GeoPublishers is staffed/led by some familiar names in the geodomain industry including the Castello Brothers (David and Michael) who own such greats as PalmSprings.com and Nashville.com, Fred Mercaldo of Scottsdale.com, and Jessica Bookstaff of PigeonForge.com.

GeoPublishers aspire to become the new voice of the geodomain industry. Many of its members and/or partners were previously involved with the Associated Cities network although differences led to an eventual split.

Geodomains are a special interest of this writer as well as a focus of investment for Menius Enterprises, Inc. (dba PremiumDomains.US). Pure generic city and state domain names offer a unique angle since they have natural appeal to local residents & businesses as well as those planning to travel to a particular city or state location.

GeoPublishers will be open to geodomain owners in a variety of top level domains. Already listed in the site’s membership directory is Louisville.US, an attractive website providing information on local business, attractions, restaurants, hotel booking, etc.

GeoPublishers will provide periodic conferences for its members for the purposes of networking, learning, and information exchange. The first such conference is already being scheduled, and is entitled “GeoPublishers.com Expo 2011″. It will be held in Chicago on October 1-2. More information is available here.

Ron explained in his DNJournal piece that Mr. Grant had used GoDaddy to broker the deal. The domain had been originally registered in 1996. Pure real estate domain names are top portals & marketing machines for real estate companies due to their generic nature, geo relevance, and instant recognition factor.

Domains like MiamiRealEstate, BeverlyHillsHomes, or AtlantaCondos pair a popular location with one of the highly relevent search phrases … such as real estate, homes, or condos.

Some interesting high-dollar domain name sales from the past include RealEstate.net for $300,000 and MyrtleBeachCondos.com for $120,107.

Available through this site are a number of generic names like MyrtleBeachCondos.biz, MyrtleBeachRealEstate.biz, and Condos.info.

A study by MetroMonitor looked at several growth indicators such as employment, home prices, and foreclosure rates. The researchers ranked and listed the Top 21 cities that produced the best statistical figures.

The ultimate standout was the booming Dallas-Fort Worth metro area that added more residents in the past decade than any other city. Fueling the growth there is a very positive business climate in which there is no corporate income tax and regulations are minimal.

The state of Texas was very well represented with 6 cities making the Top 21 list. The highest ranking cities meeting the recession-proof criteria were (in alphabetical order):

Albany, NY
Augusta, GA
Austin, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
Buffalo, NY
Columbia, SC
Dallas, TX
Des Moines, IA
El Paso, TX
Honolulu, HI
Houston, TX
Jackson, MS
Little Rock, AR
Madison, WI
McAllen, TX
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha, NE
Rochester, NY
San Antonio, TX
Tulsa, OK
Washington, D.C.

The MetroMonitor study includes a wealth of information on various cities’ standings along a number of economic indicators.

Premium domain names of interest related to the above cities include:

• AugustaGeorgia.US
• AustinRealEstate.biz
• Columbia.info
• DallasTexas.biz
• ElPaso.biz
• HonoluluHawaii.biz
• HoustonAttorneys.US
• LittleRockRealEstate.info
• OklahomaCity.biz
• OmahaNebraska.US
• SanAntonioRealEstate.info
• TulsaHotels.info
• WashingtonDCRealEstate.info

Raleigh.com is one of many stunning geo domain names owned by Boulevards New Media. Boulevards have a massive stable of top-of-the-line city domains including Detroit.com, StLouis.com, Indianapolis.com, and Memphis.com to name a few. Raleigh is North Carolina’s second most populated city. It is the state capital, and home to Research Triangle Park and NC State University. Raleigh has been ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in America.

The current auction reserve on Raleigh.com is set at $1 million to $5 million dollars. This premium domain name is certainly an incredible portal for the Raleigh, North Carolina area and presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for the appropriate buyer to acquire a top domain.

Raleigh.info is owned by me. Raleigh.US is registered to Sigmund Solares, and Raleigh.biz was acquired by a South Korean registrant named Song Dongil.

Boulevard’s portfolio of city domains is simply stunning, and the collective value almost priceless. Examples of their properties …

Following some years later came the official releases of .info (information), .biz (business), and .US (United States) domain name extensions. The competition was global and intense for city domain names in these addresses. Many individuals and companies had “seen the light”, and recognized the incredible opportunity before them.

