WeddingChannel.com is a company that uses generic domain names to its advantage. When you take the term “Wedding Channel” at face value, it doesn’t really mean much in terms an interactive company. My first thought would be that “Wedding Channel” is a television channel with shows focusing on the planning and execution of a wedding. Well, WeddingChannel.com is actually one of the largest online wedding resources.
In my opinion, the bread and butter of WeddingChannel.com is its wedding registry. Couples are able to sign up on WeddingChannel.com and link wedding registries from stores such as Bloomingdales, Tiffany’s, Macy’s, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn….etc. Guests are able to learn more about the couple, sign a guest book, see event details, and of course, they can purchase wedding presents from various registries all online. Because couples know that most guests will search for them on WeddingChannel.com, they sign up.
One reason for the success of WeddingChannel.com is that they own a ton of awesome generic domain names that all forward to the WeddingChannel.com website. If a person enters one of the company’s names, they will automatically land on WeddingChannel.com, where they are able to find what they need. Some examples of fantastic domain names owned by WeddingChannel.com include:
WeddingRegistry.com
BridalRegistry.com
BridalGowns.com
WeddingPlanner.com
Weding.com (They even own a high value typo!)
This shows that WeddingChannel.com “gets” domain names and uses them to promote their business. Some people don’t get this. They choose not to buy a generic name because they claim it will water down their brand. I think that’s crazy, because as long as they forward the traffic to their main site, the visitor will hardly notice.
Anyone who types in WeddingRegistry.com is looking to find (or create) a wedding registry. Instead of having to pay per click on someone else’s domain name, WeddingChannel.com OWNS ALL OF THIS TRAFFIC! If a person is searching for a wedding registry and they directly navigate to WeddingRegistry.com, Voila – they will find what they need at WeddingChannel.com.
Elliot, agree 100% here. I’m hitting the age where friends are getting married at a rapid pace and was averaging a wedding every two weeks this summer. I remember realizing the value of their network after the second or third wedding of the year. No matter how I searched for my friends registries – through direct navigation (and typos), consumer sites like macys.com, search engines, the couples personal site – I always ended up back on weddingchannel.com. They have done it “right” and must have near 100% market share.
It almost makes me want to search around for other wedding domains to approach them with directly. I own a few IDN’s, but I have not seen WeddingRegistry.com expanding internationally yet.
Elliot, in addition to the names you mentioned above, they own weddings.com, which redirects to WeddingChannel.com.
***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
I missed that one! Another fantastic name.
Well, I own GayRegistry.com. I assume there will be a huge market for this in the future. I also am open to business ventures or outright sale (for the right price). Email me at jumptime@yahoo.com with any interest.
Thanks for the info. 🙂