AUCTION RECAP OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2020
A look at the final auction prices, closeouts and more from the domain auction list posted on September 25, 2020. If the… Read more
IKE’S LIST OF DOMAINS AT AUCTION FOR Saturday, September 26th
Have a great weekend. Main List NameJet Flippa/Sedo LLLL.com’s LLL, CCC, 5L … Read more
How established .com businesses can benefit from using multiple domain names
Everyone who seriously invests in the new generation of domain names (also sometimes called “new gTLDs” – domain n… Read more
Efty just hit a major milestone – their first 4 million user month
Well it’s safe to say Efty has had one heck of a summer. Today the popular domain management/monetization/marketing pl… Read more
My DAN + GoDaddy / Afternic Pricing Strategy
I had a rare phone conversation with a friend about domain names yesterday. We chatted about the overall market, and I s… Read more
How do you see it from your viewpoint?
Hi everyone, Today I received an email which I wanted to share with everyone. Usually I don’t share any emails on my b… Read more
AUCTION RECAP OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
A look at the final auction prices, closeouts and more from the domain auction list posted on September 24, 2020. If the… Read more
Domain Shane’s Daily List of Domains at Auction for Friday September 25th, 2020
The hardest part of doing anything is staying motivated. The only way I can keep myself moving forward is by creating sm… Read more
$28,888 buyer of Tiger.io revealed
Earlier this month Tiger.io sold for $28,888 at Park.io. The buyer is now revealed to be Tiger Communications PLC out of… Read more
Are domains more liquid if they’ve been approved on BrandBucket or Squadhelp?
One of the things I’m seeing more and more these days is domain investors talking about names that have been approved… Read more
“I Received an Offer…”
Outbound domain name marketing tends to result in lower offers and sales prices than inbound lead generation. It makes s… Read more
AUCTION RECAP OF SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
A look at the final auction prices, closeouts and more from the domain auction list posted on September 23, 2020. If the… Read more
Domain Shane’s Daily List of Domains at Auction for Thursday September 24rd, 2020
I talked to Ron Wells this past weekend. If you remember Ron was in the hospital for over 3 months with COVID. I was so… Read more
Google continues to emphasize that keywords in domains do nothing for SEO
For years now Google has been sending a clear message when it comes to the role that domain names play in their ranking… Read more
$35,000 to shave two letters off the domain name
Upper is a European firm that looks to match companies with freelancers in the tech industry. They believe the future of… Read more
How I Use Dropping.pro for Domain Sales Lead Gen
In response to yesterday’s article about using contact forms to sell domain names, two readers asked me for more infor… Read more
AUCTION RECAP OF SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
A look at the final auction prices, closeouts and more from the domain auction list posted on September 22, 2020. If the… Read more
Domain Shane’s Daily List of Domains at Auction for Wednesday September 23rd, 2020
I finally did it. Something I had set a goal on over a decade ago. I broke 3 hours in the marathon. It’s the mag… Read more
How to Correctly Appraise A New Generation of Domain Names
Each domain investor should know the value of their domain names. Before 2014, we had 3 main domain extensions in intern… Read more
RemoteOk.io makes $65,000 a month…and the whole site is just one PHP file
So here’s an interesting one. See the website above? It’s all contained in one single PHP file, and it generates $65… Read more
Original Domain Investor is “‘psychedelic concierge’ to the stars”
I was reading the New York Post this afternoon, when I came across a photo of a person I recognize, Mike Zapolin, known… Read more
I Like Contact Forms When Doing Outbound Sales
I haven’t been doing a whole lot of outbound marketing to sell domain names this year, primarily due to the pandemic a… Read more
AUCTION RECAP OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
A look at the final auction prices, closeouts and more from the domain auction list posted on September 21, 2020. If the… Read more
IKE’S LIST OF DOMAINS AT AUCTION FOR Tuesday, September 22nd
I’m officially a dork; after listening to 300 episodes of the Civil War podcast, 250 episodes of The American Revoluti… Read more
ConstitutionUS.com updated, same site – new registrant country
Looking at ConstitutionUS.com today, the expired domain name that closed at $103,000 at GoDaddy auctions on 9/12. The do… Read more
Help me pick the first category for the “Best in Domaining” Awards
As I’ve said many times before, we have an amazing community in the Domaining world. While the industry sometimes gets… Read more
How many domains do you need to own to be considered a Domainer?
