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i.CO Auction Canceled by Registry

Elliot Silver
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20

.CO RegistryMoniker/Snapnames was scheduled to hold an auction for i.CO from Februrary 3-10, and I expected the sale to be significant, especially with a reported minimum bid of $100,000. I still expect i.CO to sell for a lot of money, but it looks like that is not going to happen in the very near future.

According to Lori Anne Wardi’s  post on the .CO Registry blog, the i.CO auction has been canceled. Apparently, the demand has been significant, with “well over a hundred businesses expressing different level of interest in the domain name.” As a result,  the .CO Registry has decided to scrap the auction format and work with Moniker/Snapnames to find a buyer for this domain name.

I think this was probably a very good strategic move. If the .CO Registry and Moniker/Snapnames think they can hammer out a better deal in private – or without the confines of an auction, then that’s what they need to do.

As a domain investor, I am a bit disappointment. I had hoped to really see what the market would yield for this domain name, as I believe it would be a good indicator of the strength of .CO investments, especially if a large company purchased it.

The wait for another .CO auction to  gauge  the health of the premium domain name aftermarket won’t be too long, as Sedo’s auction will take place February 10-17.

Go Daddy Releases First 2011 Super Bowl Commercial Clip & Reveals .CO Commercial to Air in First Half

Elliot Silver
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Godaddy Super Bowl CommercialMore details about Go Daddy’s Super Bowl commercials have been revealed, and the company has released a clip of its approved Super Bowl commercial called “The Contract.” This commercial is expected to air during the second half of the Super Bowl.

The .CO-focused Super Bowl commercial will air during the first half of the game. The ad is expected to feature  a new Go Daddy .CO Girl, although the company has not revealed who the Girl will be.  I have been informed that current Go Daddy Girls, Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick, will also appear in this commercial.

Go Daddy’s Super Bowl commercials always bring a lot of attention to the domain registrar, and I think it’s a good thing for domain investors.

Sedo Great Domains Auction Ending in an Hour

Elliot Silver
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5

There are some very good domain names up for auction in Sedo’s GreatDomains featured auction, which ends in under an hour. Many of the domain names have met reserve prices and will sell.

My favorites include the following (with current bids as of posting):

  • GasStation.com $7,500 high bid
  • RDH.com 6,800 GBP high bid
  • InternetBrowser.com $1,500 high bid
  • Pathology.com $8,200 high bid
  • Trillion.com – $9,000 high bid
  • UnderPressure.com – $905 high bid
  • IRACalculator.com – $4,100 high bid

Trump Tavern on the Green?

Elliot Silver
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3

Tavern on the Green in Central Park

It seems that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have their eyes set on re-developing and re-opening the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park, which closed back on new years day 2010.

The company appears to have gone so far as to secure the domain name TrumpTavernOnTheGreen.com, in the event the city awards him the right to re-build the shuttered restaurant. The domain name was registered in February of 2009, and it’s registered at Go Daddy to the Trump Organization.

A New York Post article this morning reports that Trump has apparently reached a deal with a labor union that represents former employees, and that is a key component to anyone opening the restaurant.

Although Mr. Trump mentioned that he doesn’t intend to add “Trump” to the name of the restaurant, the domain name that was secured by his company appears to indicate otherwise (or at least it’s a defensive registration).

It is a bit surprising that the domain name was originally registered by the company back in 2009 though, since development rights had been awarded to Dean Poll, operator of another well-known Central Park restaurant, The Boathouse.

Incidentally, the Trump Organization also appears to own the domain name, TrumpOnTheGreen.com, although I can’t imagine the restaurant being know as “Trump on the Green.”

Seeking 3 Letter .COM Names

Elliot Silver
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41

I have a buyer that is interested in acquiring 3 letter com domain names priced at $10,000 or below. If you have domain names that meet his requirements below, please submit them as comments.

Please keep in mind that domain names must meet ALL requirements (ie He won’t care if you have a great 3 letter .net or 3 letter word .org):

  • 3 letters (Hint: a number is not a letter)
  • .COM
  • Price is $10,000 or under (it’s nice for you if yours are priced higher, but he doesn’t really care)

Using Demand Media & eHow for SEO Tips

Elliot Silver
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6

DMDShares of Demand Media traded on the New York Stock Exchange today for the first time.

In addition to its domain name assets (like Enom and NameJet), DMD generates revenue with Adsense and advertising on its eHow.com website. The company has a proprietary algorithm that can figure out what people are searching for on Google, and it then sources out articles on those topics to its huge team of independent writers. There are either hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of articles.

Pundits have opined that some of the content is bad, while others have speculated that Demand could be impacted if Google changes it’s algorithm to push down the allegedly “spammy” articles. I don’t own stock in DMD and most of the eHow articles aren’t really that competitive to my sites, so that stuff doesn’t really interest me much.

However, I do think there’s a way that domain investors / web developers can tap into Demand Media’s vast knowledge about the wants and needs of Google searches. If we search eHow for articles related to our own topical websites, we can learn what Demand thinks people are looking for, and we can then write better articles or source out better articles.

Here’s an example for you.

I own a dog walking service directory, and in addition to the paid directory listings, I also have a lot of articles that might interest dog walkers or people looking to hire dog walkers. By searching eHow, I can make the assumption that its related articles are things that people are searching for, and my exact match domain name may have more authority if I write more in depth and/or interesting articles. It’s important that you write articles differently than the eHow articles and that they are completely custom.

For instance, it looks like these topics should be covered on my site (in addition to many others):

  • How to Start a  Dog  Walking and Pet Sitting Service
  • How to Start a Dog Walking Service
  • How to Become a Dog Walker
  • How to Walk a Dog in Winter
  • How to Walk a Dog in the Snow
  • How to Exercise with Dog Walking
  • How to Hire a Dog Walker
  • How to Interview a Dog Walker
  • Many, many more…

Mind you, I already have a number of these articles covered on my site in various forms, but the information provided by eHow can be beneficial to website owners. Maybe you should take a look at eHow and see what information you can glean for your own website.

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