Domain Name Wire Podcast

It's been 10 years since Bill Sweetman launched Name Ninja . Since then, he's helped countless companies acquire domains to launch new products and brands. On today's show, Bill talks about many of the lessons he's learned. These lessons are relevant to entrepreneurs, domain investors, corporations, and salespeople.   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

Brand Bucket is perhaps the oldest brandable domain marketplace, and it was started on accident. Founder Margot Bushnaq will explain how it came to be, why trendy keyword domains can be bad for marketplaces, and how the market for brandable domains has changed over the years. It's a great discussion!   Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

CentralNic is one of the most interesting companies in the domain name space. It started as a third level domain registrar but has grown into a behemoth in the domain registration and online advertising space, generating over $700 million last year. On today's show, CentralNic CEO Michael Reidl discusses the past and present of the company, and explains why the company has shifted its corporate st...

NamesCon returned to Austin earlier this month. It was a great show running in conjunction with CloudFest USA. On today's program, you'll hear from 11 people who were at NamesCon.  Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers  

On today's show, I explore my domain sales results so far this year. I discuss the marketplaces where I've sold domains, where I bought the domains, and how many have been developed. I also run through the three platforms I'm buying domains from.   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

Have you played around with any AI-powered domain generators? They're surprisingly good. On today's show, Ryan McKegney, CEO of DomainAgents, comes on the show to talk about the impact these tools might have on the domain business. DomainAgents has its own AI domain generator that you should check out. We also discuss some of the trends Ryan is seeing in the aftermarket. Sponsor: Sav.com domain au...

It might be difficult to remember, but there was a time when aftermarket domain name transactions were much more complex. If a buyer in China wanted your domain, they had to go to the landing page where it was listed or find it in a marketplace. Then they had to navigate a language barrier, negotiate the purchase, and figure out the complexity of an international payment. That changed with the int...

NamesCon is next week, and that means it's time for another live domain name auction. On today's show, Monte Cahn of Right of the Dot discusses what goes into planning a live auction, some of the names he's excited about, and what he thinks about the current market for domain names. Get your bidding paddles ready.    Also:    Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers  

Ryan Maltbie returns to the podcast to talk about his latest domain acquisition, BBQs.com. Ryan was on the show a couple of years ago discussing how he acquired BBQgrills.com and the importance of the domain to launching his e-commerce business. Today, he explains the circumstances of buying BBQs.com and hints at what he plans to do with it (he's not going to rebrand.)   Also: RDNH bonanza, earnin...

On this week's show I talk with Andrew Miller, managing director of Hilco Digital Assets. I had no idea how diverse and large Hilco was, and Andrew explains the role Digital Assets plays in the company. We also discuss the rationale behind the company's $10M investment in Squadhelp and some of the big 8 figure domains Andrew has recently worked on. Andrew also discusses the concept of ZOPA for dom...

NamesCon 2023 takes place later this month! On today's show, Soeren von Varchmin tells us what to expect at this year's event. We discuss the parallel CloudFest conference, some sessions you won't want to miss, and the future of NamesCon. Also: UDRP bonanza, .Blog, Afternic changes, Earth.com, Verisign and much more Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers

Last week I gave a talk at MicroConf in Denver titled "Should you sell your business?" Many DNW Podcast listeners have started business they might be interested in selling. In today's show, I discuss the reasons you might want to sell your business and some alternatives to cashing in. Also: An Epik battle, aftermarket rebound, GoDaddy acquisition and more.   Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com...

There have been a lot of changes on GoDaddy's aftermarket platforms this year. Joe Styler, a product manager for aftermarket, joins us today to talk about some of them. We dig into improvements in the auction experience and he provides some big news about TLD availability in auctions. We also discuss the Uniregistry transition, Lead Center, and a lot of other questions you've probably been burning...

On today's show, I talk with Escrow.com and Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie. While the end of last year was slow for domain sales, Matt has some great news about the start of 2023. We also discuss the latest about Escrow.com and dig into Know Your Customer regulations and how they impact people buying and selling domain names.   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions  

Domain name and naming marketplace Squadhelp announced a $10 million investment from Hilco Digital last month. On today's show, Squadhelp CEO Darpan Munjal talks about what this means for domain sellers. He also explains how the company is leveraging AI to sell more domains, and some jobs people listening to this show might be a fit for.   Also: Broker code of conduct, MarkMonitor's new expired do...

It was a wet and wild Spring Break 2023 for ICANN in Cancun this month! OK, maybe not. On today's show, Michele Neylon talks about what really happened at the ICANN meeting in Cancun. What was the general mood? What's happening with new top level domains? Hear about that and more on today's show.   Also: Squadhelp's helpful haul, 420 and more   Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain lander...

On today's show I run through a lot of interesting news in the domain business including new features at SnapNames and Dan.com. I also run throught the latest list of biggest domain name registrars and cover some good domain upgrades companies have made. Next up, I walk through Afternic's new Lead Center to show how it can be useful before finishing up with a discussion about negativity in the dom...

SEO expert Sean Markey joins us today to talk about buying expired domains for their SEO value. We discuss the metrics you need to consider, tools for finding the best domains, and what to do to get the most value from the domains (both immediately and in the long run).   Also: 18th birthday, the end of Uniregistry Market, Meta's lawsuit and more.   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

On today's show, I discuss the platforms for selling your domains and their relative benefits/drawbacks. Learn about commissions, features, and the best way to sell your domain names.   Also: RDNH, GoDaddy aftermarket   Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers

How did your domain portfolio perform last year? Today, investors Logan Flatt of Media Code and Mark Levine of Domain Theory come on the show to divulge their actual results. You'll learn their topline sales numbers, sell-through rates, median prices, and get tips for improving your own results!    Also: GoDaddy and Tucows earnings and more Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers

Domain Academy is back under the GoDaddy umbrella, and many GoDaddy users get access for free. Even if you're not interested in the domain investing course, it comes with free tools to make domain investing easier. Learn all about it in my interview with Michael Cyger today.   Also: .com price hike, GoDaddy layoffs, IONOS IPO and more. Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

A Court of Appeals decision last month widened the gulf between different U.S. circuits on a critical question in finding bad faith under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA): when the domain was registered. Or "re-registered", as it were. On today's show Ben Barlow, the lawyer who represented the owner of pru.com, discusses what the court decided and the impact it could have on d...

On today's show, DNJournal publisher Ron Jackson discuss last year's big sales. Who bought them? How are they being use? Ron also shares some surprising statistics from last year and thoughts about 2023.   Also: Charles Schwab, RDNH down under, ICA, 2023 forecast   Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers

Scott's Cheap Flights started as a way for people to find out about cheap flights. The business has grown a lot since it was founded, and it was time for a rebrand. On today's show, co-founder and CEO Brian Kidwell explains why the company thought it was time for a change and how it went about landing on its new brand, Going . He also explains how the company is transitioning from ScottsCheapFligh...

When ICANN removed price caps on .org and info domains a few years ago, domain name registrar didn't site by idly. It challenged the removal and the process that led to it, eventually filing for the Independent Review Process. The panel handed down the decision last month, mostly in Namecheap's favor. Why did Namecheap take on this fight? What will happen now? And what does this mean for the futur...