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I hope you have already seen our new domain auction, which has just been launched three weeks ago. Already, the domain name Tractors.com is part of Sedo's history as the first sale through Sedo Auctions, reaching a respectable $153,500. Apart from that, hundreds of other names have already been pushed to auction, and most of them with the reserve already met.
There are two ways to participate as a seller:
If you receive a bid on any one of your names listed at Sedo, you can start an auction for this domain - with the original bid serving as both the starting and reserve price.
If you have a premium domain name (preferably a one-word .com, .net or a popular ccTLD like .de or .co.uk) and a reasonable reserve price, you can contact a Sedo broker to list this name in our auction even without having received a bid. With these brokerage auctions the domain is only sold if the reserve is met through the auction.
As a buyer, just check out our front page and click on the link to our the new auction section. You will continuously find both high-profile names and great bargains. If you're interested to read more, I suggest Mara Miller's in-depth article about the new auction program in the Sedo Speaks column below.
On the parking side, we're proud to announce that SedoPro was elected "Best New Parking Program" by the 1,000+ professional domainers on the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. mailing list and forum. Considering the number of new programs which have launched in the past years, it is a great accomplishment just to have been named in the top 3. Taking home the award really validated that Sedo's parking program is truly appreciated by professional domainers. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sedo is ranked the #1 parking service in the world according to Webhosting.info. And we promise to continue investing our time and resources to keep our parking program ahead of the crowd, and earning you the highest revenues possible!
Sincerely,
Tim Schumacher
CEO, Sedo.com
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- Support in 4 languages
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FEATURE ARTICLE
The Internet and the Spanish Revolution
By Antonio Marzo, Director of Spanish and Latin America Markets
This past year, Sedo has seen the importance of the Spanish language in the domain world simply skyrocket. With 420 million Spanish-speakers worldwide, only a measly 80 million of these are online, making just 18% of Spanish-speakers on the web. In comparison to other language groups, Spanish is in third place following English and Chinese.
Currently, one in ten Internet users are Spanish-speaking, however this figure is increasing by leaps and bounds. The number of Spanish-speaking Internet users has grown 231.1 % in the last six years (2000-2006). This growth rate defeats that of English-speaking Internet users at 135.2 % over the same time period. Naturally, this astounding increase also means massive growth of Spanish domain traffic. For example, trabajo.com (work.com) received 18,000 visits in October 2004, while the same domain received 27,000 visitors just last month.
This surge in traffic has been accompanied by a large improvement in the Latin American economy, and most notably from Spain, a country that only 30 years ago freed itself from the clamps of fascist dictatorship. In fact, Spain may be the most under-rated economic success story in recent years. Since the fascist dictatorship, this country of only 45 million people - roughly the size of California – has become the eighth largest economy in the developed world, expanding over 40% in the last decade alone. The economic upswing in Spain and in Latin America, combined with the rising penetration rate of Spanish-speakers on the web, has also encouraged many companies to start advertising in Spanish on the Internet. More competition over Spanish keywords, inevitably leads to higher PPC rates for domain owners. Essentially, the Spanish domain market is still developing and has yet to reach its threshold.
Despite cultural and economic differences between the various Spanish-speaking countries, the .es ccTLD of Spain, Espaٌa in Spanish, has received a warm welcome. For example, last year the .es ccTLD, driven by liberalized registration requirements and marketing, grew by 400% over one year. The traffic data surrounding this new liberalized TLD are quite impressive; Spaniards are increasingly likely to use their country TLD, but what is more surprising is that the .es is also the reference TLD for people on the other side of the Atlantic. Basically, Hispanics in the US have associated this TLD not only with Spain but also with the Spanish language, identifying the .es as a sign of Spanish content. Consequently, Sedo data shows that between 15-25% of .es portfolio traffic comes from the US and Latin America.
In some Latin American countries, the local TLD is also well developed. For example, Argentina has exceeded one millon .com.ar registrations, surpassing the ccTLDs of the US and Spain among other nations. Although this TLD is already well established, it is still possible to find good deals. For example, porn.com.ar, sold for 1,000 EUR, mobil.com.ar sold for 2,000 EUR, and ringtones.com.ar sold for 1,800 EUR.
