper and scheduling it; she chose Ship.Cars, a vehicle transport “marketplace” which is using a new and different domain name ending, likely to improve the chances of being found online. Ship.Cars is what would be considered a … [Read more...]
General Data Protection Regulation and Cookie Policies, No Big Deal, Or Is It?
PALM BEACH - They are everywhere and becoming more and more annoying. It is now all too common to be presented with messages on each website you visit; they all want you to opt in to their cookie and privacy policy due to the new General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. It seems like an unnecessary distraction; you hit the button to accept the policy and you carry on. No big deal. But is that all there is to it? Today I sent someone an article to read. They didn’t … [Read more...]
Sedo.com’s Buy, Sell, Park Domains Venue Getting More Competitively Priced?
PALM BEACH - Things at SEDO are usually fairly quiet. Outside of their weekly sales list releases for domain names sold, I hear very little from the sales venue, which acts sort of like an MLS system for domain names. However, the last few weeks has been different. On Tuesday May 7, 2019, Ron Jacksoon's DNJournal.com reported what was characterized as a “major change” at Sedo, which would eliminate the minimum sale fee that takes a big chunk out of proceeds from smaller … [Read more...]
Royal Caribbean Cruises Files What Appears To Be, Shameful UDRP Proceeding
PALM BEACH – What do you do when another company possesses a sought after three-character domain name that you want, wish you had, or wish you would had thought to register for your business many, many years ago? You file a nonsensical UDRP proceeding of course - and shoot for the best. That’s what appears Royal Caribbean Cruises has decided to do with the domain name “RCC.COM”, a relatively cool and extremely diluted acronym with a wide range of uses for companies … [Read more...]