Domain names market is ever changing and ever evolving. What might appear random to one, might point a pattern to another. Recently the domain “Go.Holdings” sold at a whopping 19,000 USD on Sedo. Whether this is an indicator of an evolving trend or just another example of a lucky shot?
The domain industry has pivoted from the long reliability on conventional top-level domains of “.com”, “.org” and “.net”. It became creative and pushed its limit to other country specific top level domains. We have also seen the rush for 2,3 and 4 lettered second level domains. But what we are seeing now is unprecedented. The rush of bringing everything online isn’t new but the emphasis on personalisation and the determined corporate approach in utilising it is something unheard of.
What we are seeing is the growth of new generic top-level domains. The story of Vacation.Rentals is known to all. A vacation rental company, Vacarent, LLC, paid $500,300 to acquire the domain name from registry Donuts in an all-cash transaction. Home.Loans had earlier sold for $500,000, creating a record for the highest new gtld sale at that time.
Calling “.holdings” another “.rentals” or “.loans” won’t be a far shot. The domain attracts the new corporate investors which see the domain name industry as it is a new stronghold. Financial advisors, stockbrokers, day traders and anyone who works with investments can use a “.holdings” domain to attract customers to their websites.
The advent of new generic top level domains cannot be considered merely a lucky shot just because of the sheer frequency of the lucky shots! We have to accept that as newcomers enter into the market, the market will push the boundary beyond the conventional domain trends. So, don’t be surprised by it yet, there are many more to come.