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IDNs: The Next Horizon for GeoDomain Investors

Andrew Allemann — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:29:20 +0000

by Aaron Krawitz, Gary Males & Patrick Carleton

[Editor's note: this is a guest article about the potential of IDN geo domain names.]

We’ve long been believers in GeoDomains and continue to be on the lookout for new and lucrative niches, which is why we have each individually made substantial investments in IDN GeoDomains.

With the fog of uncertainty finally lifting over IDNs, now is the ideal time for for geo investors to stake a claim in IDNs where the window of opportunity is quickly closing.

For years, antagonists of non-latin IDNs have focused on the premise that the part to the right of the dot was still in English. Let’s face it, [non-English] dot [English "com"] never made any sense, and that was the number one reason why many didn’t take a closer look.

But a few weeks ago, this all changed, as VeriSign finally showed its hand and put to bed the rumors of how these half IDNs were going to operate. In a brief, but game changing interview, Vice President of Policy and Compliance for VeriSign Information Services (VIS) Chuck Gomes spoke of how an existing [non-English] dot [English "com"] could be unlocked so that the domain owner also owns the rights to the same domain but with a localized extension (i.e [the same non-English domain] dot [non-English "com"]). For example, the owner of the Japanese domain, ニューオーリンズ.com (New Orleans), would also hold the rights to the same keyword with a non-English extension in the corresponding local language, such as ニューオーリンズ.コム. The characters “コム” are the familiar way to express “com” in Japanese.

So what does this mean for GeoDomainers?

ICANN’s IDN program aims to deliver on many promises, and the majority of these promises are to native speaking countries. IDNs intrinsically breed nationalistic pride in having one’s own language represented in a domain name, so it makes complete sense that GeoDomains of native cities/towns in their respective languages will be warmly welcomed.

What should we make of the competition, the new IDN ccTLDs?

Russia’s new .рф extension is a prime example, which, like the existing Japanese ccTLD are reserving all geos for government use. You can bet there will be mildly interesting informational sites put up on these geos for IDN ccTLDs, but they will be void of any commercial use. This will clear the way for IDN dot com names to dominate.

Where are the opportunities?

With only 1 million IDNs registered today, there is ample opportunity, and most old-time IDNers haven’t bought geos with a population under 100,000!

We are still in the early days of the IDN market and geos can be picked up for bargain prices on droplists or even occasionally at reg fee.

Aaron Krawitz of IDNBlog and Gary Males of IDNDemystified co-own IDNDroplist, IDNTools and IDNNewsletter. Patrick Carleton is Executive Directory of Associated Cities.

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Two Common Questions to Answer Before Launching a Geo Web Site

Andrew Allemann — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:03:47 +0000

Link To Full Story: Domain Name Wire

Answers to two common questions about starting a geo domain web site.

I’ve received numerous inquiries regarding my experience with Lakeway.com, a city directory site for Lakeway, Texas. I’ve answered a number of them personally, but would like to address a couple of them.

I’m in no way an authority on city geo web sites. But I’m assuming most readers aren’t either, which makes this relevant.

Here are two common questions I’ve been asked and the answers:

1. I’m thinking about buying a city.com domain name. The city has about 10,000 residents, which is similar to your city. Is this too small?

It really depends on the city and your model. Although the population of Lakeway is under 10,000, there are some demographic trends that make the city appealing for a directory web site. First, it is expected to double in size over the next 5-10 years. There are literally thousands of lots to be sold to home buyers in the next five years. Second, it is a wealthy community. Third, it attracts tourists because it is on Lake Travis, a major recreational lake. Fourth, it has a community feel and local businesses — it’s not just a bedroom community to Austin. So consider the population in context of the city’s demographics, growth, and business climate.

2. What platform did you use? Do you recommend it?

I used eDirectory to build Lakeway.com. eDirectory powers a number of local web sites. I paid a few thousand dollars for the software license and then another $5k-$10k on a graphics designer and for customizations to be made to the software. eDirectory also offers an affordable “lease” option.

A competitor to eDirectory that was made solely for geo sites is City in a Box. City in a Box wasn’t around when I developed Lakeway.com, so I’m not sure how it compares.

There are other solutions, but few have been designed around city directories.

In addition to these two questions, many people have asked how the results have been. It’s a mixed bag so far — I’ll do another post on that to help you avoid my missteps.

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Google Public DNS Could Be Data Treasure Trove for Google

Andrew Allemann — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:39:23 +0000

Link To Full Story: Domain Name Wire

Google DNS is a big deal.

Google announced today that it is launching Google Public DNS, a free DNS resolver that promises to speed up the web. This is a big deal for web site owners and domainers. Here’s why.

1. Google may have just killed OpenDNS. OpenDNS does effectively the same thing Google hopes to do with its DNS. OpenDNS (which I personally use) makes money by showing ads when you type in a domain that doesn’t exist. This is similar to what Verizon does. Now Google is competing with OpenDNS, and has a lot more to gain datawise. Meaning it will probably be free, with no catches, and could kill OpenDNS if Google adds more features to match OpenDNS.

2. Google could bring the ad game to non resolving domains. If they want to, they can play the OpenDNS game (see #1).

3. Public DNS will enable Google to determine where your browser takes you. For now, the company claims it won’t hijack your browser and play tricks, but the potential is there.

4. Data, Data, Data. DNS operators get loads of data. From non-existent domain queries (which many ISPs have sold to domainers) to traffic data, it’s a lot more than Google already gets. Google gets most of its data from searches that start at Google. It also gets some from its Adsense ads, Google Analytics, etc. But now it has the power to get complete web browsing data for people who use its DNS. Imagine if it used this data in its search algorithms?

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