India Domain Market is Growing

India is the second largest country in the world with over 1.2 billion people living there. It makes sense that the domain market in India is growing.

This morning, CIOL.COM published an interview with GoDaddy Vice President and Managing Director for India, Rajiv Sodhi. CIOL is billed as “India’s premier business technology community network.” Sodhi discusses the current state of the domain name market in India, and he offers some of his thoughts on domain name investing in India. I think You will want to read the interview in its entirety, but the jist of it is that there is tremendous potential for growth in India.

There are currently two domain name conferences on the calendar for later on this year in India.

DOMAINXâ„¢ 2014 is scheduled for September 7, 2014 in Hyderabad, India. There is a robust list of speakers from around the world listed as participants for this one-day domain conference. The schedule has not yet been posted, but Ron Jackson shared some additional information about the event.

I was also recently made aware that the Indian Domain Owners Association (IDOA) is organizing an event called World Domain Day on 24th August in Hyderabad, India. Like DOMAINXâ„¢ 2014, there is a diverse group of speakers scheduled to participate.

In addition to these domain industry specific conferences that are on the calendar, GoDaddy was also a main sponsor of World Hosting Days India held in Mumbai in May of this year. From what I understand, there was significant interest in the sessions that covered domain name investing.

India is a massive marketplace, and the domain name market seems to be growing.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

35 COMMENTS

  1. Somehow domain bloggers aren’t aware of how large the Indian domain names market is. There have been several domain conferences held by DirectI and BigRock over the years and almost all of them have had over 2000 people participating in each. Domain investors are in the thousands in India and the major domain registrars advertise heavily on TV, Radio, and online.

    I’ve read that DomainX is the first major domain conference in India but sadly the news is grossly incorrect and shows how poorly research is conducted before some domain bloggers write their pieces. It is obvious that the people who wrote about DomainX are invited to speak and that’s how according to them this is the 1st major domain conference in India. Completely wrong to state so.

    Anyway, doesn’t make a difference what we guys speak on such blogs since hardly has anyone who made a mistake apologized in public. Morgan Linton blogged about the 10 best domain sales platforms a few months ago and left out GoDaddy from his list. Now the same guy is being invited to speak about domains and startups at DomainX. He was already reported to GoDaddy Auctions for having said that but still did not have an inch of decency to apologize for his mistake.

    Will the blogger “Ron Jackson” apologize for his grave mistake of lising DomainX as the first major domain conference in India. Don’t think so. But I have something special planned for him and the others this time round. Serves them right.

    Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to domain investing. One cannot advertise and promote whoever they feel like and then expect domain investors and sellers to accept whatever they sad.

    • I can only write about what I know, and even though the market is already large, the penetration rate is lower than here in the US (according to the GoDaddy VP interview I referenced).

      If I had been given information about the other conferences, I would have been more informed and likely would have written about them. On the DomainX website homepage, it says “DomainX is the 1st dedicated domain name conference to network, bring awareness, and educate people about the domain name industry in India.”

      I don’t personally know any of the people who are organizing these conferences, although I’ve met Div and Bhavin (from Directi) several times and have great respect for them.

      I apologize if my information is incorrect, but I took that website at face value and assumed the information was correct.

    • Dear Mr Savio DSilva,

      Which other conferences you’re referring where 2000 people participate? I have been observing this industry in India for the last many years and have never come across any conference specifically for domainers.

      The conferences organized by Directi or WorldHostingDays target the domain & hosting ‘resellers’ and not domainers or domain investors or Aftermarket. While the conferences organized by domain registrars focus on selling their primary domain registration & other services, the DOMAINX will be a neutral platform where leading domaining experts from around the world will share their experiences and Indian domainers like you & me will have first-hand opportunity to listen to them and network with each other to achieve highest levels of success.

      We started planning for DOMAINX six months back with utmost passion, attitude & hard-work and are committed to organize a world-class conference for the domineers with top-notch speakers, leading industry players as sponsors and excellent conference facilities.

    • Seems like you guys live in a part of India where you have no access to domain conferences before. Sad that you think that by lying about things you will win over domain investors in India. Just the fact that you don’t know anything about the 3 domain conferences held in Mumbai in 2012 and 2013 (each with over 2000 people in attendance) shows just how little the domain owners association of India knows about domain conferences. I have already shared this link with 20 domain investors I know personally here and will work harder to pass the word around about you guys who are just trying to make a quick buck. It’s quite amusing that you guys are replying to my comments so passionately. If you are right then why bother clearing things up. Go on with your “first ever” show and then tell the world about how you lied to them later. Or perhaps knowing the part of the country you come from that probably won’t happen. I guess the domain conference that I attended last year (where close to 5500 people attended) were there to discuss the music of Lana Del Ray and their opinions on sleazy marketing techniques.

