Domain Masters

Seasonal Fluctations in Domain Parking

'Net Features : wm-domains — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20:00 GMT

Does the time of year impact how much domainers can expect to earn from their parked domains? Apparently so, according to recent findings from DomainIndex.com on the seasonality of parking revenues. The summers months, according to DomainIndex, are the slowest and the Winter months of November through February are the highest performing for domainers using parking in terms of generating revenue. DomainIndex used a database of 137,000 parked domains across many different verticals and parking companies with most users coming from type-in traffic. In the four years it collected data, they found the portfolio lost on average 7.5 percent. Below are the seasonal/monthly fluctuations, per domain, in parking revenues: January: 1.16 February 1.05 March: 1.06 April: 0.90 May: 0.93 June: 0.91 July: 0.89 August: 0.91 September: 0.98 October: 0.94 November: 1.19 December: 1.09...(read more)

What’s GoDaddy Got Up Its Digital Sleeve?

'Net Features : wm-domains — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:41:00 GMT

The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) has issued two patents to Godaddy for appraising domain names using comparative data and a domain appraisal algorithm. The domain name related patents essentially cover a process of “spinning” to create domain name permutations (variations) as well as the method to automatically generate an appraisal. It’s pretty interesting stuff for domainers – particularly those selling in the GoDaddy aftermarket. So what’s Godaddy got up its digital sleeve? Who knows, but by the sounds of it, it’s likely aspirations to a better position in the domain after market. We’re looking at you Flippa. Below is a summary/excerpt of the domain valuation patent: The appraisal may be accomplished by breaking the valuation of the domain into five logical groupings, possibly including evaluation of “5 P’s” related to the domain name. Evaluation of “precision” may include the number of distinct keywords found, the length of the name and the number of keywords found in the dictionary. Evaluation of “popularity” may include various search engine search result metrics and tracking of words searched per month. Evaluation of “presence” may include the age of the domain, and the rank of the web site according to web ranking services or software. Evaluation of “pattern” may include the number of premium characters, the part of speech (such as noun, plural...(read more)

A Fly Platform for New gTLD’s

'Net Features : wm-domains — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:40:00 GMT

So now that you’ve cleared that pesky ICANN hurdle and been approved for that new generic top-level domain (as if there were millions of you out there), how exactly are you going to control the distribution, the customization and expansion of your product offering to the digital community? Fly9 wants to help with a new solution that can handle all phases of the TLD lifecycle. The Fly9 solution offers a sunrise platform (for registrars, resellers and affiliates), an auction and buy now platform, as well as a live registration platform with registrar, reseller and affiliate support. “Getting the attention of consumers in the crowded registrar channel is difficult when there are thousands of top level domain names,” said Ravi Surya, president of Fly9 LLC. “That’s where we come in. We empower new TLD owners to control the distribution, customization and expansion of their product offering to a targeted community,” he explained. “It’s the reason some of the top-level domain registries are already our customers.”...(read more)

Get Naughty With a XXX Domain

'Net Features : wm-domains — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:49:00 GMT

ICM Registry , registry operator for the .XXX top-level domain (TLD), has announced that new .XXX domain registrations created from May 1 through May 31, 2013 will be available just $ 8.99 - a big reduction in price. Interested domainers (or those looking to protect their brand) can use their current registrar or one of the participating .XXX-friendly registrars. The registry also indicated that it is also making moves to protect .XXX TLD holders with its recent applications to operate three additional adult entertainment-related TLDs — .SEX, .PORN and .ADULT. If ultimately awarded thsse new TLDs, ICM Registry will offer a “grandfathering” clause and will automatically reserve matching names (at no additional cost) to those who already have .XXX domains. So if you buy a .XXX domain now and ICM Registry is approved to run those other domain extensions, you won't have to pay a dime. If you do choose to use them however, there will be a fee of course, but it will likely be nominal. “Our goal is to serve the adult industry by continually creating new initiatives and platforms that increase the inherent value of each .XXX website,” said CEO of ICM Registry, Stuart Lawley. Those that know me, know of my affinity for domain names. The one domain extension I have not purchased however, is that of the .XXX top level domain. Now, however, the draw may just be too much to bear....(read more)

