Domain Name Wire Podcast

My guest today is Andrew Miller, an early domain investor who sold beer.com, shop.com, diamond.com and many other gems. On today's show, we dig into domain investing in the early 2000s. We also talk about developing vs. just selling domains, with creditcards.com as an example. I also ask Andrew about the trend away from category defining keyword domains to using one-word domains as brands, and he...

Nielsen — the company you know for TV ratings — is really much more than that. This year, the company is splitting into two. On today's show, I interview Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer of NielsenIQ. We discuss the split, what NielsenIQ does, and how it chose its domain. Jacqueline also explains why the company decided to acquire the three-letter domain NIQ.com. Also: Donuts completes ac...

Bring out the champagne, 2020 is almost over! It has certainly been an eventful, life altering year.    We're concluding 2020 with our annual predictions episode. I asked people in the domain name industry to reflect on 2020 and make predictions for next year. You'll hear from 22 people representing investors, domain brokers, registries, and other organizations. Enjoy!   Sponsor: Dan.com

It's a special edition this week as I review the top stories and trends in the domain name market in 2020. We'll discuss the pandemic's impact on the market, continuing consolidation, the failed .org takeover, and price hikes on the way.   Also: Levelup hijacking, Workforce fight, GoDaddy's big deal, DoorDash and .online, and Namecheap data.   Sponsor: Dan.com and Donuts

You know Jen Sale as the CEO of domain name brokerage Evergreen. She has a new startup called Sparkly that hopes to make give-giving easier. Jen explains the idea behind the site and how the company settled on Sparkly.com. We also discuss the challenges of starting a company when profits might be years away.   Also: More RDNH, .IE transition, Canadian milestone   Sponsor: Donuts

Not many domain name brokers can say they've "been there" — in the shoes of a company trying to acquire a premium domain name. But today's guest is one of those. Tim Hargis worked for online mattress seller Tuft & Needle and helped it acquire TN.com. Hargis explains why the company needed a new domain, how it acquired it, and the results. He recently was named VP of Premium Domains a Buckley Media...

Making profitable investments with new top level domain names has proven challenging for many investors. Registries held back their best inventory or priced it at a premium. Today's guest, Madhu Oswin, made a great return on his new TLD investments. The sample size is small, but it shows that domainers who selectively choose their investments and negotiate well can make a profit on new TLDs.   Als...

Last week, Donuts announced it was acquiring Afilias in a blockbuster deal. My guest this week is Mina Neuberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Donuts. Mina discusses branding, whether Donuts should market individual TLDs, and her view of the domain industry so far coming from the outside.    Also: Donuts acquires Afilias, two reverse domain name hijacking cases, GoDaddy launches new product   Sponsor:...

Domain investor Adam Strong returns to the show today to talk about what he's seeing in the domain aftermarket during this strange year. Adam sees the high level of the market through Evergreen.com, and also has a portfolio of 14,000 domains. We talk  about pricing domains, negotiations, and more. Oh, and Adam has an important tip for PayPal users.   Also: Jonathan on the move, aftermarket rebound...

Domain names are a side hustle for many investors. On today's show, I talk with Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation . He explains the three types of side hustles and where domain names fit in. He also talks about some of the more interesting things people are doing to make money outside of their 9-5 job.   Also: A listener question about trademarks, a big acquisition, GoDaddy and Tucows earnings, and...

One of the best sessions at September's NamesCon Online was a chat between Zak Muscovitch, general counsel of Internet Commerce Association, and David Bernstein, a partner with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Bernstein was counsel for Booking.com in its trademark fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. On today's show, you'll hear the NamesCon discussion between Muscovitch and Bernstein. They...

I've always thought of Dan.com as another domain landing page sales platform. But I walked away with my conversation this week with founder Reza Sardeha with a new way to describing it: Dan.com is a technology and payments stack for domain sales. You'll understand what I mean after listing to this week's newsletter.   Also: Still no .com price hike, Wines.com dispute, PayPal woes and more Sponsor:...