    • As far as I know, the following conferences related hosting have happened in last few years and I have attended all of them either as a individual delegate or as a representative of a sponsoring company…

      The first WHD.Asia conference was held in June 2011 in Bangkok.
      The first WHD.India conference was held in May 2012 in Mumbai.
      The 2nd & 3rd edition of WHD.India were held in May 2013 & May 2014, both in Mumbai.
      The first RCHostingSummit was held in Nov. 2012 in Mumbai.
      The 2nd RCHostingSummit was held in Nov. 2013 in Gurgaon.

      None of the above events focussed on domain aftermarket.

      Why don’t you tell us the name of the domain name conferences where 2000 & 5500 people attended???

    • LOL. I am currently checking up on all these conferences that you posted. Seems like we are both doing the same research.

      I’ve clearly mentioned that both BigRock.in and ResellerClub have had conferences for their domain investors focusing only (and I repeat) only on domain names. Not hosting.

      And, as mentioned, twice already, that all of these conferences have had over 2000 people attend. I have not attended all the conferences but the one I attended last year was only for domain investors and nobody else. In case you cannot understand simple English then please look up the meaning of a domain conference and domain investor using Google or Google Translate.

      The fact that you posted links related to hosting meetups clearly shows where the interests of your company are.

      Don’t think that this ends here. I’ve already sent out word about your organization and will be blogging about it in the coming days. I believe the “first ever” domain conference can use all the publicity it can get. Don’t you think so.

      In the meanwhile, why not pay Mr. Elliot some money for the cancer fund he is raising money for. It’s kind of amusing how not a single banner on this blog can be devoted to cancer research societies in America. Sure hope if he is honest then he can change that quickly else he is definitely a sleazy marketing guy for some readers.

      I’ve checked my records and it shows that his domain sales over the past several months have dried up. If anything, he has been spending money on attending conferences and buying services. It’s strange that he writes an article about how India is becoming a huge domain market and chooses to highlight your “first ever” domain conference. Wonder why? Sudden rise of Indian readers on this blog. Sure must be.

      • Every banner is sold on my blog, except for the one where I am advertising that I am raising funds for Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

        I have no idea about the number of Indian readers on my blog, but I welcome them and appreciate their feedback like I appreciate all feedback. I wrote this article because I saw a news alert about the GoDaddy VP interview and thought it was interesting. I read about those three domain events and tied them in with the interview. I don’t know all that much about the Indian market, and I am open to learning more about it. I would love to visit India some day.

        Regarding sales… I don’t really ever report sales unless the buyer wants it. I also have not updated the sale page on my website.

      • Your profile and site boldly state that you have sold domains totaling 5 figures and more. Either I am mistaken about this or you are misleading your readers by stating that you have made big sales without backing it up with proof.

        I am talking about blog spam and I am certain you are aware of the term because you seem to be an expert on the topic. You have a nasty habit of sneaking in links and content not directly related to the blog’s main subject area. You also have a habit of promoting those who you have associated with in the past. Doing so misleads readers who have come in only to read your post topic.

        I take offense to the fact that you write about the Indian market and then demand that I stop reading your blog when I voice my opinions on the same. This is malpractice. Not just being rude.

        I hardly visit your blog and I am pretty sure that with your “eagle” eyes you are well aware of how many people from my part of the world visit this blog every single day. So to directly insult me by posting information connected with the industry that puts food on my table amounts to racism and sleazy marketing both rolled into one.

        You must be a decent man deep down. Your interest for soccer is something we have in common. But the way you communicate with readers from my part of the world is something that I have noticed on another blog in the past. That blogger had to change his industry to rebuild his reputation. Now the time is right for me to invest more time into your business and take this issue more personally.

        Don’t worry. I won’t personally be visiting this blog unless I am asked to comment or reply to something posted here on in the past. This is it. Watch how a common man from this part of the world creates havoc for you.

        By the way, both my mom and dad died of Cancer so I know a guy who’s faking things about doing charity when I see one. If you’ve actually made hundreds and thousands and Millions of dollars of sales then I am pretty sure that you would have been the first to give at least a hundred thousand dollars to cancer research. You may fool the whole world but I’m not going to allow you to fool me.

