Growth in online advertising and the shrinking pool of available names are pushing URL price tags to new heights. Three of the top five deals in history happened in the last two years. "You're seeing a perfect storm created by converging factors that are resulting in an increase in domain values," says Bentley. During the tech boom, top-selling domains were based on brand appeal. Now it's all about searchable keywords that are both generic and descriptive.
A big reason: With online ad spending increasing at a rate of 30% a year, owning domain names has become a business in itself. Entrepreneurs can flip them, like Miami condominiums, or they can sit on them and collect rent.
Sex.com broke the eight-figured barrier in 2005 by nabbing $12 million, according to DN Journal, which tracks the domain name industry. Porn.com came in next, at $9.5 million last month, followed by Business.com ($7.5 million in 1999), Diamond.com ($7.5 million in 2006) and Beer.com (a reported $7 million in 1999).
13 July 2007
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1 comment:
Impressive.
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