XIRV . COM

Short Domain Name or Keyword Domain Name

2009-09-28T19:09:00.002+10:00

Which type of domain names are best for you and for your business? Short - or - Keyword domain name?

If you choose a keyword domain name one of its advantages is the SEO benefit. There are of course many others, such as,the potential for type in traffic and high likelihood of being seen as a trusted "authority" on targeted keyword. As a disadvantage, you should really know that is hard to brand when developing because a keyword domain is by default a generic term.

The other type, short domain names are very easy to remember, great for branding and of course great for offline marketing. On the other hand an unnatural short domain can be hard to remember.

Published on Domain Name News

Top 100 Four Letter Websites

2009-04-24T01:17:00.002+10:00

LLLL (4 letter domains) are becoming more popular and are slowly re-gaining its status as valuable commodity since its bumpy ride last year.

Below is a list of Alexas Top ranked 4 letter websites of the world.

Rank #	WebSite
4	live	com
18	sina	com.cn
20	ebay	com
21	mail	ru
50	imdb	com
57	sohu	com
63	ebay	de
67	espn	go.com
70	mixi	jp
75	daum	net
101	bebo	com
102	ebay	co.uk
104	free	fr
106	veoh	com
117	soso	com
142	xnxx	com
149	onet	pl
162	dell	com
170	cnet	com
185	pogo	com
200	ning	com
203	ebay	it
217	ebay	fr
237	zedo	com
238	ucoz	ru
302	bild	de
307	digg	com
332	last	fm
339	hulu	com
344	ikea	com
376	usps	com
386	aebn	net
392	zing	vn
395	ebay	com.au
397	sify	com
409	xbox	com
411	iwiw	hu
417	sapo	pt
418	vnet	cn
421	ynet	com
438	chip	de
443	cams	com
444	dion	ne.jp
452	news	com.au
472	real	com
482	ehow	com
497	enet	com.cn
500	gyao	jp
514	time	com
518	yimg	com
580	xrea	com
586	ebay	es
593	21cn	com
602	king	com
604	azet	sk
615	bahn	de
617	daqi	com
640	cctv	com
643	yelp	com
661	goal	com
679	lide	cz
681	alot	com
683	dada	net
700	mixx	com
715	xici	net
716	csdn	net
717	imvu	com
726	java	com
731	divx	com
747	auto	ru
751	cam4	com
787	nick	com
788	sina	com
797	cnbc	com
811	yobt	com
818	play	com
825	home	ne.jp
828	nasa	gov
838	acer	com
848	mail	com
849	sony	com
852	yuku	com
857	ebay	ca
860	nate	com
879	eyny	com
893	xing	com
913	5d6d	com
922	welt	de
928	etsy	com
934	snap	com
951	ciao	de
962	icbc	com.cn
963	ynet	co.il
972	wayn	com
977	ebay	at
992	rude	com
1046	ndtv	com
1055	xyxy	net
1111	ucom	ne.jp	jp

Sites worth a visit

2009-03-26T01:32:00.003+11:00

I thought I would link to a couple of websites well worth a visit, some are related to domain names but some are not.

If you are into design, in particular office interior design you should pay a visit to IORgroup, they also have a flickr photo page on office design photos.

The company I work for we use email hosting from Rackspace, they offer a truly fanatical support and have some excellent email hosting features.

When it comes to domain name blogs, I daily visit dotweekly.com to get my fair share of domain name news. If you want to know how to find a good available url then this is the site with tips and hints.

I think I mentined DNjournal before, but this excellent resource can be repeated over and over again. A true must-visit if you are into domain names.

I recently visited New York City, before I left I came across a great site on things to do in New York City which had some great tips on attractions in NYC.

I recently thought about buying a new car, I went to visit East Anglian Saab Dealers to see what Saabs they had in stock.

2009 LLLL.COM - Price Guide

2009-02-10T03:27:00.001+11:00

January saw a $246,628 on 889 reported LLLL.com sales for an average of $277.42 per. The median (a much more reliable measure for the LLLL.com market) LLLL.com sale was $30 exact, with reported sales ranging from $3.28 to $14,100. February 1st was a particularly interesting day for the LLLL.com market, with 418 LLLL.coms auctioned on TDNAM. Sales were strong, with 59% fetching over $20+regfee (approx $28-$30). In all fairness, many of these domains are substantially above what I’d refer to as a “minimum wholesale” LLLL.com, however it is nevertheless good to see the market holding strong on larger bulk lots, such as this one — I’m sure we all remember a few of those bulk LLLL.com auctions in Sept-Nov 2008 which didn’t perform too well.

