Nearly 12,000 domain names changed hands for a total value of more than $23 million according to the latest quarterly report from Sedo, the leading online marketplace for domain names. The sales in quarter one 2010 marked Sedo’s highest quarter for domain sales since 2008 and represents an 18.6 per cent increase in the number of sales compared to Q4 2009.

Sedo, a marketplace for domain name auctions and sales, accounts for the vast majority of domain name sales each week, regularly accounting for around three-quarters of the top reported sales each week according to Domain Name Journal.

Sales of both country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) and generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) both surged in the quarter with top sales including poker.org for $1 million, credit.fr (€587, 500) and pilot.com ($300,000).

Sedo attributes the strong growth in the domain name market to an increase in marketing spend among larger corporations, as well as the introduction of one and two-character domains and internationalised domain names.

Highlights of Sedo’s study from quarter one 2010 include:

• a total of 11,942 domains were sold on Sedo’s global domain marketplace during the quarter (up 18.6 per cent from the previous quarter)
• total domain sales of $23,177,253 (an increase of 8 per cent compared to Q4 2009, and up 36 per cent compared to Q1 2009)
• the .COM extension remained the most popular gTLD accounting for 76 per cent of gTLD domains, and 42 per cent of all domains, sold through Sedo, followed by the .NET, .INFO, .BIZ and .ORG extensions, respectively
• the average price of a .COM domain was $2,373 while .ORG had the highest average sale price of $3,376
• average domain name prices are boosted by a few high value domain name sales, so median prices of domain names (where there as many sales above as below) often give a better picture of the market
• the median price of gTLD domains ranged from $550 for .ORG to $418 for .INFO, with all extensions showing noticeable increases on quarter 4 2009 showing that you need not spend a fortune on acquiring a desirable domain name
• among ccTLDs, the .DE extension was the frontrunner accounting for 38 per cent of ccTLD domains sold, followed by .EU moving into second place (36%), CO.UK (13%) and .ES, .BE, .FR, .AT, .NL and .CH (all with two per cent of ccTLD sales)
• the highest average price of ccTLD domains was $11,382 for .FR, a figure boosted significantly by the sale of credit.fr, followed by CO.UK ($2,283)
• Sedo attributes the increase in ccTLD sales to the launch of new IDN domains under .EU in Q4 2009 and the beginning of Q1 2010
• Sedo found fixed price domains surged in popularity as a result of their “Buy it Now” option that provides customers with the ability to purchase a domain name immediately without an auction
• the most popular category of domain names sold through Sedo was “tobacco” followed by “software” and “regions, country, cities”.

“Sedo’s record growth not only shows the resilience of the domain name market, but reveals a real strengthening in the global economy. As companies put their best foot forward to emerge from the downturn with advantage, they’re starting to understand the critical role a domain name strategy plays in driving a successful marketing campaign,” said Jeremiah Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of Sedo.com in a statement. “The introduction of our new Price Suggestion Tool, our ongoing ‘Buy it Now’ option and the overall updates to the Sedo website, makes it even easier for members to benefit from our variety of user-friendly tools and services.”

Sedo also published a list of examples of companies to have invested in domain names in Q1 2010 to improve their branding. Some of those were:

• Yahoo!: Me.Me; OMG.com; BallDontLie.com
• Mack Energy Corp.: MEC.com
• HBA International: HBA.com
• CareerBuilder: WorkInCustomerService.com
• Rapaport USA, Inc.: DiamondTrading.com
• Concord Private Jets: Jets.com.

This increase is a result, says Sedo, of an increase in budgets for online marketing and branding.

“We’ve seen a real uptick in big sales over the past few months, and we expect it to continue throughout 2010,” said Sedo sales broker Jeff Gabriel.

“As larger companies are better able to budget for online marketing and branding, they’re considering a comprehensive domain strategy as an important part of their marketing efforts. In fact, some of these companies are even taking advantage of the upswing in the domain market by selling their own names through Sedo.”

The complete Q1 2010 Domain Market Study can be downloaded from the Sedo website at:
sedo.com/fileadmin/documents/pressdownload/Q1_2010_DomainMarketStudy_US.pdf.

This article was originally prepared for eBrand Services, a global leader specialising in domain name management for companies throughout Europe. For more information see www.ebrandservices.com.

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