FreshDrop Offers Cheaper Drop Catching; Enter the Pheenix

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:45:00 GMT

Drop-catching is the process of registering expired domain names after they have been officially canceled by the registry - in some instances, that can happen in fractions of a second after the domain has been deleted. It's a popular practice among serious domainers. Domain names that have recently lapsed in this way present a terrific opportunity for savvy enterprises - be it by capitalizing on the direct traffic expired domains receive or even building up a higher quality inventory of domain name assets. To date however, it has been a rather costly practice - at least until now. The 'major' drop catching services ( NameJet, Pool.com, and SnapNames ) charge between $59 and $69 per back ordered domains that are successfully obtained but each takes multiple back orders simultaneously, in which case, they are ultimately resolved with an auction (which for good domain names can become really expensive). But a new player has emerged which makes drop-catching less competitive and less expensive. FreshDrop 's new Pheenix service could shake up the domain backordering market dramatically. Backordering domain names through the service is free of charge and customers are only charged ($18.95 for a .com or .net, $58.95 for .CC and .TV) upon a successful acquisition. Domain names that are allowed to be backordered must be within the ‘Pending Delete’ status, and that have not already been reserved by another customer. To see what domains are pending deletion, visit...(read more)

DiscoveryDNS Offers Greater Control Over DNS Systems

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:35:00 GMT

Last October, ARI Registry Services announced plans to expand its line of DNS services, and on Sunday, at ICANN’s 46th public meeting in Beijing, ARI took the next step by unveiling its new DiscoveryDNS brand. DiscoveryDNS is a managed DNS service meant to help customers handle the challenges, risks and opportunities available in modern, dynamic business and technical environments. According to the CTO of ARI Registry Services, Chris Wright, “Our mission is to change the way the market perceives outsourced DNS services by providing predictability, transparency, superior technical capability and trust.” In order to give top-level domain (TLD) operators greater control and transparency when managing their DNS system, DiscoveryDNS offers them access to the raw packet capture (PCAP) files for all of their DNS queries. However, at first, DiscoveryDNS will only be providing services for new TLD applicants and country code TLD operators; eventually, ARI plans to expand the service with a new product intended for Registrars, ISPs and hosting providers. At present, DiscoveryDNS boasts over 475 new TLD applications as its foundational clients, which already makes it one of the world’s largest DNS providers, per TLD, once delegation is completed....(read more)

Domain Names Keep Growing Despite new TLDs Fears

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The domain name industry seems to be doing just fine despite all the hullabaloo about the coming introduction of those new gTLD’s. Verisign has just published its quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief which shows that more than 6 million domain names were added to the Internet in the final quarter of 2012, bringing the total number of registered domain names to more than 252 million worldwide across all TLD’s – a 2.5% increase over Q3 2012 and the eighth straight quarter with growth over 2%. Worldwide TLD registrations grew by 26.6 million, or 11.8%, year over year in 2012. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the base of registered names in .com equaled 106.2 million names, while .net equaled 14.9 million names. Other interesting facts from the report include: - The .com and .net renewal rate for Q4 2012 was 72.9 percent (up slightsly from the previous quarter - The base of Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) was 110.2 million domain names, a 5 percent increase quarter over quarter, and a 21.6 percent increase year over year in the base. - 64% of domains had multi-page websites, 21% had one page websites and 15% had no websites at all....(read more)

