RootOrange.com, winner of the prestigious, $35,000 Princeton University Business Plan Competition, has launched a new geo-based domain service where multiple advertisers/endusers can share a premium domain by sending visitors to the proper location based off of the visitors IP. This is an interesting concept and service for the domain industry that has not been served mainstream, although there are domainers who have tried this concept in the past.

However, this is nothing new to online advertising. This technology has been used for years with geo-targeted ads being served based off of consumer IPs. Advertisers are expected to spend $1.9 billion in revenue anually by 2013. RootOrange.com is entering the market at a perfect time when domainer’s are looking for alternative revenue sources due to PPC payouts declining. Additionally, they are entering the geo-targeted market in its infant stage where solid growth is projected for the next 3 years. Advertisers want to reach the local consumer and are willing to pay top dollar to reach these consumers eyeballs online.

It will be interesting to see if this service is embraced by the domain industry. Really, it is a brilliant idea for the domain investor. They can lease the domain to several businesses and advertisers in different locations, and never have to sell the domain. Meanwhile, earning consistent revenue from leasing and developing the website for each customer. I am not sure if RootOrange.com also offers website development for their clients. However, the revenue potential is there for the domain investor who does not want to part from their premium domains.

I predict we are going to see more services like this populate the domain industry in 2010. It makes perfect sense IMO for industry specific domains, category killer domains, and geodomains. The growth of the local online market continues to bring new innovations to the forefront.