A “domain name” may be seen as an Internet address which points to a particular website on the internet. Typically, it has three elements: a prefix, an extension and a ‘name’ which may be a word or a combination of letters and other characters. For example, for our address www.ipzen.local, “www” is the prefix, “.com” is the extension and the domain name is “ipzen.local”.
The domain name is the most important part of your website because it allows people to identify you and defines your place on the Internet. Thus, each domain name is unique and allows you to express all your creativity by choosing the word(s) and extension that most closely corresponds to the target audience, because the extension may reflect an international presence or the country in which you trade or where your target audience is located. With the evolution of the Internet, domain names have taken on considerable value in recent years: they are neither precious works of art, nor material goods belonging to the luxury industry, but they are unique, which explains their high market value.
By the third quarter of 2019, the number of domain names registered has already exceeded that of 2017 and 2018. In 2019, 72,631 “.com” were sold, for a total of more than $97.6 million.
An example of the high price of these domain names is the domain name “fashion.com”. A press release announced on 1 October 2019 that “fashion.com”, one of the highest value domain names, will be auctioned on 24 October 2019. In 1994, the three current domain name owners were working together on a fashion project and were looking for a domain name that would appeal to the designated public and meet their business needs. When they discovered that “fashion.com” was not yet claimed, they immediately decided to buy it. After some changes of direction regarding their project, the domain name remained unused. Over the past 25 years, dozens of groups have tried to buy it. At the same time, the fashion industry had grown globally and significantly, reaching an estimated annual value of $2,000 billion, with online sales paving the way to reach $700 billion by 2022! The price of this popular domain name remains to be determined but will inevitably be massive. As Karine Kruger, CEO of The Three Marketers, a marketing firm focused on search engine optimization and media marketing, explains, “Fashion.com is a rare site: iconic, very memorable and easy to search, it should generate significant sales while allowing its buyers to save millions in sales and marketing costs.
But why is a domain name so expensive?
While it is true that the value of these domain names is beyond imagination, there are several reasons. Firstly, some companies may wish to contract their company name, thereby reducing competition. For example, fb.com for Facebook. This may reduce competition through the monopoly acquired on the Internet, which is essential to maintain their reputation. On the other hand, the domain name in question may actually designate the name of the company, in which case it may buy it to reduce the possibility of its image being tarnished. Finally, the domain name is extremely useful for searching your own website. With our website, Ipzen.com, a person who types “Ipzen” in his search engine will have a better chance of finding the site in question: it increases the visibility of businesses on the Internet and in the eyes of future customers.
The Internet has existed since 1983, but it was only since the early 1990s, when Tim Berners-Lee introduced the World Wide Web, that the world became interested. Since then, the Internet has become as we know it today: an interesting source of business to exploit, and one that can bring in millions. Nowadays, many people legally register domain names, with the aim that one day they will be bought from them and they will benefit. Premium domain names are considered to be the highest value domain names and are usually very short. While buying a “virgin” domain name costs only a few tens of euros (the price depends on the type of extension chosen, and the registrar), the purchase price of a premium domain name can exceed all expectation. For example, “business.com” was purchased by RH Donnelley for nearly $350 million!
Any company, organization or individual seeking to establish an online presence must have at least one domain name. The domain name, pointing to your website and email addresses forms your unique online identity. This can not only create a “professional” look but help increase your reputation and strengthen your credibility.
Designed in the same spirit as the Trademark Portfolio Management tool, Ipzen’s Domain Name Management module offers you an interface that handles administrative and technical issues related to domain names. This module can be adapted to your registrar system to obtain automatic updates and appropriate technical settings. Optimize your time with this management tool that allows you to manage a complete portfolio of domain names including registrations, renewals and technical parameters. Feel free to contact us at contact@ipzen.local or visit our website ipzen.local