LLLL.com Performance
Sales under $5 2 [$3.28, $4.25]
5th percentile $6.86
10th percentile $8.00
25th percentile $14.51
Median $30.00
75th percentile $92.00
90th percentile $422.00

46 sales reached $1000+ , 25 reaching $3000+. In both categories, pronounceable LLLL.coms of mid-high quality stand out as being the most likely candidates to see top dollar sales.

Thanks to LLLL.com

LLLL.COM

2009-01-15T07:57:00.001+11:00

Reece the owner of LLLL.com shares some interesting thoughts on his http://www.llll.com/category/llllcom/. Make sure you pay it a visit.

What will 2009 hold for LLLL.COM?

2009-01-15T07:49:00.002+11:00

November 2007 up to February 2008 was the highligt of the LLLL.COM bubble. Average LLLL sold for incredible $75 and upwards. Today those prices are memories. Today $15 is the average.

I for one sold off most of my low quality LLLL. Remaining I have a plan to hold on to. I still have faith in LLLL and strongly believe they are a solid long time investment.

BQB.COM - The new home for LLLL sales

2008-06-09T00:56:00.003+10:00

BQB.com is the new market place for mainly short domains. It is definitely worth checking out!

"BQB.com is a no commission, next generation domain name auction platform dedicated to short domains. Founded in March 2008, BQB.com Inc seeks to reduce the pain sellers of domain names currently endure, paying exorbitant commissions which are in our opinion often unjustified.

BQB.com also seeks to create a marketplace for short domain names, which we believe will continue to be one of the strongest appreciating internet investments for many years to come. BQB is founded on Professionalism - each member is individually screened, successful applications are manually approved. Better Quality Business really is just a few keystrokes away!"

2008 - A new year with LLLL

2008-01-07T14:50:00.001+11:00

This will sure be an exciting year for holders of 4 letter domain names. As you all know by now every single LLLL has been registred and can now only be acquired from the after-market. LLLL prices are skyrocketing and it is getting harder and harder finding a good deal on a LLLL buy.

A not so qualified tip is that prices will continue to rise.

Top Domain Value Report - The biggest searchable LLLL.com domain sales index

The biggest searchable LLLL.com domain sales index. Here you will find LLLL domain sales comps, LLLL domain sales history, LLLL domain sales comparisons and LLLL domain sales comparables and LLLL domain auction results

More Recent LLLL Sales

2007-12-13T12:44:00.000+11:00

Find below more recent 4 letter sales. Visit tdvr.com for more details.

average price $906,02 Nov-Dec 2007
median price $278,00
average price $1.214,84 Nov
median price $360,00
average price $662,90 Dec 1-12
median price $250,00

DFBF.com $360,00 03/11/2007 DNForum
lrbd.com $145,00 04/11/2007 TDNAM
gppt.com $247,00 05/11/2007 TDNAM
SNNN.com $525,00 05/11/2007 SnapNames
NRSH.com $191,00 05/11/2007 SnapNames
ibrr.com $80,00 06/11/2007 NamePros
FBet.com $1.250,00 06/11/2007 Sedo
FBRH.com $192,00 09/11/2007 Ebay
Hono.com $4.250,00 10/11/2007 DNForum
PHOF.com $371,00 11/11/2007 Ebay
lart.com $1.649,00 11/11/2007 TDNAM
AIFF.com $1.250,00 12/11/2007 SnapNames
TCDE.com $350,00 12/11/2007 SnapNames
IHDD.com $240,00 12/11/2007 SnapNames
ISTE.com $2.150,00 12/11/2007 SnapNames

NMPR.com $454,00 12/11/2007 SnapNames
REGR.com $1.500,00 12/11/2007 NamePros
heed.com $5.100,00 13/11/2007 Sedo
pfbn.com $257,00 13/11/2007 SnapNames
MOIA.COM $1.760,00 14/11/2007 Sedo
sonf.com $342,00 14/11/2007 TDNAM
Beim.com $4.488,00 15/11/2007 Afternic
EHAB.com $4.888,00 16/11/2007 Afternic
rtss.com $2.800,00 16/11/2007 Afternic
alao.com $600,00 17/11/2007 TDNAM
isio.com $2.500,00 19/11/2007 PrivateSale
psgr.com $202,00 20/11/2007 TDNAM
oces.com $2.500,00 20/11/2007 Afternic
POIP.com $2.736,00 20/11/2007 Sedo