  2. Elliot, Thanks for mentioning DOMAINX 2014 Conference in this article. I would like to confirm that everything mentioned on our website (DNOAi.com) is true and can be taken at its face value.

    Savio, I am not sure what relation you have with our competitors, however I would definitely like to thank you for your biased comment on this article. First off, I know quite a few people from DIRECTi and BigRock, and for your kind information they have mostly hosted MEETS in India targetting their own userbase (I am invited at one such event happening in New Delhi during first week of August this year) or sponsored events related to hosting and other niche such as WHD.INDIA. So I am not really sure of which “2000 participants” domain name conference in India you are talking about in your comment posted above. Mind posting more information about your frivolous claim my unknown friend?

    Also when Ron mentioned “first major domain name conference in India”, or Elliot mentioning something similar, both are actually right because DOMAINX 2014 is the first ever DOMAIN NAMES only conference!

    People in the domain name industry will also be surpised to know that organizers behind other Conference (World Domain Day) were part of, and were members of DNOAi (Domain Name Owners Association of India, who knew everything about DOMAINX and left the organization to start something of their own (IDOA) and announced their conference date for August to compete with us and claim the tag of “first domain conference” (one of their organizers emailed Ron to technically claim that as well).

    No disrespect meant to anyone through this comment, however I strongly feel that it was about time the whole domain name community know this information.

    Please feel free to get in touch with me if there is anything else that I could answer..

    • Mind highlighting how conferences and seminars held by BigRock.in and DirectI are different from DomainX?

      Also kindly define how a conference held specifically for domain names is called “just” a meet?

      Your unknown friend is actually going to help your “first” ever domain conference (maybe first in Hyderabad) get a lot more publicity than you had initially anticipated.

      Also be kind enough to share your relationship with some of the speakers called in for “your” first ever event in Hyderabad.

      The profiles posted on your site reflect the speakers’ profiles from more than 4 years ago. Only the photos seems more recent.

      Your unknown friend will definitely help you get a lot of publicity for your “first ever” domain names conference in India.

    • Mr. Manmeet NO one has heard of you here. Perhaps you live in a dark hole somewhere in the North or South of India. That’s the only possible reason I can think of for you marketing your domain conference so shadily and sleazily. This blog is already under the radar of the leading search engine since I reported it for posting content not connected with domain investing. I had complained to the guy who owns domaining.com but the French man will do anything for a bit of money. Even allows a website designer to promote her wares as a new post on the homepage. Saw one today itself. This is quite a group of “passionate” domain investors and Lana Del Ray fans. Sadly, you are being watched, recorded and reported as each week goes by.

  3. I had the honor of speaking in India for World hosting days on buying domains and enjoyed meeting the people in India with an interest in the domain space. There is a lot of passion there and I wish them all the best in the next couple conferences they have coming up. I hope that some of it will be posted online (even after the event) so we can follow along on this side of the globe.

  4. Seems like your first ever domain conference is a complete scam and I will be blogging about within a few days. Waiting to check out the location of your “shady” conference “only” for domain names (the first ever in India) and know more about this private association formed which is not even registered.

    Meanwhile, you can have a look at something that might interest you…..

    http://domainincite.com/10901-indian-domain-conference-attracts-4000

    The one in 2013 was bigger and directly for domain owners in Mumbai. Organized by DirectI. This domain blog must have gone down in the Google rankings because by now someone at ResellerClub would have taken note of this post by Elliot.

    • WOW! Congrats on the rise in traffic. Guess writing about Lana Del Ray helps get you more readers. It would be “awfully” nice of you to post a few unedited shots of your Google Analytics. Trust you have those. Right?

      Hmm…this one is going to be epic. A blog for all the scams under the sun and to beg for donations for your personal charity schemes as well.

    • You’re harping on 2 or 3 articles of almost 5,000 I’ve recently written about Lana Del Rey (domain investor Rob Grant’s daughter)? If it bothers you so much, don’t visit my blog. Simple as that.

      I take offense to your comment about “personal charity schemes.” The Pan-Mass Challenge I am participating in next month raised $40 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute last year: http://www.pmc.org/about/press-center/2013/12/5/pan-mass-challenge-sets-record-40-million-fundraising-goal-2014

      I am proud to support an organization like Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and I will always support organizations that do good things.

    • Listen Elliot. I’ve dealt with guys like you before. Telling me to stop visiting your site is not a solution to anything. Just helps you cheat people more.

      As mentioned earlier, be bold and human enough to advertise a cancer society on your blog. Sneaking links and content into posts otherwise supposed to be for domain investing is sleazy marketing.

