There were not a lot of sales the past two weeks due to all the auctions that were ongoing.  Rick Latona continues to set the standard for geo domain sales.  He does an outstanding job getting top dollar for his Geos! I think WashingtonProperty.com was the best deal out of the group.  I have not heard anything from the Sedo.com Geo domain auction.  If anyone has any info, please send it my way for histroical tracking.

New expos and conferences are going to surface in 2008 covering the local advertising market to embrace its explosive growth.  One of these new conferences, is the Pelorus Mobile Local Search Forum. We are going to see alot of the local platform companies, IYP, and other local technology companies move into the Domain expo/conference arena in the coming months.  Everything is going from global to local on the internet, and promoters will have no choice but to welcome these companies and broaden the horizon for domainers.  

For years, Expo promoters have failed to deliver what these companies have to offer.  AssociatedCities.com has been the only organization to embrace these companies at thier expos.  They bring a wealth of knowledge to the table and offer easier ways to accomplish the goals everyone is trying to achieve; Getting Local Advertising Dollars. 

Here is an article covering the untapped local mobile market.

The local mobile market is huge and largely untapped. Less than 1 million businesses participate in paid search today, leaving about 6 million (85 percent) of the potential local search advertising market largely untouched. That’s even truer in the case of mobile search.

Yes, the local mobile market is still somewhat limited by the relatively small screens on most existing devices. However, there are signs this is being addressed, which will greatly benefit local mobile search. As more mobile devices such as the iPhone hit the market, many of the pieces for the perfect local mobile advertising storm will fall into place.

  

(via Clickz.com)

Last week, I published an article on wikileaks.org being ordered by the U.S. District Court to shut down the site.  This week, Rights Groups are battling this decision as it violates first ammendment rights.  It is a good thing that we have organizations out there that battle decisions like this on behalf of the small guy.  If they did not exist, there would be many new laws and violations of ammendment rights.

I hope all turns out well for wikileak.org and the decision is overturned.  If it is not, it will only give corporate America even more power to shut down the little guy with a voice.

“The First Amendment encompasses the right to receive information and ideas,” the groups said in the brief. “The documents and materials posted on the Wikileaks website concern matters of great public interest” which each of the parties filing the motion had regularly accessed, they said.

(via NYTimes.com)

Interesting title, huh.  I am sure there are some readers saying, yeah right, Steve has let this geo stuff go to his head :).  As I always say, the proof is in the pudding.  Check any generic domain on the internet that is developed and tell me if this statement is not true.  95% of them are trying their best to get local 100% in some type of way.  The bottom line is that even the most generic domain names want to be local.  That is where all the money is located and untouched for the most part.  Generic domains are great for signing big advertisers, but when it comes to the small guys and getting their advertising dollars, they are struggling and they know it.

This is why there has been a surge of local platforms being developed in the last 6 months.  They are being integrated into sites to assist solving the local problem on generic domains.  Consumers have evolved and they are very savvy with the internet these days.  They are going directly to the sites that deliver the local content they seek causing little frustration.  

Additionally, all the strategic alliances are evolving to get more local and offer fresh content, as I stated earlier.  In the end, geo domains will become the winner to the local game, and advertisers will embrace them, small and large.  There is nothing more frustrating than having to search thru multiple levels of pages to get the information you want immediately. Do you agree?

This battle will go on and on among domainers that generic domains are the best assets to own and develop.  While this may be true now, the harsh reality may come in the near future where a geo domain is far more expensive that a generic domain. Why? Because it will deliver 100% local results much easier than a generic domain, which equates to unlimited streams of revenue.  Again, small businesses remain untouched and the majority of them still depend on the printed yellow pages to deliver customers.  What do you think will happen when geo domains become main stream and offer small businesses the same advertising for cheaper with better results to the mobile consumer in their geo area?      

My guess is they will embrace the new platform know as the “Geo Domain”.