Mexico´s own .com.mx TLD is also well established. However unlike Argentina´s impressive registration rate, there are currently only 170,000 registered com.mx domains. Considering that Mexico is one of the most populated countries in the world with more than 105 million inhabitants, and a mere 17% penetration rate, it is certain that this TLD still has major opportunities. Some of Sedo´s latest com.mx sales include:
Game.com.mx: $4,000
Gol.com.mx: $800
Contactos.com.mx: $1,000
Another key Spanish market is the Hispanic population in the US. Today, there are more than 44 million Hispanics living in the US— almost the same population as Spain. This number represents approximately 15% of the entire US population. What is more, this group is growing 4 times more than the average national population. By 2050, the US Census Bureau estimates that 25% of the US population will be considered Hispanic. In the L.A area alone, a whopping 80% of the population between 12 and 19 years old is Hispanic!
As the third most populous country in terms of the number of Spanish-speaking Internet users (exceed only by Spain and Mexico), with an estimated purchase power at around $735 billon, the US market has become crucial and companies are acting fast. Hispanic advertising in the US saw a growth of 20.5% last year which means better results for the PPC industry.
The TLD of choice for this particular social group is the .com, followed by their own country´s ccTLD and as previously mentioned, the .es, as a symbol of the Spanish language on the Internet. This leads us to speculate that perhaps we will see an increase in .us domains with Spanish terms in the future.
Although these ccTLDs have gained influence, and in some countries may even be as popular as the .com, the .com remains king of domains. The biggest Spanish domain sale in Sedo history was viajes.com for $300,000 in 2004. That same year, the biggest sale among all TLDs was juegos.com (games.com) for $1 million. This domain was re-sold last week to a gambling company; however the price has not yet been reported but is estimated to be between 10 or 15 times the 2004 purchase price. In other words, juegos.com will be one of the top five biggest sales ever. ،Ole!
In response to the ever-increasing Spanish-speaking market in the US and in Latin America, I have moved from our Cologne, Germany office to our office in Boston to build a Sedo team to better serve these markets. If you would like more information, and/or would like Spanish language assistance, my team and I are at your disposal. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
SEDO SPEAKS
Sedo Auctions Taking Off
By Mara Miller, Marketing Associate
I’d like to thank all of our users who offered suggestions on what they’d like to see in a domain auction system. We’ve listened and three weeks ago launched Sedo Auctions. The auctions are designed to make it easier for buyers to find high quality domains, while enabling sellers to maximize their final sales price through a public auction.
Since launching we’ve added a number of new features making it easier to differentiate between auctions where the reserve has and has not been met. Additionally, partners can now access a complete list of live auctions for different geographic markets. Just click on the country to view the live list: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Spain. The file, updated multiple times each day, includes important information such as current highest bid and auction end time. The date is saved as timestamp and can be converted to your local time.
Sedo Auctions are available to all Sedo sellers and there is no additional fee for starting an auction. The transfer fee for selling domains through Sedo Auctions is the same as through our traditional offer, counter-offer system – 10%. Sellers may start an auction within five days of receiving an offer or owners of quality, premium domains may work with a Sedo broker to start an auction without first having received an offer.
When sellers collaborate with a broker, Sedo works with him or her to set a reasonable reserve. Brokerage auctions are more likely to close if they start with a low reserve price, inviting numerous offers – the final sales price can be way beyond the actual reserve price. In a recent example the reserve for w2.com was $12,000 USD and the auction closed at $31,000 USD!
Remember, with auctions, most of the bidding activity occurs during the last couple minutes before the auction closes, greatly increasing the final sales price. In addition each time a bid is made during the last five minutes of an auction; the auction is extended by 10 minutes. Buyers should take note and keep an eye on auctions closing soon which they are participating in, or place a high enough proxy bid to ensure you are the winning bidder. In the case of playback.com, the auction closing time was extended 8 times.
