The .BIZ web address was released in 2002 and has steadily risen in registration numbers since then. It is currently closing in on 2.15 million worldwide registrations and shown consistent year over year growth as a leading top level domain.
“Biz” has long been a common abbreviation for business in the finance and investment realms, and particularly in the broader world of business in general. Biz has become a well-recognized part of the English vernacular. It is seen daily in newspapers & magazines, on television, throughout the internet, and used repeatedly by professionals when referring to almost any kind of industry.
My own research of the .biz web address reveals that it has been adopted by many companies around the globe from small local stores to major international corporations. For business purposes and business branding, .BIZ is a major player. The .biz extension is managed by the Neustar Registry and marketed by them as …
The Internet’s Home For Business
Below is brief informational video by NTC Hosting on the .BIZ web address …
DOMAINfest will be holding a 1-day networking event in New York City on Wednesday, August 18. The day’s agenda will include case studies of successful domain name purchases.
Other topics to be covered include utilizing affiliate marketing, recent views on internet advertising trends, and whether it is a good time to invest in geo domains. I think we know the answer to that one. That of course being a perpetual yes!
A highlight of the day will be a live Moniker auction which will include several upper echelon .com domain names such as Stocks.com and Quotes.com. These are very nice domains.
I predict in the coming year(s) that we will begin to see more well-publicized specialty auctions of categories like real estate domain names and extension specific auctions for tld’s like .info, .biz, and .us. dotUS had a recent auction around July 4th of this year.
Importantly, promoting and marketing an auction well in advance of the event is the single most important factor in getting potential buyers to the table.
There was an interesting post today by Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire. He wrote about having gone to visit a relative near St. Louis, Missouri and driving for some distance on I-70 away from St. Louis.
Dotted along the highway were numerous billboards owned by Porlier Outdoor Advertising. Billboard advertising has become a mainstay in the advertising world as they offer a unique opportunity for companies to reach drivers while they cruise the open road.
Of interest to me was Porlier’s use of the .BIZ domain name for their official website at www.Porlier.biz. The .biz extension was originally released and successfully branded as the official business web address of the internet. Porlier’s use of .biz is certainly a perfect fit for the .biz domain’s intended use.
The company’s billboards are focused on roads between St. Louis and Kansas City, and they have over 440 available billboards for local and national advertisers to use. Several of these are of the electronic type with colorful messages that rotate every 10 seconds.
Porlier can utilize a customer’s own creative designs or develop something unique in-house to suit a customer’s taste.
I have written periodically about various applications of the .biz (Business) web address having seen some impressive real life uses by different companies in North Carolina. From local florists to commercial real estate firms. From medical service providers to global retailers.
Here’s a unique one. Several days ago I viewed on a major highway close to Greensboro, NC a large billboard for ForkIt.biz. Yes, “Fork It”. ForkIt.biz is a promotional campaign for hospitality careers in North Carolina sponsored by the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. The Association is based out of Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital city, and operates its website on NCRLA.biz. A very good .biz fit.
For the uninitiated, North Carolina is a tourist & vacation state with it’s mountains, beaches, and incredible college sports dynasties. These attractions feed the hotel, hospitality, restaurant, and general tourism industry across the state.
Another local billboard for Northstate Communications uses TurnThePages.biz to invite local businesses to switch away from their current telecom provider to North State’s communication technology.
The .biz address currently has over 2.1 million worldwide registrations.
A recent check of Sedo showed some interesting domain name sales which illustrate just how global the domain name market has become.
Sound.ch for $7450 (.ch is the country code for Swtizerland)
Cafe.de for $19,050 (.de is the country code for Germany)
Pocketbook.eu for $11,993 (.eu is the county code for the European Union)
BudgetAir.in for $20,000 (.in is the country code for India)
Falcon.co.uk for $9183 (.co.uk is the country code for the United Kingdom)
Finanzblick.de for $7574 (.de is the country code for Germany)
Gezocht.nl for $24,500 (.nl is the country code for the Netherlands)
SEO.es for $7620 (.es is the country code for Spain)
Tech.TV for $5000 (.tv is the country code for Tuvalu, but branded for “TV”)
A recent Moniker .US domain auction produced the purchase of Flights.US for $11, 770. Another recent Moniker brokered sale was Slots.ca for $206,906 (.ca is the country code for Canada).
Also in the news was the sale of SydneyHotels.com for $100,000 by owner Rick Schwartz to a company with a network of travel focused domain names & websites. This same company own the LondonHotels.biz website among many others.
Here is an update on the growth of America’s official country code, the .US web address. Between February 2009 and the end of June 2010 (roughly 1 year and 5 months), the .US web address added 338,764 new registrations for a current total of 1,724,961 .US domain names in play. This was a remarkable 24.4% increase in registrations.
Another article is just out confirming that real estate sales are picking up in select markets. The New York Daily News reported that buyers have returned to New York City and are snatching up prime Manhattan apartments.
In response to price cuts, tax incentives, and great mortgage rates, buyers are going after high end residential real estate. Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group, is quoted as saying that positive, market-friendly conditions are motivating buyers.
In May through June of this year, Manhattan residential real estate logged 3600 sales. This was a 47% increase in property sales over the same time period in 2009.
The article identified oversized, three bedroom apartments as one of the hottest items on the Manhattan real estate market.
Liebman, of Corcoran, was also quoted by NY Daily News as reporting that bidding wars had returned to the New York City marketplace. Aggressive buyers drove up bidding as Manhattan real estate inventory began to move … with more than 50% of Corcoran agents getting caught in the middle of a price war.
High-quality domain names are becoming a new asset class having demonstrated appreciation during market ups, and an ability to retain value through market downturns.
Domainers
Domainer is the term used to describe those who invest in and monetize internet domain names. Some domainers are full scale business entrepreneurs while many are enthusiasts who enjoy internet technology.
Portfolio Development
Assembling a domain name portfolio can be accomplished using several approaches. Like all investing, research and strategy are essential to success and achieving a substantial return on investment (ROI).
Generic Domain Names
Generic domain names are the bread and butter of domain name investing. Generic domains are typically immune to federal trademark registration on the principal register, and consequently represent the safest and most lucrative business opportunity for the domain investment community.
Geo Domains
Geo domains, or alternatively geodomains, are geographical internet addresses: cities (Miami), states (North Carolina), countries (Canada), or locations (Grand Canyon). Pure geodomains are elite premium domain names.
Geo-targeted domains are a combination of a location + business category as in:
NewYorkCondos.biz
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is registering or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
Cybersquatting is ethically wrong, a Federal offense, and looked down upon by legitimate domain investors.
The .BIZ web address was released in 2002 and has steadily risen in registration numbers since then. It is currently closing in on 2.15 million worldwide registrations and shown consistent year over year growth as a leading top level domain.
DOMAINfest
A recent Moniker 
real estate inventory began to move … with more than 50% of Corcoran agents getting caught in the middle of a price war.