hhfo.com $182,00 21/11/2007 TDNAM
nagf.com $185,00 23/11/2007 SnapNames
ebmr.com $205,00 24/11/2007 SnapNames
iefn.com $210,00 24/11/2007 SnapNames
lhmd.com $192,00 25/11/2007 TDNAM
nrtg.com $190,00 26/11/2007 TDNAM
EILR.com $192,00 26/11/2007 SnapNames
gfsf.com $216,00 28/11/2007 TDNAM

dnmt.com $375,00 01/12/2007 SnapNames
tmcb.com $276,00 01/12/2007 SnapNames
hprb.com $195,00 01/12/2007 SnapNames
pnhs.com $385,00 01/12/2007 SnapNames
bboh.COM $160,00 01/12/2007 NamePros
gsoe.com $572,00 01/12/2007 TDNAM
lthe.com $155,00 01/12/2007 TDNAM

oipo.com $245,00 03/12/2007 TDNAM
EBOA.com $2.800,00 04/12/2007 SnapNames
MTGE.com $2.389,00 04/12/2007 SnapNames
BTED.com $234,00 04/12/2007 SnapNames
FMOM.COM $213,50 06/12/2007 Ebay
STDB.com $2.500,00 06/12/2007 Afternic
bboo.com $2.225,00 08/12/2007 Sedo
nesf.com $3.000,00 08/12/2007 Afternic
LTOO.com $150,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames

APPM.com $925,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
RMDR.com $222,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
LTPR.com $192,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
FBOH.com $190,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
PLMF.com $210,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
OOGD.com $180,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
LTAO.com $190,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
OGPD.com $190,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
MDTF.com $219,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
EODF.com $219,00 09/12/2007 SnapNames
NNIA.com $280,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
LSAL.com $310,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
GGSO.com $230,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
BENB.com $370,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
IEHH.com $190,00 09/12/2007 NameJet

PLBR.com $200,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
LSFM.com $250,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
LALN.com $210,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
BSSO.com $320,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
ONGH.com $170,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
EGFM.com $190,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
AFAD.com $1.100,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
IIMS.com $1.200,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
dhmo.com $1.900,00 09/12/2007 NameJet
gcpc.com $460,00 10/12/2007 NameJet
dmee.com $275,00 11/12/2007 SnapNames
clgp.com $300,00 11/12/2007 NameJet
dbaa.com $670,00 11/12/2007 NameJet
ibnr.com $680,00 11/12/2007 NameJet
mmne.com $240,00 11/12/2007 NameJet
nesf.com $3.000,00 11/12/2007 Afternic

Recent Sales

2007-11-26T18:19:00.000+11:00

For recent sales of 4 Letter .com, check out this massive list from a thread on Namepros.

4 Letter .Com Sale Prices Increasing

2007-11-26T12:24:00.000+11:00

Not surprisingly, the value of LLLL have gone up since the buy-out on Nov 2. 4ltr.org reports that LLLL prices are going up.

"We took a random sampling of domain names back in June 2007 from 5 domain auction houses and found that the minimum selling price for 4 letter domains was about $5 and in fact, some names were not bid upon. On November 24, 2007 we went back to the same venues to see what names were selling for. The lowest price domain we could find sold for $18, with $20 - $25 being the average selling price of some of the poorest quality names. Thus, it appears that 4 letter domains have risen 300% in price in about 5 months.

If this trend were to continue, the minimum selling price would be around $60 by May of 2008. When we asked a few domain investors and were told that they did not expect the rise in prices to remain at it's current level, most predicted the rise to be around 10% per month. We will do this study again in May of 2008 and report back our findings."

TODAY is the DAY (At Last)

2007-11-03T11:45:00.000+11:00

Nov 2 - 2007, remember this day. LLLL is no more!

ALL LLLL are now registered. Not a single 4 letter of 456,976 possible combinations is available to register. To get hold of a LLLL you now need to get one from the after-market and auctions.

The value of LLLL are now bound to go up. Before today we have seen reseller pricing at regfee (around $7 to $9 US dollars) but after today reseller pricing is likely to double. Of course this is for poor letter quality LLLL consisting of Q X and Z letters. Quality letter LLLL are already in mid to high $xxx.

That is, everyone having a LLLL porfolio (small or big) have now already made a nice return of investment.

Another Low-Down in LLLL domain names

2007-11-01T12:47:00.000+11:00

The remaining 4 letter dot com hits another low-down. Just over 3000 LLLL.com are left to register.