Here’s a question I’ve seen asked quite a bit over the years and it popped up again on Twitter this weekend: In gene… Read more
Detour.com has quite the history, expires and closes at $65,006
Detour.com was registered in 1994 and sold for $15,000 on Moniker in 2009. The domain name was then developed into a GPS… Read more
How A Bad Website Address Is Damaging Your Organization
“Ouch, I just saw a really HORRIBLE website address!”, I complained to my friend after I recently saw an add on Link… Read more
Interview with James Chance, CEO of Yourself.online
I was talking with my good friend friend Brian a couple of weeks ago when a new startup he was working with came up. Qui… Read more
OTI.net owned by some heavy hitters through the years, gets sold at BuyDomains for close to 5x
Oti.net is a domain name that has been around the block. Registered in 2003 after being dropped one time before. The dom… Read more
Naira Perez on Paid Media, and an Intro to Social Paid Media, and Audiences
On this episode of the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer podcast, I spoke with Naira Perez from SpringHill Digital. We… Read more
Initial offer on Voice.com was $150,000
Michael J. Saylor is the CEO of MicroStrategy the company that sold Voice.com for $30 million last year. CryptoNews.com… Read more
Does anyone actually sell domain names on Twitter?
This morning veteran domain investor Michael Curving asked a question that I’ve always wondered about myself, does any… Read more
Why you should NEVER use NameJet
Hi everyone, I believe some regular bidders won’t like sharing it publicly but I don’t care for such mentality of pe… Read more
The Story of BuildFreeSites.com
It started with an idea I had to promote BoredHumans.com. Maybe I could build free websites for people in exchange for t… Read more
ROW.com hits $150k on Flippa
I was reading the Domain Smoke newsletter this morning when a name caught my eye, ROW.com which has an $150k bid on Flip… Read more
Selling a four-word .COM for a 280x ROI
I talk a lot about two-word .COMs on my blog, have for years and don’t plan to stop anytime soon – they are the brea… Read more
Legal Brand Domains : MicroGrid.com and other #domain acquisitions
Legal Brand Domains is operated by Braden Pollock, a seasoned domain investor who is often as hyper-active as Drew Rosen… Read more
Labor Day & Labor Day Weekend : Holiday #domains used as URL forwarders
With Labor Day this coming Monday, Americans are about to take a break from their mostly home-based work. Canadians too!… Read more
Vote twice : Illegal prompt by Donald Trump might result in #domain sale
President Donald Trump prompted supporters in North Carolina to verify their mail-in vote by attempting to vote twice: o… Read more
SUCKS.COM : Another day, another generic #domain applies for trademark at the #USPTO
Summary: SUCKS.COM aspires to be a registered trademark by filing an application at the USPTO. Ever since SCOTUS gave th… Read more
Afternic experiment of August 2020
Hi everyone, When I first started sharing the January experience, I wasn’t expecting to continue sharing for this long… Read more
China wins 22678.COM : Sold for $15,755 dollars on #DropCatch
Five digit .com domain, 22678.com, was auctioned off on DropCatch, where it closed at $15,755 dollars. The NNNNN .com dr… Read more
C.COM – Impossible single letter #domain heads to the #USPTO
Single letter dot .com domains are impossible to register or acquire; in fact, only X.com and Z.com are officially regis… Read more
HostMy.Cloud : #UDRP route failed to materialize for .CO.UK registrant
The registrant of HostMyCloud.co.uk went after the absolute matching domain, HostMy.Cloud via the UDRP process. In doing… Read more
Chinese phisher lost Google Authenticator impostor #domain in #UDRP
Phishing is rampant, and when the targeted brand and service is Google Authenticator there’s a lot at stake. The regis… Read more
WalmartPlus.com : #Domain to be used after 14 years
Walmart is rolling out Walmart+ as a direct competition to Amazon’s Prime. For an annual fee of $98 dollars, consumers… Read more
You might be getting $25 dollars from eBay for being one of its first members!