I encourage you to take a look around and visit sedo.com/auctions for more details. We look forward to your feedback as we continue to enhance Sedo’s services.
LEGAL BRIEF
Monthly Update on Domain-Related Legal News
By Sheri Archidiacono, Esq, L.L.M Legal Counsel
Keywords are Not Trademarks under the Federal Lanham Act
This past month, a New York Federal Court stated that the sale of a trademark as a keyword does not constitute trademark infringement in the case of Rescuecom Corporation vs. Google, Inc. The court stated that Google’s sale of Rescuecom’s mark as a keyword with the purpose of generating advertisements was not a valid legal claim because it did not constitute “trademark use in commerce.” The Court based this decision on the principle that because the consumer never sees the trademark in an ad or otherwise on any goods or products, Google was not using any trademarks “in commerce”. The court was basing its decision from an earlier case, in which another court stated that when a pop-up advertisement from a Plaintiff’s website does not display its trademark, it is not using the trademark in commerce. Rescuecom made several arguments supporting their claims that Google’s use of the “RESCUECOM” trademark constituted infringement and free riding.
First they said that by selling the “RESCUECOM” trademark, Google was free riding on the goodwill of their mark. The Court did not agree, stating that although Google was using the mark in a commercial nature, they were not using the mark in a way that they were generating revenue from the use of the mark, which is a requirement for proving free riding. Second, Rescuecom argued that the Google’s use of their trademark hinders consumers trying to access the Rescuecom website. The Court stated that because none of the links being complained of contained trademarks belonging to Plaintiff (except those links going to the Plaintiff’s site), there was no free riding. Lastly, Rescuecom claimed that Google's sale of keywords modified search results delivered to users and such modifications diverted its customers to other pages. The court further disagreed with Rescuecom stating that Google’s internal, invisible use of the “RESCUECOM” trademark to generate sponsored links is not an official trademark because there is no evidence that Google “…places plaintiff's trademarks on any goods, containers, displays, or advertisements, or that its internal use is visible to the public." In the end, the court dismissed all of the claims against Google, finding that there was no free riding or infringement on their part.
This is a landmark case for search engines and online ad providers. "We welcome Chief Judge Mordue's decision to dismiss the case, which again confirms our long-held belief that our trademark policy is lawful," said Google senior litigation counsel. Google has been sued several times under similar pretenses here in the United States as well as overseas. This is the first case found in favor of a search engine stating that the sale of a keyword is NOT trademark infringement.
Typo-Squatting Infringes the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act
On September 1, 2006, a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin, decided that the Defendants, a group of the Plaintiff’s affiliates, acted in bad faith when they used typo-squatting to generate revenue on the Plaintiff’s sales by linking to their commercial website. In the case of Lands' End, Inc. v. Remy, the Defendants were accused of acting in bad faith when they attempted to gain extra commissions from the Plaintiff’s affiliate program via its website, www.landsend.com. Lands' End sued under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, [15 U.S.C. §1125(d)] ("ACPA"). The Defendants argued that they did not act in bad faith, however, the court did not agree.
Lands' End maintains an affiliate program whereby links to their website were provided through pre-approved “affiliate” websites. Each referring affiliate would receive a commission on sales made on landsend.com in return for the referral. The Defendants were four separate affiliates, all pre-approved by the Plaintiff. In addition to the other domain names that were approved and listed as affiliates, the Defendants further registered domain names similar to landsend.com without the Plaintiff’s knowledge or permission. Allegedly, the defendants created a system that would automatically and invisibly redirect Internet uses to the official Lands' End site, generating a commission for their pre-approved domain and additional commission from the other misspelled domains. When the Plaintiffs became aware of this situation, they sued the Defendants for false advertising, breach of contract, fraud, and violations of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
Although the Defendants claimed that they did not act in bad faith because they did not divert customers but had actually generated more sales for the Plaintiff, the court rejected the Defendants' contentions, stating that the Plaintiffs supplied the court with enough evidence to prove that the Defendants impermissibly used the Plaintiffs trademark by registering misspells of the “LANDS END” trademark to then gain additional referral commissions.