Domain Names: Dot CO on the Go

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:55:00 GMT

Last week, the .co domain namespace surpassed 1.5 million domain names. On the whole, the domain name industry has considered .CO’s progress rather significant and ultimately a success, particularly as its’ pricing is far higher than its .com counterpart. That has led some to suggest that .CO may be “juicing” it’s numbers. In a post at Domain Name Wire last week, domain name broker Rob Sequin suggested that “some registrars will hold pending deletes indefinitely so they are technically still “registered” by the registrant but never drop.” The 1.5 million domain number was not verified on the company blog, although .CO did publish some detailed statistics on .CO for the 2012 year (which are worth a look) which verify its rather impressive growth over the year. There’s even more going on for .CO Internet, however – and it could be some good news for the registry’s future. .CO also recently announced the launch of Asian IDNs. Chinese, Japanese and Korean will be supported at the formally announced April 15th launch. The registry has already begin offering .CO domains names in other languages including Icelandic, Danish, and Finnish, among others. The registry will not be conducting a formal trademark sunrise, land rush or grandfathering period for the three Asian IDN languages....(read more)

Initial Evaluation Results for First Set of gTLDs Released

'Net Features : wm-domains — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:15:00 GMT

New gTLDs are inching closer to becoming a reality, as ICANN has finished the Initial Evaluation for the first set of new gTLD applications and released the results to the general public. According to ICANN, there are three possible outcomes of the Initial Evaluation process: pass, eligible for extended evaluation or ineligible for further review. It is important to note that the first batch of evaluated gTLDs were of non-English language, and among the first applicants to pass the evaluation are Amazon EU, Wal-mart and VeriSign Sarl. ICANN states that it will continue to release Initial Evaluation results in priority order, in increments of 30 per week, with plans to increase to 100 per week. This process will continue until all Initial Evaluation results are completed, which ICANN anticipates will be by the end of August 2013. Furthermore, applications that pass the Initial Evaluation will be eligible to proceed to contracting, with execution of the Registry Agreement, as early as April 23, 2013....(read more)

Domain Apps to Download Today

'Net Features : wm-domains — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:55:00 GMT

Whether you are a first-time buyer or a seasoned pro, you can't go wrong with leveraging mobile apps that are designed specifically to make purchasing, selling and tracking domains more efficient and easier while on the go. Here are seven domain apps to consider downloading today. 1&1 Domain App Available On: iOS , Android Features: *Domain Search: Check whether the domain of your choice is still available *Whois information: Identify the owners of domain names that have already been registered *Shopping Basket: Select and order several domains with a single order *Price and Order: Check the current domain prices and enjoy the ability to order multiple domains on your smartphone Go Daddy Available On: iOS , Android , BlackBerry Features: *Get search results for single and bulk domains in seconds *Search more than 50 different top-level and country code domain types *Remember your account and search history *Save time with express checkout *Quickly manage DNS, nameservers, contact info and more *Save incoming files to Go Daddy Online Storage, even if your phone doesn’t support the file type *Send email attachments from Go Daddy Online Storage *Quickly share files with customers, clients and friends *Manage domain DNS, nameservers, contact info and more *Renew all your Go daddy products and services *Bid, buy or browse domain auctions Domain Storm by Network Solutions Available On: iOS Features: *Domain availability search for our most popular extensions .com, .net...(read more)

How the Web’s Six Oldest Sites Look Today

'Net Features : wm-domains — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:30:00 GMT

The Internet’s first domain name – Symbolics.com – turned 28 last week and the domain world partied like it was 1985, or at least it should have. After all, it was the year Michael Jordan was named NBA Rookie of the Year, the LA Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the 39th NBA Championship, MacGyver debuted, Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy and the world’s first-ever domains were registered . Source: Wikipedia Let’s look at how the first registered domains look today: 1. symbolics.com 2. bbn.com 3. think.com 4. mcc.com 5. dec.com 6. northrop.com...(read more)

