Yesterday, Andrew from DomainNameWire.com announced “What’s Hot and What’s Not” in the domain industry in an article posted.  Geo domains were on the list of what’s hot in the domain industry.  These types of domains will continue to be in high demand as more and more media companies embrace the local market.  With so many secondary local platforms being developed and marketed on the internet, geo domains value will continue to soar.  Why, because they are the primary local platforms that consumers embrace when filled with local content.  Their is no branding needed, just add content.

How do we validate this statement that Geo domains are Hot?  Through market analysis, big media trends, and search giants actions and developments.  Earlier this week, Trinity Mirror, a major media company in Europe, announced a geo domain network to cover the local market.  Last month, the Madison Capital Times announced that they would abandon print newspapers and move everything online thru their geo domain, Madison.com.  Google.com has announced a large volume of local services both for the cellphone and PC.  Local.com revenue growth has sky rocketed in 4th Quarter earnings.  Marchex, the largest owner of geo domains in the world, grew its traffic exponentially and increased revenue growth.

Since December 19 2007, there have been $1,798,804 in geo domain sales in the industry that have been reported.  This is based off the Geo Tracker stats on SimplyGeo.com (A useful tool for years to come).  This is a remarkable amount for a niche market that has only begun to gain traction in its infancy.  This is only in 3 months time!  The geo network that we are launching will exploit this industry and you can be assured the amount of sales and strategic partnerships in the geo domain industry will rise more than anyone could have imagined.  Everything on the internet is going local.  Even the most generic domains want to be local.

I would say Geo domains are warm at this point honestly.  Their is still alot to be discovered on exactly how powerful these domains are.  We are working up towards the Super hot level in less than a years time with the right exposure.

There are still alot of deals on geo domains in the aftermarket.  Many people do not believe in the local trend and still believe the only domains that have true value are generic domains.  When they miss the boat, we will hear the same stories we have heard throughtout the years in the domain industry.  I should have kept my geo domains, I should have sold for higher, and lastly, I should have gotten in early to reap the rewards when geo domains were affordable.

Have a great day and enjoy some time with your families today.     

Friday is here, and most people are glad the weekend has finally arrived, I know I am.  However, before you go out and have a good time this weekend, I want to leave you with a few thoughts to pounder in your mind this weekend.  Words are very powerful and can impact your life in a positive or negative way.

There are times in life that everyone needs words of inspiration to cross an obstacle they are currently facing in their daily lives.  This obstacle can sometimes keep an individual from becoming successful in life or moving forward.  Sometimes, there is no one around to provide those much needed words.  I find myself always searching for words to educate me, inspire me, and make me an overall better person that others would like to be around.  Words allow you to reevaluate yourself.  Here are some motivational words and thoughts to digest. 

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” (Theodore Roosevelt)

“Even if you think you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” (Will Rogers)

“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.” (William James)

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” (Harry S Truman)

“Always do the right thing. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” (Mark Twain)

“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.” (Leo F Buscaglia)

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.

©Christopher Logue

The Guy In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father or Mother or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

©Dale Wimbrow, 1934.

There are 5 human needs, what is not growing is surely dying.  Hope these words have helped you, the same way they have inspired me.

Have a great weekend.

Today was a very productive day behind the scenes.  There is alot going on with big planning and projects for the geo network, and sometimes bad decisions are made with good intentions.  I recently made a poor decision.  The power of a great generic name can blur the lines when you are truely motivated on a project.  A powerful name can also cause turmoil and confusion if someone else is promoting a service with those key words.  Especially in a very small industry.    

I have really given alot of thought to using the elite domain GeoExpo.com for the premium auction platform we are launching.  After productive conversations with AssociatedCities.com key personnel, I have come to the conclusion that it would be inappropriate for us to use the domain GeoExpo.com, regardless if we have a legal right to use the generic domain. 

The purpose of this blog and network is to promote the growing geo domain industry as a unified front.  If we were to use this name, we would potentially be creating a divisive front with AssociatedCities.com (A great organization) and possibly confuse current and future consumers of AssociatedCities.com, famous GeoDomainExpo event.  We would like to see this event continue to grow without facing any unneccessary hurdles caused by SimplyGeo.com.    

In order to prevent this from happening, we will retire the domain from the network and give AssociatedCities.com the right to use it as they seem fit, while under our control.  It is the right thing to do, I know this in my heart.