HOT SHEETS
Domain Tasting
By Georgina Wood, Domain Broker
One of the least appetizing items on the menu recently is domain tasting. Domain tasting is when a registrar registers a domain name to determine the amount of traffic it generates during the 5 day grace period. Some registrars are even offering this service to their customers. Sounds interesting, so why do they do it? The general idea is to determine how valuable a particular domain might be. Basically, domains that have low traffic are deleted at no cost by getting a refund of the registry fee while they hang on to the higher traffic names. So the registrar is effectively acting as both registrant and registrar, registering millions of domains without even paying for them.
So how does it work? Domain tasters have started using automated software to register mostly expiring domains that have good traffic already, are listed in Google or are typos of existing domains with good traffic. Registrars obviously have an unfair advantage. Some suspect registrars of even “spying” on potential domain owners to see which domains they are interested in when they do a search. Then if the domain is not registered, the registrar snaps it up. Registrars are allowed to keep domains for 5 days and evaluate the number of clicks it receives within this period at which point they can drop it and incur no costs whatsoever.
What can be done about it? Domain tasting is beginning to cause some concern in the internet industry but no one can prove that registrars are actually doing this. However, Nominet (a UK domain registration service) has been one of the first to decide to take tough action against registrars engaging in “domain tasting.” Nominet announced that any abuse of the “deletion facility” other than to correct spelling errors will not be tolerated. At the same time, those in favour of domain tasting are claiming the altered domain owner records are due to technical issues. Perhaps more specific guidelines will emerge in the coming years as awareness of domain tasting grows. As always, we will be sure to keep you updated.
VVhat’s a Domain Name by Any Other Name?
By Jude Augusta, Director of Partner Development
Along come the “ClickAlikes”. What are they? That is the whole question. “ClickAlikes” are “look-alike” domains. They use alternate characters which look very much like the original to spell the word or words in a similar highly desired generic domain name. For example, incorporate.com can be represented as beginning with a lowercase “L” as lncorporate.com, organicfoods.com can use a “zero” for 0rganicfoods.com and whitehouse.com can use “two v’s” as vvhitehouse.com.
What possible utility could Clickalike’s have? There’s obviously not going to be much direct navigation or organic traffic. However, search engine marketing platforms like Google’s AdWords and soon Yahoo! systems value relevance above all. If someone were to develop a site with relevant elements which can be monetized and buy sponsored link keywords in Google, users could be drawn to otherwise “relevant” results. Ostensibly, www.lncorporate.com (using a lowercase “L”) might seem more relevant than www.Hot-Cos.com. Therefore, clicks on the ClickAlike domain www.lncorporate.com would increase its standings & rank in search engine marketing programs such as AdWords.
This gives businesses an opportunity to buy a ClickAlike of the domain they originally wanted, lost to a domainer, are in battle over, or would like to protect.
Sedo does not endorse infringing on trademarks, copyrights, typos and the like. However, the nature of these ClickAlikes are unknown; they are a whole new breed. They are certainly clever, edgy, and curious; we thought you would find them the same…
A Basket of .KR Goodies
By Keith White, Customer Relations Representative
Korea – at least the Northern half of the pair – has been all over the news as of late. Therefore, it should be no surprise then that the .KR extension is stirring up some buzz within the domain community. With South Korea’s relations steady and defined, and the North’s attempts to enter into the world stage as a tour de force, it could only be expected that the two countries would want, and deserve, a legitimate place of their own on the Internet. However, as North Korea has its own extension, .KP and is opposed to external registration, it’s appropriate to focus on the .KR of South Korea.
Now, the .KR is certainly not recent news; it’s anything but. However with the recent attention, comes business interests and a heightened hope that such a news-worthy area could be worth a web presence, as it might lead to increased traffic. However, there are some limitations to the extension in regards to registration. As the National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA) has indicated, most domain owners world-wide will find that only South Koreans will be able to own these names until early in 2007.