Auction powerhouse, eBay, is celebrating 25 years on September 3rd, and is giving away $25 dollar coupons to some of its… Read more
SedoPRO World Tour : A great experience 10 years ago
It’s been exactly 10 years since SedoPRO World Tour took place in Boston, Massachusetts. Attending the two day event w… Read more
#Sedo #domain sales for the week of August 31, 2020 topped by MoovLogistics.com at $21000
Sedo weekly: Top sale is that of Moovlogistics.com at $21,000 dollars! Welcome to the latest edition of reporting on the… Read more
Tubortax.com : Fifteen years of PPC monetization ends here
It’s the end of the line for the domain Tubortax.com – after 15 years of presumably massive earnings, it’s time to… Read more
#Microsoft has no trademark in “window” says Respondent in Window11Updates.com #UDRP
From the hilarious claims department: The Indian registrant of the domain Window11Updates.com claimed that Microsoft has… Read more
Michael Robrock is the new CEO at Sedo
Change in management at Sedo GmbH – Cologne, September 1, 2020 – After 20 months in his position as CEO at the Germa… Read more
End of summer : James Booth scores big with Sun.IO #domain sale
Domain investor and broker, James Booth, scored yet another big sale, letting go of Sun.IO for a reported $49,995 dollar… Read more
Zero force point: Don’t bend your own arm into buying that domain name
Every domain inquiry begins with the best intentions, as buyer and seller negotiate. It’s not just the price that affe… Read more
Fake Birth Date Used on Google and Apple Accounts Is on Credit Report
A Reddit user, Reckoner6777, set up a Google Account and an Apple ID with a fake birth date. According to the user, they… Read more
Afternic experiment of July 2020
Hello everyone, It’s been a great year in terms of getting lot of surprises. Some in a good way and some not so good… Read more
Stolen domain names : The ethics of brokering stolen assets
Domain names have been stolen since the early days of the commercial Internet. The most known case involves the hijackin… Read more
Uniregistry “affiliate plus” payouts update
As shared by Uniregistry, all affiliate earnings balances are to be paid by the end of this month, as the Affiliate Plus… Read more
Suggestions for Afternic
Hello everyone, I was actually suppose to publish a different post but had to make this one last time. The reason is I a… Read more
What is Bill Hartzer Disease?
What exactly is Bill Hartzer disease, and how do you get it? Is it a real disease? That’s a good question, I’ve been… Read more
Web Host Agents Sending Fake Invoices for Website Hosting
A company called Web Host Agents continues to send businesses an invoice for web hosting services. The problem is that t… Read more
Duane Forrester On Search Intent and Internal Site Search
On the latest episode of the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer podcast, I spoke with Duane Forrester of Yext about sea… Read more
Google Loses Blogspot.In Domain Name
Google has lost ownership to one of their Blogspot domain names. Blogspot is the former name of the blogging service tha… Read more
Recycling Mike Mann’s domains: Thanks Konstantinos!
Querying Mike Mann’s domain droplist was a herculean task, but Konstantinos of Online Domain delivered! Fifty thousand… Read more
Peter Leshaw on In-House Digital Marketing and Dashboards for Reporting
On this episode of the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer podcast, I spoke with Peter Leshaw, a Digital Marketing Strat… Read more
Mark Traphagen on Schema, Schema Tools, and On Page SEO Tools
In this episode of the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer podcast, I spoke with Mark Traphagen from SEO Clarity. We dis… Read more
Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer Podcast
In the last Quarter of 2019, I’ve launched the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer Podcast. It can be found on most of… Read more
Domain sob stories: Should I feel sorry for your political mess?
An increasing number of businesses produce “sob stories” in order to usurp domain names on the aftermarket. The usua… Read more
Affiliate program no more at Uniregistry
As a beta tester at Uniregistry, I opened one of the first accounts for its Affiliate Plus Program, six years ago. The p… Read more
Google Loses Appeal in Google, LLC vs Netlist, Inc.
Google has lost an appeal to a patent infringement lawsuit that has been ongoing for several years now. The case, Google… Read more
Domain inquiries : Coming back to buy the domain
Engaging with a potential buyer doesn’t always result in a sale, but domain names that get renewed continue to work th… Read more
Domain registrants are not landlords
Every time I hear how domains are exactly like real estate, I shake my head at the dissimilarities. Comparing domains an… Read more
Domains and The “Great Repression”
I know I am stating the obvious here, but the COVID-19 crisis will forever change consumer behavior, shifting billions o… Read more
Getting the right offer : A waiting game worth playing
Earlier this week I closed on yet another domain sale on the Uniregistry market platform. The agreement was reached last… Read more
How To Promote Your Site
As I wrote in my last blog posting, what used to work to get visitors to websites no longer does. Any SEO (search engine… Read more
Change Is Hard
I haven’t made a blog posting in over 2 years because I haven’t really had anything interesting to write about. Or a… Read more
DomainAnimal Removed from Domaining.com
FYI – DomainAnimal.com has been removed from the Domaining.com feed due to being sold. The owner of Domaining.com dema… Read more
