The
Domain Name Land Grab
How do Domain Names Work?
Click here for an overview
What's in a Domain Name?
Since the advent of the World Wide
Web, domain names have assumed an increasingly important role
in bringing order to the wide-open spaces of the Internet.
A veritable land grab, the likes of which has not been seen
since the great western migration in the mid-1800's, is now
upon us. Conservative estimates suggest that well over 30
million generic top-level domain names have been registered
worldwide - a number which grows by the hour. Industry experts
predict that this number could reach 120 million within 2
to 3 years. About 60-70% of these are dot.com names. However,
as the supply of quality dot.com names dwindles, there has
been a resurgent interest in other top-level domains, such
as dot.net, dot.org, dot.biz, dot.info, etc. as well as country
specific domain names - such as dot.tv (Tuvalan) and dot.cc
(Cocos Islands).
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Domain names that are memorable
and easily recognizable, such as Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and
AOL.com have facilitated enormous flows of traffic to their
respective sites - and created astounding wealth for their
founders.
These domain names have become powerful
Icons of the information revolution, and are now numbered
among the strongest brand names in the world.
What Makes for a Valuable Domain Name?
Of course, the ultimate test of
value is determined by a domain name's ability to attract
traffic to a site.
However, there are five primary
attributes that have been shown to determine the value of
a domain name. To maximize value, a domain name should be:
Memorable
Relatively Short
Descriptive
Intuitive
.com
Consider the following examples:
Business.com sold for over $7 million
on the secondary market.
This name seems to have everything
going for it. Now, of course, it is up to the new owners to
build a web site filled with compelling content to keep visitors
coming back. Will the name ultimately prove a good investment?
Time will tell.
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eBusiness.com is not as strong as
Business.com because it is not as intuitive or memorable and
it is slightly longer. However, it may be considered a close
second, and it's value would undoubtedly reflect that fact.
AllAboutBusiness.com is a solid
name that will attract its share of traffic. It is intuitive,
descriptive and memorable. However, it is also lengthy. As
a result, it is not in the same league as Business.com. A
sharp drop off in value will be seen due to its length.
There are literally hundreds of
thousands of variations on the business theme - many of these
names are for sale on the secondary market - at varying prices
- most of them too high. These range from names such as: "aBusiness4u.com"
to "TexasBidness.com". But there is and always will
be only one Business.com. It occupies a unique and valuable
piece of web real estate. Web addresses, like physical addresses,
can have very different relative values. Comparing "Business.com"
to "aBusinessForAllSeasons.com", for example, would
be analogous to comparing a prime Park Avenue location to
a seedy strip mall off the beaten path.
Why dot.com?
The dot.com moniker has become the
de-facto brand of the Internet. Tens of billions of dollars
have been pumped into dot.com advertising in recent years,
and money continues to pour in. For better or for worse, the
Internet experience is now strongly identified with the dot.com
brand image. Most marketing brand experts will agree that
the momentum of the dot.com brand will be difficult if not
impossible to overcome. There are simply too many well-financed
companies with enormous investments in the dot.com brand to
allow it to simply fade away. While the other Top Level Domains
(TLD's), such as dot.net and dot.org are perfectly capable
of serving their intended purpose of conveying traffic to
a site at the click of a mouse, when it comes down to making
a choice, most people are now programmed to click through
to a dot.com. Unfortunately, this often leaves dot.com's poor
step-sisters dressed for the dance but with few willing suitors.
How
Does the Domain Name System Work?
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