Spring isn’t especially far-off, but for many anxious speculators who have realized the full potential of the Korean market, April 19th, 2007 is an eternity away. However, for those lucky enough to have a personal or business address in South Korea, March 28th 2007 is the lucky day, where those with a presence in South Korea can begin registering their domains. Worry not, domainers! As most of this year’s registration is reserved for government or administrative organizations, many of the good, creative, or generic domains could still be available.
All the news the Korean countries have created could very well be the driving force behind international notoriety in regards to the .KR. After all, web-surfers and information seekers might be more likely to visit a domain for a nation that’s been front-page as opposed to a nation that’s tucked quietly away on the sidelines. It might be jumping the gun a bit to keep an eye on these domains, but if expansion into an up-and-coming Asian market (on- and off-line) is desirable, or Korean traffic sounds like an orchestra to your ears, then no time is too soon. Spring could be a domain owner’s best friend, including a basket full of .KR eggs.
For information about .KR, the Korea Network Information Center (KRNIC), or the National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA), please visit http://www.iana.org/root-whois/kr.htm.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Growing Demand Makes Food and Restaurant Domains An Appetizing Target
With the harvest season in full bloom we thought it would be interesting to analyze the food industry and its presence on the web. Be sure to take a look at the related domains included in the link at the bottom of the article, which are being offered for a special price this month to celebrate the harvest season.
On average, U.S. consumers spend US$1 trillion annually for food, or nearly 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The supermarket industry accounts for approximately US$ 430 billion in annual revenue
Non-traditional stores such as convenience stores and wholesale clubs rack up another US$100 billion.
Restaurants alone account for an additional $467 billion every year and 1 in 3 meals eaten in America are consumed outside the home.
According to Yahoo! the term “food” racked up 4,000,000 searches in August ‘06.With the food and restaurant sector growing in both scope and revenues, this is a great time to take advantage of food and restaurant-related business opportunities on the Web.
Appetizing Domains – Hot Trends in the Industry
Organic food is a growing segment in the food industry. According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), U.S. organic food sales totaled nearly $14 billion in 2005. This represents a 31 percent increase over 2004 sales. Appealing domains relating to organic foods are numerous--OrganicFruitVeg.com and OrganicGrowers.net both offer a memorable and unique appeal, for example.
Thanksgiving is perhaps the most celebrated American holiday, and popular November topics include autumn, harvest, pumpkins, food and harvest festivals. Potential traffic drivers capitalizing on these themes include: HarvestSeason.com, PumpkinLand.net, AutumnCreek.net, or FoodFestival.com. Specific holiday names such as ThanksgivingTheme.com, are perfect for appealing to niche customers, and have tremendous keyword potential for attracting organic traffic.
In addition to the search term “food,” HitWise.com ranked the top ten food industry search terms. The number one term, “recipe,” ranked highest by volume of searches successfully driving traffic to websites. An instant way to profit from this ranking is to purchase a domain with the word “recipe” in the name. (Think “Gourmetrecipes.org” or “RecipeOfTheMonth.com.”) Check out thousands of additional food and harvest-related domains by clicking here.
Special on Medical-Related Domains
With the upcoming cold season, many health ailments will be imminent, which in turn creates a growing number of searches on "drug medication", "antibiotics", "pharmaceuticals", and other medical related information and services.
Would you like to capitalize on an invaluable portfolio of medical related domain names? Perhaps you have a valuable product and/or the information that people are looking for, but the right audience can't find you, because you don't have the right domain name(s). Or you may be an investor looking for an opportunity in something unique. Some great domains currently listed for sale at Sedo include: antibioticdrugs.com, antibioticmedicine.com, and antibioticmedication.com all available in multiple extensions. Check out other great medical-related domains by clicking here!!!
ASK SEDO
Sedo answers some commonly asked questions for our members
Dear Sedo,
I am new to your site and have seen a domain name I would like to purchase. When I went to make an offer I was instructed to certify myself. Please can you explain how I do this?