A parallel story which was unfolding alongside the domain name evolution was the unraveling of traditional newspapers and print media. Many newspapers did not understand that their own demise was at hand. In short, their print advertising plummeted. Moreover, newspapers failed to grab the brass ring … which was to acquire a pure city domain name and to adequately position themselves for the internet future.

There were exceptions, however. The Charlotte Observer obtained Charlotte.com, The Boston Globe acquired Boston.com, and the former Knight Ridder Publishing (who owned the Miami Herald) captured Miami.com. All good moves.

Further illustrating the current emergency underway with print newspapers in America is the recent bankruptcy declaration of the Denver Post. They are the 13th newspaper bankruptcy filing by a U.S. newspaper publisher in only 13 months. Read about it here.

Menius Enterprises worked diligently beginning in year 2001 to acquire a number of high value geo domain properties, including: Charlotte.US, Detroit.US, Portland.US, California.biz, Miami.biz, NewOrleans.biz, NorthCarolina.info, Indiana.info, and Sacramento.info. Since then, we have sold a number of pure geo domain names and geo-targeted domains.

Morris Communications (based in Augusta, Georgia) obtained cities such as Nashville.biz, Cleveland.biz, and StLouis.biz.

City domain names are rare and have few substitutes. They appeal to a large clientele yielding relevance for local residents, both local and global businesses, and international travelers to the area. Cities have their own unique personality. And a timeless, enduring quality.

A recent report (CNNMoney) listed states that are experiencing a shift (decline) in their population figures in relation to the past two years economic woes. California was ranked first in losses, New York second, and Michigan third. Everyone has heard about California’s financial difficulties. And most everyone is aware of the auto industry’s seemingly constant trouble achieving profitability (and consequent layoffs).

Generally speaking, citizens will migrate to areas of the country where new job opportunities are coming into play. Other factors which contribute to population shift are climate/weather, cost of living, state tax rates, ethnic/racial profile, and the presence of family support.

As long as there exists a substantial core “audience” for a city or locality, then a particular geo domain for that area will retain value and relevance.

Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and displaced a large segment of the population. However, the city itself enjoys such dynamic history and tourist appeal that reconstruction was quickly on the agenda of real estate development firms who aimed to capitalize on New Orleans’ fame and relevance as a great American city. Consequently, as a geo destination, New Orleans has sustaining appeal.

Developing a geo domain is a bit simpler today than it was two years ago. That does not mean that it is necessarily an easy process. Quality content, frequent updates, and selling advertising are everyday challenges best taken on by a small dedicated team as opposed to a single individual who is operating solo. That being said, geo domain sites can be built one piece at a time and incrementally expanded with time and development capital.

The arrival of minisites, WordPress, and web development platforms like DevHub have greatly simplified the process of erecting a basic geo domain website.

Whatever a geo location’s population, there is niche content that will well serve that particular town or city. So, experimentation may be required in order to learn what a city’s residents and businesses want (or need). The geo domain, in a best case scenario, will reflect what the majority of site users really want … perhaps real estate for sale, local job listings and job search, area news, entertainment links, an online business directory, or other. The right combination is a process of understanding the locale and the people and businesses who call that geo destination their home.

DevHub was created by Evo Media Group and its goal is to provide easy content creation (and editing) with less complexity than is normally required for custom html coding.

I have found that one can put up a basic, somewhat generic site with relative ease and which provides some desireable user functionality. However, you can introduce custom graphics and more sophisticated features if willing to invest more time in the development.

Development itself is a process which often evolves in stages. DevHub allows you the option of working effectively within time constraints since you can start off with a basic website that can grow. For a large portfolio owner, developing all of one’s domain properties can be a time intensive process.  Premium domain names deserve quality attention & development, but often must begin as a simple concept that will become more complete with future development.

Charlotte.US is an example of a time intensive website that takes many weeks to complete (even on the user-friendly WordPress format). By contrast, a website like Raleigh.info can be built with DevHub in about 5 to 8 hours. Below (and pictured right) are a variety of websites I developed in the last few weeks. All of them were done on DevHub. None of them are in their final stage …

More DevHub developed sites …

• NorthCarolina.info
• CaliforniaJobs.info
• AutoRacing.biz