Let’s Face It, The Domain Name Industry is Small
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Compared to much of the online world, the domain business is tiny.
A lot of times we like to think of ourselves in the domain name industry as self-important. The head honchos.
The domain industry is certainly important. All online companies start with a domain name. But let’s face it, we’re a small part on the online world. A drop in the bucket.
I was reminded of this again while at Ad-Tech in New York City this week. With hundreds of exhibitors, the event was big. And online advertising is big. The domain name industry, even when you add up every piece of it, is very small by comparison.
Companies that find a way to click beyond the domain industry see big opportunities. In addition to our Media.net booth at the show, both Sedo and Elephant Traffic had booths. There were also representatives of other domain companies, such as Oversee.net and Name Media in attendance. A number of domainers who have seen past the importance of domains and think bigger were also there.
There’s nothing wrong with being in a niche industry. Just think about how you can become bigger by expanding your niche.
Further Reading:
Let’s face it, Google is just a web crawler with a decent algorithm. The name of the search engine that will someday replace it may not even be regged yet.
Let’s face it, most of the companies at Ad-Tech won’t be around in a couple years, but domains will be around forever.
Hear hear
This industry is tiny and full of some self important people very proud of themselves. Some smart, some lucky, some a bit of both.
A few short years ago, some big names in the industry were arguing that if a crappy domain about bulldozers got 10 type ins per month, it might be worth $75,000 because one of those 120 people who clicked on it in a year might buy a bulldozer. Nevermind the fact that bulldozer clicks could be bought for $.75 each – that logic escaped them. Now some of those people are saying it was never about the type in…um, ok.
As more and more people realize you need to think beyond just the name, more and more people are realizing that building a business is not the same as flipping a domain.
And today some self proclaimed experts are out there touting their brilliant sites they have built, yet these sites lack the basic SEO features that any competent developer would include with their project.
This is a fascinating and exciting industry with some great people, but also with some overly proud big fish in a tiny, tiny pond…..
Unfortunately the domain industry and its players are the poorest among other businesses. When Google asks for $5.00 per click on some of the keywords, and most of the leading registrars make no more profit than 10 cents a domain, no more than handful in this business can afford to live a lavish life.
did you ask sedo why they have burried .tv away behind 30 pages of .com
Ad Tech was here in Tokyo & had a great turnout. It would be good if there was more emphasis, research, case studies in the domaining world on how generic domains can bring value to companies’ targeted consumers.
The ad industry technology has advanced & not relying on “do they get it, or not”. I’d love if the big domain holders released conversion data as a case study. This is what the Ad industry understands & has moved towards. Client’s are increasing their spends on media & marketing tactics that they can clearly measure.
Domain investors & domaining publishers reporting on the ad industry only makes the domaining community smarter.
@roddy..
cuz .tv is horrible
Thanks for this post, Andrew. This does help to validate some of the hard work we’re doing. But for those in development, advertising and the like, it is certainly in their best interest to recognize the domain industry as the integral facet of online that it is.
I’ve been quietly involved in the domain space since ’97, and (still) see that there are two major issues, which limits our success and harms our reputation(s).
First, domainers are horrible site developers: and even those who are smart enough to partner with ‘professionals developers’ still manage to put up some of the worst looking sites on the Web. It’s really quite shocking to see this still being the case as we’re coming into 2011. [Case-in-point: Just this week numerous domain blogs were essentially genuflecting to a Geo site created by some well-known domainers -- which is frankly pathetic, from a design standpoint...something that looks like a rock radio station site, circa 1999.]
Second, many of us are just so sick and tired of seeing 90%+ of domain blog posts being nothing more than classified ads for crappy domains, or press releases for “hugely successful” conferences. And most of this is just marketed to other domainers. So long as this continues, ALL domainers will be viewed by the rest of the business community as nothing more than used car salesmen.
Sorry to vent, but I’d really like to see this industry mature and succeed. But unless these two issues become historical footnotes, nothing will really change.
@Gene (totally agree)
Domainers:
In the real world, estate agents are considered in relation to car salesmen, tongue in cheek individuals who want to remove you of your money.
Developers:
Architects, considered as craftsmen with vision and ingenuity.
These two breeds of people don’t usually come as one. Unless the architect is buying up future property to develop on..
Great post Andrew. In an industry that does carry many innovators and intelligent people it is surprising to see the slow migration towards the more established online industry that is advertising (actively that is). Understanding this we have made it our mantra to be the bridge that enables the resources of the domain community to be accessed by the online advertising world. As a domain community the more support and media outreach we can lend to one another the more established the domain community can become, essentially developing into a standard, and sought after, advertising channel. By working with both sides of the ball I can tell you that going directly to the advertisers is very profitable. Not to mention it is always nice to see familiar faces at these events around the world.