James, Albuquerque, NM
Dear James,
Thank you for you contacting us.
There are three methods you may use to become a certified buyer. There is no cost to become a certified buyer and the fastest and simplest method is by using your credit card. You will be prompted to enter your account information and agree to our Buyer Certification statement. You will then be certified within a few minutes. (Please note: your card will be preauthorized and an amount equivalent to five Euros may appear on your statement for a few days. However, your credit card is not actually charged during the certification process.) The other two methods include a signed faxed PDF document agreeing to our Buyer Certification Statement or for US business owners, a completed W-9 and signed and faxed Buyer Certification statement.
To certify your account, go to the “Buyer Certification” tab under the “My Sedo” menu. This page will outline detailed instructions on how to begin the quick and easy certification process.
Sedo is the world’s largest domain name marketplace and the best place for people to buy and sell domains. In order to maintain and improve our services we are always looking for new ways to innovate and develop our site. The Buyer Certification Program is designed to benefit all of our customers who use the marketplace. Sellers should see a reduction in the number of unintended bids for their domains, while expediting the transfer process for our buyers.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Best Regards,
Tom Fell
Key Accounts Manager / Transfer Consultant
UPCOMING EVENTS
RECENT SALES
Domains Recently Sold at Sedo
Gays.com 500,000 USD
SPN.com 95,000 EUR
prize.com 70,000 USD
freemail.co.uk 20,000 Euro
sln.com 10,450 USD
salaryfinder.com 10,000 USD
cheaptickets.de 9,000 Euro
fashionspace.com 5,000 GBP
solar.net 1,800 Euro
winter.info 950 Euro
LATEST ARRIVALS
Domains recently listed at Sedo
Republicanpolls.com
Primaryelections.org
Plans.com
Setup.com
Tuneup.com
Winetips.com
Myhomepage.com
Mails.com
Edinner.com
Toyforless.com
ولي ديگه بي خيالش شدم
هر از مدتي يه ايميل از sedo برام مياد
گفتم يه بار اين ايميلو بزارم اينجا ببينم هدفش چيه:
I hope you have already seen our new domain auction, which has just been launched three weeks ago. Already, the domain name Tractors.com is part of Sedo's history as the first sale through Sedo Auctions, reaching a respectable $153,500. Apart from that, hundreds of other names have already been pushed to auction, and most of them with the reserve already met.
There are two ways to participate as a seller:
If you receive a bid on any one of your names listed at Sedo, you can start an auction for this domain - with the original bid serving as both the starting and reserve price.
If you have a premium domain name (preferably a one-word .com, .net or a popular ccTLD like .de or .co.uk) and a reasonable reserve price, you can contact a Sedo broker to list this name in our auction even without having received a bid. With these brokerage auctions the domain is only sold if the reserve is met through the auction.
As a buyer, just check out our front page and click on the link to our the new auction section. You will continuously find both high-profile names and great bargains. If you're interested to read more, I suggest Mara Miller's in-depth article about the new auction program in the Sedo Speaks column below.
On the parking side, we're proud to announce that SedoPro was elected "Best New Parking Program" by the 1,000+ professional domainers on the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. mailing list and forum. Considering the number of new programs which have launched in the past years, it is a great accomplishment just to have been named in the top 3. Taking home the award really validated that Sedo's parking program is truly appreciated by professional domainers. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sedo is ranked the #1 parking service in the world according to Webhosting.info. And we promise to continue investing our time and resources to keep our parking program ahead of the crowd, and earning you the highest revenues possible!
Sincerely,
Tim Schumacher
CEO, Sedo.com
NicLine.com: Domain names, why pay more?
- Domains from $6.39 - .info from $0.99!
- Bulk Domain tools now X free!
- API included
- Support in 4 languages
NicLine.com - Domain names, why pay more?
