New gTLD

Nearly two years ago, United Domains announced that the company would begin to accept non-binding pre-registrations for gTLD domain names. In a press release  today (also announced on the company blog yesterday), United Domains reported “1 million pre-registrations made through its New Generic Top-Level Domain (New gTLD) Pre-Registration Program.”

The company offered users the chance to reserve domain names in 120 expected gTLD extensions, although there are nearly 1,500 actual gTLD strings that have been applied for. The press release did not mention whether there were one million unique gTLD pre-registrations or if there were domain names with multiple pre-registrations.

An important thing to note is that the pre-registrations aren’t binding, so people could pre-register hundreds or even thousands of domain names without having to actually pay for them or commit to paying for them once they become available. Obviously, many of these pre-registrations won’t materialize into actual purchases.

With that said, I think the most interesting aspect of the report ia the top gTLD extensions that were reserved, since that might give a general indication of what TLDs will have strong interest once they are available. Knowing the amount of interest might give applicants a boost when it comes time to the auctions for competing applicants on a TLD.

United reported these as “Top Ten Most Popular New gTLDs:”

This is a guest post from  Matthew Godson, Co-CEO of Momentum Consulting Group. In this post, Matthew discusses his views on the introduction of gTLDs and how the Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Conference will benefit people who plan to invest or operate in the competitive gTLD space.
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More than a name.

It’s going to be a game changing year for domain investors. Experts opinions differ dramatically on how the roll out of ICANNs new gTLD program is going to affect domain investment strategies and how the value of existing investments is likely to be affected.

It’s inevitable that many TLDs are going to be a bust from an investing perspective. Of those that are going to be ‘open’ for investment, even single and double letter domains associated with obscure and unappealing new TLDs are going to be risky.

But there will certainly be big winners – and in many ways the new roll outs reset the clock for domain investors looking for a second opportunity on a coveted string.

But the new marketplace for domains is not going to be quite the same as the existing market.

The new variable in investing is going to be the team behind the new TLDs themselves  and how they plan to introduce it, market it and brand it to consumers.

Are they well funded? Do they have a launch plan and a track record of success? Do they have the marketing and branding expertise to create the buzz that you are going to need in order to confidently realize a return on your investment?

In other words, for the first time in domain investing its going to be the human factor that forms the foundation for your investment strategy. Evaluating the teams behind these new TLDs will become an essential component of your investment strategy for 2013 and beyond.

Many of the investors who are serious about meeting the teams behind the new TLDs will be joining the domain community, registrars and brands at the Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress this coming March in New York. This event is designed to assist new TLD owners with their go-to-launch strategy as well as help non applicants determine their response. Investors will walk away with an insiders perspective on which new TLDs are going to be the winners – and therefore where best to invest.

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The Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Conference takes place  March 11-12, 2013 in NYC.  More information can be found at www.gtldworldcongress.com

I will be watching some of the gTLD draw this afternoon from the comfort of my computer screen, and I wanted to make it easier for you to watch. I have embedded the live feed below, which is scheduled to begin in under an hour (4pm eastern 1pm pacific).

I think the implications of the drawing is pretty huge considering what’s at stake, and I would assume the earlier a TLD is drawn, the more likely it will be to get additional attention.

Streaming live video by Ustream

What Will gTLDs Be Called?

I own just a couple of gTLD-related domain names – gTLDBroker.com and gTLDDomainNames.com. Neither of these domain names is worth very much (if anything), but they were speculative hand registrations, and I’ve lost more on a hand of blackjack than I’ll lose if I keep these names for several years without selling them.

I’ve seen many people buying and selling gTLD-related domain names, and I don’t think it’s such a wise idea.

While these TLDs are being called gTLD on the technical side (ICANN, consultants, investors…etc), the consumer side is what will probably drive the most value for these domain names. How domain registrars market these new TLDs will be important in determining whether gTLD domain names are worth anything because the “gTLD” moniker may disappear once they are on the market.

If consumers (buyers) and users call them gTLDs, these types of names may have more value, obviously depending on the keywords. If domain registrars call them “new TLDs” (like eNom is currently doing) they will probably not be referred to as gTLDs, rendering gTLD-related domain names worthless or worth much less.

My opinion is that registrars will not market them as gTLDs because most consumers don’t even know what TLD means let alone gTLD. My bet is registrars simply call them new domain names or maybe new TLDs. That’s a big reason why I haven’t done much speculating in this area…. that and domain investors are cheap when it comes to being end users 🙂

As always, I welcome your thoughts on the topic.

There’s an interesting article that was posted on CircleID today by Christa Taylor entitled, “gTLD Contention Set Auctions: Private Auction Alternatives.” The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of running private auctions vs. the ICANN auctions for gTLDs, and it compares and contrasts the companies that are operating the auctions.

The most interesting aspect of the article for me was conclusion, which may benefit domain industry veterans Mike Berkens and Monte Cahn. Earlier this month, Right of the Dot announced they will be teaming up with Escrow.com on a new auction offering.

According to the conclusion from the CircleID article:

“For applicants with a few TLD’s, the Right of the Dot private auction services is the best fit. They provide a friendly, cost-effective yet customized approach that is likely going to be well-received and agreed to by all participants in the contention set. Additionally, auction costs are minimal and all funds are held in escrow. Finally, Right of the Dot are accomplished domain professionals who specialize within the domain industry.”

Congratulations to Mike and Monte on this.