One thing is certain, My ego is not bigger than what is best for the geo domain industry in its infancy.  With that being said, we are moving forward and will announce the new name for the premium service soon.  Already working on a replacement. :) 

I want to apologize for any confusion this may have created.  I will be deleting the GeoExpo.com post on the blog, and we will continue to stay focused on the right path to building a unified front for the geo domain industry.  There are lots of great things to come, and again I want to apologize to AssociatedCities.com members for causing turmoil over this domain. 

Thank you for your continued support.  Airborne!

Godspeed,
Steve  

Earlier, I reported that the historic media giant, Trinity Mirror, was adandoning national print newspapers.  They have recently announced plans to roll out a national network of hyperlocal community websites, (Geo domains).

These local sites will carry a mixture of news from Trinity Mirror’s papers, citizen journalism and other user-generated content.  They started experimenting with this strategy in December 2006 with 22 sites.  Traffic growth and the level of contributors have proven the experiment a big success.   

This is really amazing news when you think about how traditional print media companys have done business historically.  This is the first time that a major traditional media company is targeting local communities through a network of geo websites, and then publishing local papers with user-generated content and citizen journalism. 

Traditional media has joined the ranks of the Geo domain industry.  And oddly enough, the Europeans are the first to see the value in executing this strategy of reaching local through geo domains.  The strategic launch of a geo network will allow Trinity Mirror to recruit local advertisers and later, have the capability of recruiting national advertisers to advertise throughout the network. 

Great validation for the Geo domain industry.

(via guardian.co.uk)

Interesting article on Local.com’s Local Promote advertising program.  A small business owner discovers the power of local search on the internet.  This is just one example of thousands, that small business owners do not understand the power of the internet.  Once geo domain owners develop effective content in large volumes, local advertisers will leave many secondary platforms to advertise on targeted geo domains.

I find it interesting that after all these years, there are still several of businesses that rely on print yellowpages and have not explored the internet to its fullest capacity.  Most have experienced with google adwords, but this method is becoming very expensive for a small business owner.  Have you seen the prices for local keywords lately?  Expensive for a visitor that is not guaranteed to spend a dime.  They are better off spending advertising dollars on a fixed internet ad on a local platform or geo domain.  

Exciting times for all in this industry!      

In early November, Goldstone placed his first Local.com ad and said that within a couple of weeks, the phone started ringing and hasn’t stopped.

ScanMyPhotos.com is using Local.com’s Local Promote advertising program, which guarantees its customer’s listing will appear at the top of the search results page in a specified category and region.

Goldstone said that the best part is he is spending about half of what he had been on Yellow Pages ads. Despite that reduced budget, the effort is producing more qualified leads.

“We used to get three or four calls a day on average [that came from the Yellow Pages ad],” Goldstone said. “Now, we get eight calls a day on average and 10 calls a day during the holidays.”

As a bonus, Goldstone said that the customers that come through the Internet “seem to be more qualified.”

So Goldstone is saying farewell to Yellow Pages advertising.

(via btobonline.com)

The goal of the social network is to create a business center for professionals in the industry to interact, get to know each other, and conduct business without relying on multiple platforms or attendence to conferences to secure deals.  Conferences are great and are a must, nothing beats face to face interaction, but something needs to be in place when there are no conferences scheduled in a timely manner to conduct business deals and partnerships.  Business relationships can be established effectively by using a social network designed for this specific reason.  It is even better when you can mix business with pleasure and share life experiences, photos, videos, plans, and topics of interest.

Will it be successful?  I honestly do not know, it has never been tried before in this industry.  However, the only way to find out is by taking a risk and offering it.  It may fail, and if it does, at least we will know we gave it a shot.  It also may become very successful, only time will tell. 

It may not be MySpace.com or Facebook.com, but it will have many of the same features with a focus of business features programmed.  It will be a work in progress.

We have several of ideas of some business features that should be included.  However, in order to deliver the right stuff that professionals will use and need, we are going to ask you. 

So what business features do you feel need to be incorporated into this social network that will assist you?      

You can reply on the blog or send an email to info (@) simplygeo.com. 

Thanks in advance!

It was a great week over all for the domain industry, however a very slow week for Geo domain sales.  Every market has its ups and downs and the geo industry is no different.  We will have to wait until next week to see if this is the beginning of a trend.  This recession that everyone says we are not in, is effecting alot of domain sales in the industry.  There are also many great deals to be found, so get out there and find them!