      You write about things connected to the domain name industry and then promote everything from your blog designer to the logo creator. There is not much wrong in doing so. I take serious offense to people like you who ask us to stop visiting their sites and blogs because we don’t like what they write about.

      The internet is free. Your blog should become a members only blog. Take your blog off the domaining.com feed. Your traffic has risen right? So why don’t you do it. Also it would be rather nice if you posted things based on your personal experience in the world of domaining. Just promoting things related to the industry doesn’t make this a blog about domain investing.

    • I will show you how much I missed out within just a few days. Unfortunately, you won’t be having the support of this sleazy marketer who owns this blog helping you there. Now it would be nice if you focus on fully marketing your first ever domain conference in India. Trust me, you will need every little minute to pull this one off.

  5. Elliot, I am sorry you have to deal with vile people who seem to have some intent on proving something that doesn’t exist.

    I’ve known you for awhile and know you’re an honest guy and anyone who knows you knows your public domain portfolio.

    Too bad you have a commenter whose only intent is to dig up something that is not there even if he has to pull accusations out of his butt.

  6. Damn, talk bout the definition of a ‘hater’. Savio – why are you hating so much on someone trying to make something happen. Im glad Manmeet has taken the initiative to put together a wonderful event in September. Bringing all the “domaining” community together , NOT RESELLERS, NOT BLOGGERS – DOMAINERS!!!

    And then all the negativity on this blog about something doing something for ‘cancer’ – dude must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, or seems like some other hidden agenda….

    Don’t hate – go Meditate! oooommmmm

    • Thanks Indy for the support and kind words bud.

      I think this Savio chap is on here with a purpose, but yeah lets just IGNORE the fool before he starts thinking of himself as a celebrity or something!

  7. Elliot@ Good that you have chosen to highlight the developing Indian digital market. Sad to note the thread is lost to selfish juvenile willy waving comments.
    India is the bulwark of democracy in Asia, Modi will wrap India in its flag and give the nation an identity and in that process romanised search terms (brands) will emerge that are a opportunities unique to India. I have just completed stage one of Chhe6 (dot) com which will be the digital face of Chhe6Media (dot) com in India, this is an important first step in creating a presence / foundation for future development in a mass market that must rely on home consumers for GNP

  8. Super excited, Elliot, thank you for clearing the air here… I am excited to see these domain meet ups in India. I am preparing for the WWD meet up in Dubai in 2015. Looking forward to seeing all my friends and business partners from India. Kev

    • I think we’re in for an investigation on this Savio chap – what say KF?

      How you been anyway? Whens the next get together? – Drinks on you again… keep em coming!!

  9. Is this the same Savio A-hole who bashed you for writing about Dana-Farber on a your Sunday blog?

    It’s not hard to figure out this guy is a attention seeking whore, from the little research I’ve done, he trashes other blogs as well, He’s a narcissistic troll, stirring the pot looking for acceptance and praise where ever he can find it, the only problem is he picks the wrong topic and comes out looking like a even bigger a-hole in the process.. STOP giving him the attention he craves and he’ll slither back into his hole.

  10. What is surprising is that the guy is only writing about DomainX as the “first domaining conference in india” whereas there are two mentioned in the blog, and what right does anyone have to question Elliot’s cancer fund raising, not only that,the link he posted has the following content which in itself explains why our conference is the first domain name ONLY conference: “The two-day ResellerClub Hosting Summit, organized by Directi, may have “hosting” in the title, but its sponsors and agenda reveal a strong presence from the domain name industry.”
    I am a co-founder and the fact that anyone thinks we haven’t done any research just shows how ignorant people can be, while we are keeping a free event just to raise awareness and enlarge the domaining industry in India, some people apparently have issues with that even when Directi, Godaddy don’t.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

Squadhelp Adds Escrow.com as a Payment Option

1
Squadhelp has added Escrow.com as a payment option for buyers. The addition of the Escrow.com option was shared by ARIYAS on X this morning: đź‘Ť...

Some Thoughts on .AI Domain Names

15
There is no question that .AI domain names have become a hot topic of late. With considerable amounts of venture funding flowing into AI...

Handoff to Dan on Imported Leads Can be Confusing

0
I've been using the lead import option at Dan.com more regularly. Although the 5% commission is not ideal, transactions tend to move more quickly...

ArtificialIntelligence.com Goes Up for Sale

11
I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered,...

EU Gives More IP Protection to Food & Drink Producers

0
Did you know that some well-known food and drink varieties are protected intellectual property regulations? Popular types of drinks and foods that are protected...