In just a couple of weeks all four letters should be gone. This is a landmark moment in the domain name history.

Of 456,976 combinations ONLY some 3000 are left. Amazing!

CYOV.COM, YLLO.COM, GNUW.COM, OTVG.COM AND EIUP.COM

2007-10-22T12:11:00.000+10:00

Want to own a short, catchy, brandable and easy to remember domain name?

Why not make an offer on CYOV.COM (Create Your Own Videos), YLLO.COM ("Yellow"), GNUW.COM (Gnu World), OTVG.COM (Online TV Guide) AND EIUP.COM!

Follow these links to make an offer.

http://www.afternic.com/name.php?domain=cyov.com

http://www.afternic.com/name.php?domain=yllo.com

http://www.afternic.com/name.php?domain=gnuw.com

http://www.afternic.com/name.php?domain=otvg.com

http://www.afternic.com/name.php?domain=eiup.com

For more fantastic 4 letter, generics and geo domain names visit KnowledgeHQ!

Today is THE Day!

2007-10-12T11:10:00.000+10:00

Today is the day. 12 October 2007. Remember this day. Today is a landmark day. Today is a day that will forever be remembered in the history books of domain names. Big words I know and you may wonder why.

Yes. Why?

Today ONLY 9771 Four letter .com remaining. We have finally got below the 10.000 LLLL.com threshold. Very soon every single remaining 4 letter com will be registred. Even the ones containing multiple bad letters such as ZWQX.com. That is a promise.

Soon Below 10k Remaining

2007-09-18T21:21:00.000+10:00

Soon we are there. We are getting very close to a total buy out. At the moment there are just some 11.000 4 letter dot com available.

The number of available domains (no traffic testing) is estimated to be about 15000 by August 15.

Every single domain currently available has at least one of Q/X/Y/Z now.

Soon they are gone!

2007-08-14T15:56:00.000+10:00

The moment we have been waiting for is soon happening. In early August DYYO released news breaking data.

Total registration goes above 95%.

Most domains started with 'K' and 'W' are taken out in the last two days. ('D', 'E' and soon 'F' are biting the dust).

First time the available domain below 20.000. Most likely will never see 20k again.

The number of avaiable domains at the middle of the month is about 21200(excluding traffic test).

It is the first time that names started with 'S' are gone. Letter S is a premium letter.

The number of the real available domains by Aug 23 is about 18.700.

Be quick to register any remaining 4 letter .com, because soon the will be ALL gone. Even the Q, Z and X ones! Hurry...

Recent 4 Letter . com sales

2007-08-04T10:18:00.000+10:00

Some more recent LLLL sales. There are some real gems below with fantastic sale amounts.

The number of sales are expected to increase furhter when the 4 letter domain names run out.

Text.com $300,000 7/4/2007 Moniker
Lips.com $135,000 8/2/2007 Moniker
Note.com $115,000 8/2/2007 Moniker
Bulk.com $100,000 7/18/2007 Moniker
Coed.com $88,240 8/2/2007 Moniker
Lick.com $60,000 7/18/2007 Moniker
Fees.com $55,000 7/4/2007 Moniker
Lean.com $55,000 7/18/2007 Moniker
MSIG.com $55,000 7/25/2007 Sedo
Wick.com $33,000 8/2/2007 Moniker
Dont.com $30,000 7/11/2007 Moniker
Tart.com $30,000 7/18/2007 Moniker
FLYI.com $21,005 8/2/2007 TDNAM
Clap.com $21,000 7/25/2007 Moniker
Kitt.com $15,000 7/18/2007 Afternic/ BuyDomains
Yabb.com $10,000 7/18/2007 Afternic/ BuyDomains

Less than 5% remaining!

2007-08-02T13:59:00.000+10:00

There are now only 22,742 LLLL.com left. That means the magical 5% barrier has been crossed. Less than 5% are remaining. There is no turning back now.

Not long until the remaining will go, hopefully! Tick tock tick tock!!!

There has been a serious downward trend in remaining LLLL.com of late and there are less and less dropping. We are now beginning to see the end of remaining LLLL.com.

LLLL Quality Domains For Sale

2007-07-27T12:09:00.000+10:00

Below are some high quality 4 letter names. All are easy to remember and brand able. If you have an interest in buying one of them the go to KnowledgeHQ and make your enquiry there.

Want more cool Domain Names? Go to Afternic portfolio. Or. Go to Sedo portfolio

Another Fantastic Sale, Business.com sold for $360 Million USD, WOW!!!

