NEW YORK, NY – Some companies reap high returns by investing heavily in a declining industry. Others sell out before competitors recognized the decline. Based on some numbers I posted yesterday, there’s no wonder it sparked some chatter back and forth on NamePros.com on whether the overall sales numbers are up or down (when compared to the entire list) or what's causing the decline, or if the decline is even accurate when viewing the entire years data (not just the top … [Read more...]
The Domain Business: An American Dream and Reality of .Com Domaining
Below are some of the best videos on the domain business that I have ever seen. These stories lend credibility to what domainers work towards each day. I’ve been in the domain business for over a decade and I had not seen two out of three of these videos so I am sure there are others who have not seen them either and would love to watch them. These videos articulate the reason that the domain business, a relatively unknown industry, is one of the most exciting and lucrative … [Read more...]
Google to Become Judge, Jury and Executioner on Ad Placement
NEW YORK, NY - There are a number of domainers out there that live and die by the sword – that is, the ad placement sword, where they cut and slice up deep rich (or some even thin) content pages with just the right mix of ads, images and content to keep users entertained while the clicks keep coming in. This is how the developer-focused domainer drives revenue on their blogs and net properties, especially since domain parking revenue dried up. That last thing domainers … [Read more...]
Is There a Limit to Your gTLD Stupidity Meter? At $185k a-Pop, Who Cares Right?
NEW YORK, NY - There are a lot of cool looking domain name extensions hitting the market and making the rounds these days – so many in fact it is getting hard to keep up with them all. I mostly like the short ones which at least somewhat represent the Internet such as “.web”, “.site”, “.link”, etc. But who in their right mind would want to register and own a .motorcycles domain name? Could it be any longer? I mean, nine times out of ten the beginning word (what's left of the … [Read more...]
Making Their Mark: “Big Brands” Invest Hundreds of Millions on .Dot Alternatives
NEW YORK, NY - Regardless of what your position is on new gTLD domains "Big Brands" are buying in hook, line and sinker while ICANN is raking in hundreds of millions of dollars on new gTLD fees. Each new application cost its applicant $185,000.00 and with it, an annual maintenance fee of $24,000.00 (yearly recurring). This doesn't include potentially hundreds of generic domains that were applied for and went to auction (I didn't count each one [Full statistics here] … [Read more...]
EFTY: Your Own Domain Store Without Having to Build It Yourself; Seems Good
NEW YORK, NY - About a week or so ago I signed up for an EFTY (https://www.efty.com) 30-day trial account to test the platform as a way to have a domain store for some of the domains I would like to eventually sell. I already tried SEDO to sell names as well as DomainNameSales.com and some other places too but what I found interesting about EFTY was the store portion of the platform - and it is responsive (mobile friendly). As a side-note: Back in the old days when the … [Read more...]
Sedo.com Weekly Domain Name Sales List 02/27/2017 – 03/06/2017
Just released is Sedo's weekly sales list, a weekly list of public transactions above $2,000. This weeks highlights included the top .com sold as elektromobil.com at $14,000 EUR (14,793.00 US), the top ccTLD as ich.de at 10,100 EUR ($10,673.00 US) and the top “other” TLD as fly.info at 10,000 EUR ($10,567.00 US). Here is the entire list from Sedo sales from 02/27/2017 – 03/06/2017. Domain … [Read more...]
New Google Search Tactic, Search “Box” Optimization, Making The Rounds
Someone introduced me to a new Internet marketing process yesterday which sounded too good to be true; sort of like Search Engine Optimization, nowadays; not realistic unless your budget is very strong. While looking into it some, I found out that it does make sense and people are in-fact using this process called SBO (Search Box Optimization) and it probably works, but it is considered a "Black-hat" tactic intended to "trick" Google into thinking a particular search term is … [Read more...]
Domain Community Can Do “Much Better” to Help Heidi Powell Keep HeidiPowell.com, Raise Awareness
NEW YORK, NY - It’s going to be a sad day for all domainers if and when Mrs. Heidi Powell loses ownership of her domain name “HeidiPowell.com”. Some of you may have read my original article on this topic earlier this month and some of you may not. Some of you may have even helped contribute to Heidi’s GoFundMe campaign to help her fight this nonsense legal battle – but again, some of you may not. Now I don't know exactly how big the domain community is - but it is sure bigger … [Read more...]
Throwback: Is Domain Parking Really Dead? If So, What Killed It? (Reprint: It’s That Good)
NEW YORK - A lot has changed with Domain Parking Revenue as well as Google Ad Earnings over the last, say, decade. There has been such great change that it's sometimes difficult to articulate - in a nutshell, why things have changed so drastically and in how many different ways this change has come about. I don't think anyone would argue that these changes have and continue to fundamentally reshape the entire industry. Last evening, I came across an article by writer and … [Read more...]
Could Domain Investing Industry End with Legal Provision for Domain “Hoarding”
NEW YORK, NY - What if you had to have a legitimate use for each and every domain name you have registered in your domain account? What if every single domain name you owned had to be associated with a business website which served its own purpose? It’s not happening yet, but it could happen. Every once in a while people ask me what I think are coming challenges for domain owners and I always have the same answer; regulation. If you follow what happened in the 1-800 Toll … [Read more...]
Expense Report: Domainers to See Increase in Costs via Secure Browser Requirements
Over the last year, buzz on SSL use in general has been skyrocketing due to increased hacking and search engine requirements. Now, web browsers will instill even more urgency for webmasters and site owners to get-their-act-together and prepare to tackle the challenge of converting non-secure sites, to secure. In a business field already difficult to prosper, the last thing you need is another monkey-wrench thrown into the mix. For many domain owners, including myself, it … [Read more...]
No More Procrastinating on Two Factor Authenticating Protect Your Domains
There is one thing that can come between you and your business regardless of whom you are and how safe you feel your security procedures might be and that’s theft – especially in the domain business. There is a lot that can go wrong in the Internet business as it is, but likely nothing would be as bad as someone stealing your entire Internet address. Poof, all the sudden your entire business is gone. In a brick-and-motor business, it’s not likely that someone will come along … [Read more...]
New gTLD? Not So Fast; History Suggests New ‘Right of the Dots’ Could = Total Failure
It's a time where new generic top level domains are taking a lot of the lime-light in domain circles, sales charts, and buzz; but is the entire thing just a huge distraction from what domainers should really be focused on? I stumbled upon a case-in-point scenario that no domainer should ignore, and I cannot believe no-one is talking about it more. It's got me questioning even my own enthusiasm for these new, right of the dots. And please do not get me wrong; I myself have … [Read more...]
Just Another ‘Go-Nowhere’ Transaction at GoDaddy’s Aftermarket for Domains; WTF?
NEW YORK, NY - Let me begin by saying I am a big fan of GoDaddy.com and have been doing business with them since I began working on the Internet. I’m also a Wild West Domains reseller and believe it or not, I may not have even found this fantastic industry if it were not for Godaddy’s “Website Tonight” product which is now called “Website Builder” as it resulted in me building my very first website. In my opinion, GoDaddy.com is one of the best registrars for domains and I … [Read more...]