Partnership between .xyz Domains and Ethereum announced for secure coin management and trading
At Ethereum’s DevCon3 last week, the popular blockchain cryptocurrency announced a partnership with XYZ to allow users… Read more
Radix Claims 77% Renewal Rates After Two Years
New gTLD registry Radix says that three of its larger TLDs have seen a 77% renewal rate two years after launch. The comp… Read more
Amazon and Google to Fight Over .kids at Auction
Amazon, Google and a third applicant are scheduled to fight for control of the new gTLDs .kid or .kids at auction. It’… Read more
Why I Bought A .ai Domain Name
As a domain investor, I have never been a big fan of new domain extensions (domains that are not .com, .net, or .org). T… Read more
Hammock Swings From Rightside to Markmonitor
Statton Hammock has joined brand protection registrar MarkMonitor as its new vice president of global policy and industr… Read more
Coya Buys Coya.com Before $10 Million Funding Round
CrunchBase reported that an insurance startup called Coya received $10 million in seed funding at the end of August. A q… Read more
Registry Bosses to Talk ICANN "Tax Cuts" at Private Meeting
The CEOs of 20 or more gTLD registries are due to meet privately this month to discuss, among other things, the possibil… Read more
Donuts Files Opening Brief in .web Appeal
Company believes covenant not to sue is invalid. New top level domain name company Donuts, through its company Ruby Glen… Read more
GoDaddy Adds Appraisal to Domain Settings Pages
In May of this year, GoDaddy reintroduced its free domain appraisal tool, and the company began showing domain name valu… Read more
Another Auda Director Quit in Secret
Australian ccTLD registry auDA, in the midst of a transparency controversy, reportedly lost another of its directors las… Read more
.club Nears Profitability, Talks Renewals and "Trial" Domains
.CLUB Domains is nearing profitability and poised to become a “growth engine”, despite the view that most of its cur… Read more
Manage Your Own Domain Leads with HelpScout and WordPress
I would like to share one of the main things I’ve been working on lately in case anyone here could possibly benefit: … Read more
My Cloud Gaming Site – 247Gamers.com
I am happiest when I am working on new projects, especially ones that have the potential to make millions of dollars. Th… Read more
4 Options for Free Killer Domain Logos
Whether selling a domain or launching a website, a nice logo can give a boost. If on a steak and taters budget with time… Read more
Sharing
Ever try a neti pot? They are supposed to be great for preventing sinus infections. My mother gave me one many years ago… Read more
The Seven Deadly Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Domain Name from Someone Else
Bill Sweetman's Domain Name Strategy Blog Has Moved! Update your RSS Reader Now. The Sweetmantra RSS feed has moved to:… Read more
Working In Teams
“After all is said and done, more is usually said than done.” The New York Times published a very interesting articl… Read more
NameSilo Marketplace Launches Domain Payment Plans
NameSilo, a domain name registrar, has just launched the ability to offer Payment Plans for premium domain names to cust… Read more
.KIWI Gains 170,000 Domain Registrations In Two Weeks (Yeah, Right!)
.KIWI, a new domain extension aimed at the New Zealand market, has experienced tremendous registration growth the past t… Read more
Why I Paid $1,500 to Rescue Oliver Stone's Domain Name
Bill Sweetman's Domain Name Strategy Blog Has Moved! Update your RSS Reader Now. The Sweetmantra RSS feed has moved to:… Read more
Condo.Vegas Soft Launches
Two months ago we acquired Condo.Vegas, along with its plural, Condos.Vegas, we did this as a continued addition to our… Read more
A Reboot for my Blog
For quite sometime I have had it in my mind to do a “reboot” of my blog at BruceMarler.com. I did my first initial p… Read more
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
When my parents were teenagers, they hung out at drive-ins. My generation hung out in malls (I am 47). And at arcades an… Read more
New gTLDs – Aren’t We Forgetting Something? (My DOMAINfest Asia 2016 keynote)
Bill Sweetman's Domain Name Strategy Blog Has Moved! Update your RSS Reader Now. The Sweetmantra RSS feed has moved to:… Read more
BoatDeals.com – Will It Float?
“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” – T.S. Eliot You may have heard of Beepi.co… Read more
New-Tech Domains and When To Cut Losses
Occasionally I become interested in a new technology that is just beginning to bud, and if it sounds promising, like oth… Read more
A Domain Buyer Broker’s POV on which Domains are Most Wanted
Bill Sweetman's Domain Name Strategy Blog Has Moved! Update your RSS Reader Now. The Sweetmantra RSS feed has moved to:… Read more
Are Capital Controls Behind China’s Move Into the Domain Market?
It is an undisputed fact to anyone involved in the domain name aftermarket that a significant upswing in overall pricing… Read more
Why Choosing the Wrong Domain Name is Like Burning Money
Bill Sweetman's Domain Name Strategy Blog Has Moved! Update your RSS Reader Now. The Sweetmantra RSS feed has moved to:… Read more
Throwback Thursday – One Commenter’s Cogent Corrective To A Blogger’s ‘Cybersquatter’ Rant
While cleaning out an inbox the other day I somehow came across a link to a blog post from four years ago, titled, Domai… Read more
The Yin to the Yang of Domain Sales
Although it isn’t a regular column to this blog, consider this my weekend musings, if you will. The following are so… Read more
Moniker Exiting the Drop Game?
One of the company’s drop-catching proxy registrars SantiamDomains recently (and quietly) changed hands and is now und… Read more