Article in Today’s Wall Street Journal discusses .mobi domain names and web sites.
On page B1 of today’s Wall Street Journal is an article “Mini Web Sites Target Users of Mobile Phones“. The article discusses the domain name and new tools that help consumers build mobile web sites with ease. It profiles Johannes Tromp, owner of a bed and breakfast that uses kilburnie.mobi. Tromp claims to get 30-40 new calls per month as a result of his .mobi site.
The article also points out a couple negatives about .mobi:
1. A number of .mobi registrations are probably defensive moves to protect trademarks
2. .Com and other domains can also be used for mobile devices, so there may not be a need for .mobi.
I’m surprised the article didn’t mention some of the big aftermarket sales of the domain as proof that people see a future in .mobi. The highest known sale is Flowers.mobi, which sold during October’s TRAFFIC conference in Florida.
Will .mobi continue to perform well in the aftermarket? .Mobi domains are highly speculative and can’t count on much traditional pay-per-click revenue. Buyers should plan on holding domains for the long haul. Buyers also must believe two key things: 1) the web on mobile devices will become commonplace and 2) companies will opt for .mobi rather than mobile versions of their .com sites.
Brad F. says
“Com and other domains can also be used for mobile devices, so there may not be a need for .mobi”
– try this and see what you get. no reliably consistent experience, quite jumbled across the board even with many sites having a mobile browser detect ready with xhtml response among a .com folder.
– .mobi is here to address this with enforcement of coding standards. Rf the user selects .mobi extension, he or she will be assured they won’t be wasting their time.
“…can’t count on much traditional pay-per-click revenue”
– see http://www.admob.com
Already approaching 2 bil ads served on this network alone.
This general arguement of resistance seems to gain strength in the idea of contrary business development, much like mac and the pc. With, of course, so much resistance to change itself, as always when there is an existing structure in place.
Too, many mobile searches are not yet showing .mobi’s simply because the search engine facilties have not yet adjusted their algorithms.
Brad F says
cont’d
For ppc on mobile sites, also see:
http://medio.com
Which was recently introduced.
This is growing very fast.
Speakingouttruth says
Here’s the real logical deal on .mobi:
If the cellphone providers start buying up .mobi domains, then the .mobi revolution is own. If not… it’s a long road ahead.
I am brokering dine.mobi for $50,000. If .mobi was really accepted as a great new extension, this domain would be picked up at that price in a few days. Email me at
spritzenfoogle (at) yahoo (dot) com
Let’s see some people put their money where their mouths are… because anyone knows that DINE.MOBI is worth at least HALF of “flowers.mobi”.