Amazon, Microsoft & Go Daddy News to Know

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:15:00 GMT

Too much domain news, too little time? Spring into the new season armed with the domain news you might have missed. Single- and Two-Character .ORG Auction Starts Today: Go Daddy and Public Interest Registry (PIR) have teamed up to auction 42 valuable single- and two-character domain names like I.ORG, S.ORG and TS.ORG on GoDaddy.com, March 18. This historic auction starts today and will last 10 days. Pre-approval is required , and a look at the current auction shows domains, like 3p.org and 5v.org, going for $10, while single-character domains, such as v.org and i.org, going as high as $50,000 (and likely only to increase as the hours and days go on). “Businesses looking for short, effective domain names are going to love the .ORG auction,” said Go Daddy Director of Domain Name Aftermarkets Paul Nicks in a statement. “These names are the best of the best. I expect the auction of these single- and two-character domain names will not only generate high interest, but also help define the aftermarket prior to the introduction of new gTLDs later this year.” Microsoft Releases ccTLD Registry Security: A few weeks ago, Microsoft released the Microsoft Country-Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) Registry Security Assessment Service, which is meant to assist ccTLD registry operators to find and fix security vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Those who own a domain registry and are seeking a solution to help identify vulnerabilities and receive guidance that may...(read more)

SMBs Passing on gTLDs

'Net Features : wm-domains — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:00:00 GMT

New generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are only going to make the Internet more confusing to navigate. That is according to 52.3 percent of the 600 respondents who were queried via SurveyMonkey as part of the Sedo sponsored gTLD Awareness Report. The goal of the research was to uncover whether small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) are aware of the pending launch of new gTLDs in 2013 and whether they plan to take advantage of them. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed are unaware that new gTLDs will be available in 2013 and many do not understand what the value of these new addresses will be. Nearly half either saw no advantage or were unsure what the advantage of a new gTLD would be. The findings tend to be particularly useful, because 63.7 percent of the respondents have purchased domain names in the past, and the survey audience understands the importance of the correct domain name to their business’ success. Even so, a resounding 94.1 percent said they were not currently planning to purchase a new gTLD, and there were very mixed results when it came to what would persuade them to purchase one (see image). So what exactly are new gTLDs? They are brand-new domain extensions that will increase domain name choices to include descriptive strings, such as .blog, .book, .hotel, which can help in brand awareness and general memorability. Major brands, like Amazon, are feverishly applying for new gTLDs with plans to use them, but this research by Sedo makes it clear that a successful...(read more)

Domain Parking for Charity with Rikimu

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Those actively buying and selling domain names (for profit, of course) have a new option for parking those assets - Rikimu . Domain parking has really fallen out of vogue as Google openly admitted to penalizing parked sites almost two years ago. While that will dissuade many from parking domain name assets that aren't in active use, those with hundreds or thousands of domains still need a solution - and it's still to parking services to which they turn. On the whole however, there's been little in the way of true innovation in this sector. With new gTLD's arriving this year, the problem only stands to get worse. There's no shortage of domain parking services available today. Registrars typically provide the functionality but there are a whole host of other dedicated parkin services including Skenzo, Bodis, and Sedo to name just a few, but none that I have come across that are antyhing like Rikimu. Where this new domain parking platform differentiates itself is in it's charitable nature. At Rikimu, 5 percent of every click is donated to charity. That actually needs a little clarification. The five percent actually comes out of Rikimu's revenue share on clicks that occurs on a parked domain. For example, if Rikimu's revenue share from the advertisers is 1% of every click, then 5% of that 1% goes to the charity the domainer (the group or individual parking the domain) selected. Pretty cool, but it get's even better. Rikimu also works with some...(read more)

Domain Name Appraisal with DomainMongrel

'Net Features : wm-domains — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:36:00 GMT

What's that domain name worth in the reseller market? A new tool, DomainMongrel , aims to help you find out. The domain name estimation tool provides a "rough indication" of a domains worth by analyzing the Alexa monthly ranking, the global monthly searches, the regional monthly searches, the estimated keyword cost-per-click, the dictionary worth (if the domain name contains keywords that are in the dictionary) and historical domain sales (of similar domains). While domain name appraisals have historically been woefully inaccurate, it's still fun to receive a general idea of what, in a perfect world, your domain name might actually sell for in the reseller market. As you can see in the image below, WebsiteMagazine.com is appraised at just over 2 million dollars - I'd say that's pretty close!...(read more)