WEST PALM BEACH, FL - For more than two decades, the domain-name market has largely moved in step with Google’s search systems. Investors based valuations on keyword demand, search volume, and the longstanding assumption that visibility in Google ultimately dictated what made a digital asset valuable. But the rapid rise of AI-driven “answer engines” - including ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Claude (just saw first referral from it today), and others is creating a new reality. … [Read more...]
From Domains to Handles: X.com Creates New Marketplace for Digital Identity
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - In a major policy shift that blurs the line between domain names and social-media identities, X (formerly Twitter) has officially launched a Handle Marketplace, allowing paid subscribers to purchase usernames from a pool of inactive accounts. The new feature, available to X Premium and Premium Plus subscribers, transforms social handles into a monetized form of digital real estate — something long familiar to domain investors. The marketplace opens … [Read more...]
.HipHop Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign In “Testing the Waters” Phase
POMPANO BEACH, FL - Dot Hip Hop, LLC - the registry operator for the .hiphop top-level domain - has announced plans to raise capital through an equity crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder. The initiative, currently in the “Testing the Waters” phase allowed under U.S. securities law, is designed to measure investor interest before the company formally files its required Form C disclosure and begins accepting funds. .hiphop was first delegated in 2014 as part of ICANN’s new … [Read more...]
Bluehost & HostGator Expired Domains to be Auctioned on NameJet, SnapNames
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In a notable development within the domain name aftermarket industry, NameJet has announced that expired domain names from two major hosting providers - Bluehost.com and HostGator.com - will now be auctioned exclusively on its platform and that of its sister site, SnapNames. This move expands NameJet’s reach in the expired domain space by adding even more high-volume inventory from some of the internet's largest hosting brands. Bluehost and HostGator, … [Read more...]
WHOIS Data Shrinks: GoDaddy’s Latest Move Reflects Post-GDPR Privacy Trend
PALM BEACH, FL - The public face of domain ownership is disappearing - and GoDaddy's latest announcement is just the latest proof. In an email sent to resellers today, GoDaddy announced it will no longer collect or display Administrative, Billing, or Technical contact details for most domains. The move, effective August 21, 2025, is part of a broader alignment with ICANN’s evolving Registration Data Policy (RDP) and reflects a clear trend in the domain industry: WHOIS records … [Read more...]
Expert: Blindly Authorizing Doman Listings Can Cause You to Lose Your Domains
TEMPE, AZ - Recently DomainInvesting.com’s Elliot Silver related a tale of an automated e-mail he received from internet domain registrar and web hosting company GoDaddy, listing several domain names that he owned that are listed for sale on a website called Squadhelp, a website where you can buy and sell domains. Silver had previously listed them on Afternic, but had deleted them in favor of Squadhelp. Side note: I had never heard of Squadhelp before, I'll have to check … [Read more...]
From LinkedIn Spaces to Real Faces at The South Florida Domainers Meetup in Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the South Florida Domainers meetup which took place in Fort Lauderdale, at the Sistrunk Marketplace & Brewery, an interesting place in the heart of South Florida with a large variety of beers and international cuisine to experience. As you may have read about it in DNJournal.com, the local shindig was mainly orchestrated by Eddie Sixto with some help by other industry veterans, some of which I met for the … [Read more...]
Forbes Details How Mission Critical “.com” Domains Remain; Naysayers Delusional
PALM BEACH, FL – While I periodically entertain alternatives and still hold and use a few, I remain a big believer in the “.com” domain name extension over any other available alternative in nearly any scenario. There are only a few cases where an alternative makes sense and looks good, but remains vulnerable. I have always based this very simple and what should be obvious logic to what has taken place for general marketing in the past with the “1-800” business which … [Read more...]
GoDaddy Makes Two Recent Acquisitions of Leading Domainer Tools and Services
TEMPE, AZ - GoDaddy, the well-known domain registrar and hosting company, announced last week they will be acquiring competing domain sales company Dan.com, a move that GoDaddy stated would enable them to “reach more potential buyers.” Previously launching under the name Undeveloped, Dan.com made a name for themselves by attempting to undercut the competition by reducing their initial industry-standard commission fee of 15 percent to just 9 percent, which led to several … [Read more...]
Generic Domain, Angel.com, Hits SEDO Weekly Sales List at $2,000,000
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – The generic domain name “Angel.com” sold at $2,000,000 this past week according to the latest SEDO.com weekly domain sales report. The five letter generic web address is currently leading to a crowdfunded movie studio website said to allows angel-investor users to choose which titles get funded. Also notable is a .de domain “credit.de” that sold for a 40,000 EUR ($48,138.00) and a .net … [Read more...]
SEDO Weekly Sales List Includes .io Indian Ocean Domain Sold At Whopping $50,000
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – The domain name “509.com” sold at $106,500 this past week according to the latest SEDO.com weekly domain sales report. The numeric web address is currently hosting what appears to be a site in the middle of development or using a GoDaddy website builder program. Also notable is the .io domain “swap.io” that sold for a whopping $50,000 and a .club domain “ox.club” which fetched 10,000. The .io is a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) … [Read more...]
Big Domain Auction Coming In Less Than Ten Days And Pre-Bidding Is Now Open
PALM BEACH, FL – A big domain auction is coming up in less than ten days and pre-bidding is now open for the event which will be held from a live video production studio in College Station, Texas, beginning at Noon (12:00 PM CST) February 25, 2021. Like most of Monte Cahn’s RightoftheDot major auction events, World Champion Auctioneer Wayne Wheat will be rattling off the names of virtual property to change hands for what will likely be, some big sales. Wheat is an … [Read more...]
SEDO Weekly Sales List Includes “Cars” Domain “CarLife.com” Sold at $30,000
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – The domain name CarLife.com sold at 30,000 USD this week according to the latest SEDO.com weekly domain sales report. CarLife.com is currently parked with pay-per-click ads. Also notable was the three letter domain TJJ.org selling for 7,000 USD. Each week, SEDO releases a list of domain names which have been sold including highlights of .COM, ccTLDs and notable domains in ‘other’ TLD categories. It is always nice to see … [Read more...]
Domainer? Here’s One “Hyphenated” Domain Success Story You Will Enjoy
PALM BEACH, FL – Way – way back in 2008, I suggested one of my clients purchase the domain name, NNN-Properties.com. I usually steer clear of hyphenated domain names because they clearly do not pass the radio test. Who wants to tell someone to visit their website address with a dash in it? Probably no one, and especially not me. But in this circumstance, I figured the domain name would likely rank well for the term “NNN Properties” which are commercial investment … [Read more...]
Sales Venue “Sedo” Selects “DN Academy” For Domain Name Broker Training Program
PALM BEACH, FL - “DN Academy”, one of the only online domain name educational platforms created by domain investor Michael Cyger, has been chosen by Sedo to act as its official training program for its domain name brokers. According to a press release issued by Sedo today, Sedo has entered into an agreement to train domain name brokers using a customized training program provided by the service. Sedo (an acronym for Search Engine for Domain Offers), is a domain name and … [Read more...]