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Google’s new search results pages: love it or hate it?

by — Services 3 Comments

Desktop results still show the domain name but mobile results don’t.

Google recently changed its desktop search results to look more like its mobile search results. This includes showing the site’s favicon, second level and top level domain, title, and snippet.

It also bolds the ‘ad’ tag before ads.

I’ll be honest, it’s giving me a headache. The favicons are distracting, and I wonder if it actually makes it harder for people to distinguish organic listings from ads because now all listings have a graphic in front of them.

After the change, Google search liaison Danny Sullivan noted the importance of domain names in search result listings:

But, as you can see from my response, Google still leaves domain names off of mobile search results. So it seems that Google thinks they are important, unless you’re on a mobile device where you’re even more likely to be duped. (Google does show domain names on ads on mobile search.)

If nothing else, Google has certainly elevated the importance of having a good favicon!

Why X, Y, J are great letters for Chinese acronym domains

by — Uncategorized 2 Comments

Why these letters make sense in China.

The letters x, y, and j on a green background. The green background is on a black background.

Kassey Lee explains why x, y, and j are good letters for domains in China.

Before I came into the domain space, I had not heard that some letters in the English alphabet are premium and some are not. Specifically, some domain investors in the west consider j, k, q, x, y, and z to be inferior letters. However, these letters may be very useful in the east.

Recently, the domain XYJ.com was sold for 160,000 yuan (about $22,400) in China. The X, Y, and J in the domain may not be considered premium letters in the west, but in the Chinese context, they are great letters.

X can be an acronym for over 1,000 Pinyin words such as Xing (行=travel), Xue (学=learn), and Xuan (选=select). A domain containing X may enable you to create brands in the tourism, education, and shopping fields respectively.

Y can also be an acronym for over 1,000 Pinyin words such Yi (医=medical), You (友=friend), and Ying (赢=win). A domain containing Y may enable you to create brands in the medicine, social network, and betting fields respectively.

Finally, J can be an acronym for over 1,000 Pinyin words such Jia (家=home), Jian (健=health), and Jiu (酒=wine). So, a domain containing J may enable you to create brands in the homecare, health, and alcoholic beverage fields respectively.

Combining X, Y, and J may result in many interesting brands. Some examples are shown below.

  • Xian Yao Jia (仙药家=home of elixir of immortality), which can be a brand for a Chinse medicine company
  • Xi You Ji (西游记=Journey to the West), which can be a brand for a tour company
  • Xi Ye Ji (喜业绩=happy business performance), which can be a brand for a consulting company

So, an acronym domain enables you to create many Chinese brands, each of which may be used in different fields and has the chance to become a billion-dollar company. That’s their mighty power in China. They have one additional feature — helping Chinese companies go global. The reason is explained in my article “How a 3 letter domain helped this business go global“.

Therefore, when looking at an acronym domain, I do not focus on its individual letters but the brands that it can be turned into and industries that it can be used for.

NamesCon weather will be hit and miss

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Most days will be nice, and Saturday will be beautiful.

Picture of the sun and clouds with the words "Weather Forecast"

Weather in Austin during January can be hit or miss. Some days will be sunny and warm while other days will be cold with even a bit of freezing precipitation.

Fortunately, it looks like this week’s weather will mostly be a hit for NamesCon, with just a slight miss on Thursday. And if you’re staying for the weekend, you’re in for a treat.

Here’s the forecast as of Monday afternoon:

  • Tuesday 42-70 with a morning shower
  • Wednesday 41-61 partly sunny
  • Thursday 43-56 with afternoon showers possible
  • Friday 42-60 partly sunny
  • Saturday 46-70 with sunshine (great weather for Fun Day at Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden)
  • Sunday 53-77 partly sunny

What domains do the best AI startups in China prefer?

by — Uncategorized 11 Comments

Chinese artificial intelligence companies use .com, and most use English names.

Picture of brain schema in museum with the words 'artificial intelligence'

I enjoy reading news about Chinese AI startups because I believe they will lead corporate China in the future. As most companies tend to follow leaders, studying domains acquired by top AI startups may tell me trends in domain buying in China.

Recently, AI-Startups.org published a list of the Top 15 AI startups in China. Based on the list, I used Baidu to find out domains used by these startups, as shown below.

Rank Startup Domain
1 SenseTime SenseTime.com
2 UBtech UBtech.com
3 Megvii Megvii.com
4 Mobvoi Mobvoi.com
5 Rokid Rokid.com
6 Roobo Roobo.com
7 ByteDance ByteDance.com
8 Liulishuo Liulishuo.com
9 Cambricon Cambricon.com
10 Appier Appier.com
11 Synyi Synyi.com
12 Tianrang Tianrang.com
13 SandStar SandStar.com
14 Elsa ElsaSpeak.com
15 HiHedge HiHedge.com

Characteristics of the domains can be summarized as follows:

  • All 15 startups use .com.
  • All except one domain (ElsaSpeak.com) match their corresponding brand.
  • Only two are Pinyin-based. The rest are English or English-like.
  • All domains are fewer than 10 characters (excluding extension).
  • Two-word names are popular.

The conclusion is obvious: .com is king in China too. Specifically, English-based brand-matching .com will continue to be popular. In other words, the EnglishDotCom domain strategy is the way to go.

NamesCon preview – DNW Podcast #270

by — Podcasts 1 Comment

Michael Cyger and Monte Cahn preview the action in Austin this week.

dnw-podcastThis week the domain name industry will converge in Austin, Texas for NamesCon 2020. To preview the action, I talk to Michael Cyger of DNAcademy about which panels he’s attending. Then, I speak to Monte Cahn about the live domain name auction taking place on Thursday. Check out the links below if you are interested in bidding.

See you in Austin!

Sponsor: DAN.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:29 — 25.2MB) | Embed

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Show links: remote live auction registration if not attending the auction, pre-bidding, all auction info/details

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