2007-07-26T22:12:00.000+10:00

The final purchaser is R.H. Donnelley who bought Business.com to increase their influence of the Internet in the yellow-pages and white-pages business, which publishes paper and online directories in 28 states under the AT&T, Dex and Embarq names, among others.

The Dow Jones and the New York Times were both bidding on the company. The sale was expect to close between $300 to $400 million. So the price was right on target. Business.com currently brings in about $15 Million dollars a year in revenue. So the sale was 24 times earnings. This is a rather high price for a company but generally bigger companies sell for a higher multiple. 24X is very health. If a company is able to demonstrate $1 Million dollars in revenue that would make it worth about $24 Million according to these numbers. However, smaller companies sell for a smaller multiple. Generally between 8X to 15X. Now you can see why 24X looks so good for this company. One could argue it was the domain name that made it so valuable.

The parent company has revenues of $442 million and has a market capitalization of $9.67 Billion. R.H. Donnelley’s stock currently trades at nearly 22X their current revenue. This purchase is right in line with the value of their stock so it is a good purchase from my perspective.

More recent LLLL.com Sales

2007-07-23T18:15:00.000+10:00

LLLL.com sales are starting to pick up. Here are some recent sales,
XOZA com $245 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
DigU com $1,500 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
BICU com $1,999 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
DOFY com $750 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
HIGI com $1,850 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
QUJE com $510 Jul 07 Sedo Auction (excellent sale considering the letter quality)
Nipa com $2,262 Jul 07 SnapNames
Kahe com $5,111 Jul 07 Sedo
FYLE com $1,077 Jul 07 Sedo Auction
POFA com $1,770 Jul 07 Sedo
ITAT com $2,070 Jul 07 Moniker/Traffic
HODU com $609 Jun 07 Sedo Auction
EWap com $8,078 Jun 07 Sedo Auction
Loci com $10,000 Jun 07 Afternic
Heya com $4,100 Jun 07 SnapNames
Toga com $60,000 Jun 07 Afternic/BuyDomains (Nice sale, 60k!)
Poda com $11,840 Jun 07 Sedo
OPax com $4,488 Jun 07 BuyDomains

Answers.com buys Dictionary.com for, sit down please, $100 million

2007-07-17T12:35:00.000+10:00

"Answers Corp has reached an agreement to buy Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com from Lexico Publishing Group, LLC for $100 million.

These properties attracted 11.5 million unique monthly users in the U.S. during the month of June 2007 according to comScore. They generated revenues of $7 million, EBITDA of $2.9
million and net income of $2.8 million in 2006. For more information, see the press release."

From the press release:

“Dictionary.com’s success is built on its unique, descriptive domain name and simple, straightforward interface,” explained Bruce D. Smith, Chief Strategic Officer.

Who can argue with this?

Generic domain names are hotter than the sun these days. The industry is really booming right now. But this sale is just awesome. It makes the recent sale of porn.com for $12 million look like peanuts.

I am totally blown away, $100 millions! I have to sit down now.

LLLL Decreasing Rapidly

2007-07-16T13:06:00.000+10:00

LLLL.com will get more and more valuable as more people jump on the internet, especially with pronounceable and brandable LLLL. The reason for this is that UDRP actions and trademark issues will fuel the growth of made-up words LLLL.com.

It is exiting times for everyone holding a LLLL portfolio. The future sure looks bright. I would recommend everyone not to sell their names for peanuts. LLLL.com is a long time investment. The numbers will pretty soon be below 20k.

The latest data shows that the number of LLLL.com are resolutely going down and not once reversing yet.

By the end of August 2007 we should be firmly under the 30.000 line and heading for the next break spread 20.000-25.000. In just a couple of days the numbers dropped from 26k to 23k.

When below 20k it should be just a matter of time before some big domain registrar registers all of the remaining.

LLLL Steadily Going Down

2007-07-11T21:51:00.000+10:00

There are 234,256 combinations of LLLL domains without the letters Q, Z, X & Y (the 4 most disliked letters).

There are only 2,277 LLLL domains left without any of these letters in according to dyyo.com. This means that it has now dropped under the 1 percent mark (2,277 / 234,256 = 0.972%).

How long will it be until someone register the remaining LLLL.com?

Let's say someone registerd the remaining 26,000 at a bulk rate of $5.00 = $130,000. They would have to renew 2 years x $130,000 = $260,000. Total price for 3 years registered = $390,000. If value increases to average $50 each - in 3 years 26,000 x $50 = $1,300,000.

I wish I had the money!