Citysearch.com has been busy the past few months forming strategic partnerships.  You have heard me talk about networks many times, and this is just more proof of what is evolving under our noses.  Both companies will cross advertise and offer their customers more content.  That is the key to all of these alliances, these businesses know ”fresh content” is essential to revenue growth.  That is why they have no problem working with each other to build additional revenue and perhaps even share revenue.

The article is very short on this announcement.  Here is the most important thing for you to absorb and process.  We have only begun to scratch the surface of the geo domain industry.  12 months from now we will look back and have one word to say, WOW!

“Local online advertising continues to grow as more local businesses realize that mobile search and online search is usually the first step in converting a consumer. Rather than looking in a phone book or asking a friend, many consumers are logging on to sites like CitySearch to find restaurant locations or ticketing information. Local advertising networks are the next step in connecting more local businesses with consumers who are in-market.”

(via BizReport.com) 

The glory days of your domains getting you paid to do absolutely nothing is about to come to an end.  It really is around the corner and will change the way we do business forever.  I predicted this long ago and most recently in Novemeber 07.  PPC is down across all platforms and at least 50% has to do with Google and Yahoo improving strategies to give advertisers more bang for their buck.  These strategies will not include your undeveloped domains.  Big trouble for alot of people!

The article below goes into detail what I am talking about.  So many people have become dependent on PPC to run their day to day activities in the domain industry.  As many are finding out, profits have dropped imensely and it will not be long before we start to see the market flooded with domain deletions.  For years PPC has paid for the renewal of domains that made it a wise investment.

But, what happens when that revenue that was used to renew your portfolio drops by 75%?  I think we all know the answer to this question.  Will we see some of the owners who manage large portfolios in financial trouble this year?  Signs point to yes.  Every owner will try to keep as many domains as possible, but if no money is coming in to pay for renewals, portfolios might decrease by 50-75%.  Makes no sense to own a domain that does not earn money, Isn’t that the “Golden Rule” for the most part?  Sure there are those that have a chance of selling, but overall, approximately 90%-95% of domains in the majority of portfolios is purely speculative.

PPC is coming to an end for undeveloped domains and the proof is in the pudding.  Advertisers want results and ads placed on developed websites.  The next level of the domain industry is evolving and it will be development in order to generate revenue.

Many people in the Geo domain industry saw this coming years ago.  Development was essential back then, and it is just as neccessary now.  Those who embrace development will become the new industry stars of tomorrow.  This is evolution at its best!  The key is to develope wisely, so that you meet the consumers needs, not yours.  Once you can master this task, you build loyalty and the advertisers move in. 

This industry is very young and advertisers are starting to take notice of the geodomain market.  Geodomains with content perform 10 times better than a general website.  We all are in a good place, and selected the right path to embrace. 

The Geo domain industry is going main stream and it is the center where advertisers want to be.  It has begun to explode due to manifestations on the internet economy and consumer behavior.  When we look back 2-4 years from now, we will see how this industry transformed the way consumers use the internet and access their local information.

Even the most generic name in the world, wants to be local!   

(via NYTimes.com)

I found this article very interesting, as it can happen to any site on the internet.  It happened to this blog mid January and left me feeling helpless.  I can just imagine if your whole business was online and hit like this by mistake, or even on pupose.  There is no doubt that it would effect revenue depending on how long your site was down. 

Although this was a mistake, it really makes you think of how many internet security vulnerbilities still have not been discovered.  Most are found by mistake, such as with Pakistan blocking YouTube.  It affected many places outside their border. 

As great as the internet is, it can also be your worst enemy.  With so many hackers these days, all you have to do is upset someone and if your complete business is online thru a website, you could be slammed with a denial of service attack.  This would cease your complete business, and you would be helpless until you got some professional help.

For this reason, you have to be careful how you treat people and communicate with people on the internet in forums, blogs, emails, and instant chat.  We can easily be crippled by a talented hacker, and be shut down for days.

Check out the article, it has brought up alot of questions about internet security and has several experts concerned.

(via NYTimes.com)