On this week's show I answer some listener questions. We'll talk about domain leasing (when to do it and how to set it up), how to sell unused domains, and how to sell low-priced domain names.    Also: Nobel Prize, ICANN saves money, six-figure forwards, XYZ, no-fee backorders and more. Sponsor: Donuts

Proper domain name valuation is crucial to being a successful domain name investor. On today's show, Michael Cyger of DNAcademy walks through a valuation of a domain name I just bought. Along the way, you'll hear about some great data tools to home in on the value of your domains. Michael also helps me answer the first two podcast listener questions.   Also: Reverse domain name hijacking, NamesCon...

A lot of companies acquired their own brand-matching new top level domain, but few have put them to extensively to use. Fox has recently started using its brand more, and it could be a role model for other companies. On today's show, Fox's Crews Gore discusses why .Fox is being more widely adopted with the company. He also talks about a second level domain that was receiving hundreds of thousands...

How should domain name brokers behave? On today's show, domain buyer broker Bill Sweetman of Name Ninja discusses the role of buyer brokers, seller brokers, and buyers and sellers in domain name transactions. There are a lot of shady things that parties to a transaction sometimes do, and Bill explains a simple rule for figuring out if something is ethical or not.   Also: TikTok, domain sales, Pock...

By now, we have a good idea about what is happening in the domain name industry due to the pandemic. But what about developed websites? The answer, unsurprisingly, is that web businesses are experiencing mixed results. Peter Askew runs three sites: one that sells onions , another that connects ranchers with jobs , and one that helps families find birthday party venues . On today's show, Askew expl...

When Sex .com was stolen in the 90s, it was most likely the most valuable domain name in the world. And it wasn't just a routine domain theft like what occurs today. What transpired involved a lifelong conman, an early internet entrepreneur, hidden cash, prison, fleeing to Mexico, drug-fueled parties, and millions of dollars in legal expenses. On today's show, reporter Kieren McCarthy, who wrote a...

Rand Fishkin is an SEO expert who founded Moz. On today's show, Rand discusses the relative importance of domain names when it comes to SEO over the past couple of decades. Rand also recounts his company's purchase of the Moz.com domain. Rand's latest startup is SparkToro.   Also: NamesCon, CEO change at Sedo, Sleep.com, and more. Sponsor: Donuts

This week, we check in with Dynadot founder Todd Han. He talks about Dynadot's new sales system, some updates on the company's expired domain auction platform, and what's going on in the worldwide market for domains in the face of Covid-19.   Also: Verisign's surprise proposal, .camfusion, and reverse domain name hijacking Sponsor: Dan.com

It's episode #300! Whether you recently discovered the Domain Name Wire Podcast or have listened since 2014, thanks for being part of this journey. On today's show, we're going to listent to excerpts from some of my favorite shows. You'll hear from the creator of the DNS, the bassist for Megadeth, and several more entertaining (and educational) guests. Enjoy!

My guest this week was the very first guest on the Domain Name Wire podcast back in 2014. Ray King runs two domain name companies: Top Level Design and Porkbun. Today, Ray talks about .gay, the new top level domain that his company is launching in general availability next month. He also discusses developments at domain name registrar Porkbun. Some of these are great for domainers: for sale landin...

There are many paths to growing a business, but domain name registrar Gandi has taken an unusual one: 100% of its business is from word-of-mouth. The registrar has grown to over 40 million euros in annual revenue without spending a dime on advertising. On today's show, Gandi CEO Stephan Ramoin talks about how the company's tagline No B.S. (and they actually write it out!) has defined its approach...

The Domain Name Association recently merged with i2Coalition, so this week I interview i2Coalition Executive Director Christian Dawson to learn more about the organization. It's one of the few organizations to educate people about the importance of internet infrastructure...including people in Washington.   Also:Earnings season, Escrow.com's changing business, and a battle over Calculator.com. Spo...

On this week's show, I take a look back at what a wild year 2020 has been. So much has changed since we got together at NamesCon in January. I also talk about customer service and trust in the domain business. Finally, I review the top sales of the year to date.   I also cover the past week's top news items including a .com price freeze (followed by an increase), domain sales reports, and more. Sp...