FEATURE ARTICLE
The Internet and the Spanish Revolution
By Antonio Marzo, Director of Spanish and Latin America Markets
This past year, Sedo has seen the importance of the Spanish language in the domain world simply skyrocket. With 420 million Spanish-speakers worldwide, only a measly 80 million of these are online, making just 18% of Spanish-speakers on the web. In comparison to other language groups, Spanish is in third place following English and Chinese.
Currently, one in ten Internet users are Spanish-speaking, however this figure is increasing by leaps and bounds. The number of Spanish-speaking Internet users has grown 231.1 % in the last six years (2000-2006). This growth rate defeats that of English-speaking Internet users at 135.2 % over the same time period. Naturally, this astounding increase also means massive growth of Spanish domain traffic. For example, trabajo.com (work.com) received 18,000 visits in October 2004, while the same domain received 27,000 visitors just last month.
This surge in traffic has been accompanied by a large improvement in the Latin American economy, and most notably from Spain, a country that only 30 years ago freed itself from the clamps of fascist dictatorship. In fact, Spain may be the most under-rated economic success story in recent years. Since the fascist dictatorship, this country of only 45 million people - roughly the size of California – has become the eighth largest economy in the developed world, expanding over 40% in the last decade alone. The economic upswing in Spain and in Latin America, combined with the rising penetration rate of Spanish-speakers on the web, has also encouraged many companies to start advertising in Spanish on the Internet. More competition over Spanish keywords, inevitably leads to higher PPC rates for domain owners. Essentially, the Spanish domain market is still developing and has yet to reach its threshold.
Despite cultural and economic differences between the various Spanish-speaking countries, the .es ccTLD of Spain, Espaٌa in Spanish, has received a warm welcome. For example, last year the .es ccTLD, driven by liberalized registration requirements and marketing, grew by 400% over one year. The traffic data surrounding this new liberalized TLD are quite impressive; Spaniards are increasingly likely to use their country TLD, but what is more surprising is that the .es is also the reference TLD for people on the other side of the Atlantic. Basically, Hispanics in the US have associated this TLD not only with Spain but also with the Spanish language, identifying the .es as a sign of Spanish content. Consequently, Sedo data shows that between 15-25% of .es portfolio traffic comes from the US and Latin America.
In some Latin American countries, the local TLD is also well developed. For example, Argentina has exceeded one millon .com.ar registrations, surpassing the ccTLDs of the US and Spain among other nations. Although this TLD is already well established, it is still possible to find good deals. For example, porn.com.ar, sold for 1,000 EUR, mobil.com.ar sold for 2,000 EUR, and ringtones.com.ar sold for 1,800 EUR.
Mexico´s own .com.mx TLD is also well established. However unlike Argentina´s impressive registration rate, there are currently only 170,000 registered com.mx domains. Considering that Mexico is one of the most populated countries in the world with more than 105 million inhabitants, and a mere 17% penetration rate, it is certain that this TLD still has major opportunities. Some of Sedo´s latest com.mx sales include:
Game.com.mx: $4,000
Gol.com.mx: $800
Contactos.com.mx: $1,000
Another key Spanish market is the Hispanic population in the US. Today, there are more than 44 million Hispanics living in the US— almost the same population as Spain. This number represents approximately 15% of the entire US population. What is more, this group is growing 4 times more than the average national population. By 2050, the US Census Bureau estimates that 25% of the US population will be considered Hispanic. In the L.A area alone, a whopping 80% of the population between 12 and 19 years old is Hispanic!
As the third most populous country in terms of the number of Spanish-speaking Internet users (exceed only by Spain and Mexico), with an estimated purchase power at around $735 billon, the US market has become crucial and companies are acting fast. Hispanic advertising in the US saw a growth of 20.5% last year which means better results for the PPC industry.
The TLD of choice for this particular social group is the .com, followed by their own country´s ccTLD and as previously mentioned, the .es, as a symbol of the Spanish language on the Internet. This leads us to speculate that perhaps we will see an increase in .us domains with Spanish terms in the future.
Although these ccTLDs have gained influence, and in some countries may even be as popular as the .com, the .com remains king of domains. The biggest Spanish domain sale in Sedo history was viajes.com for $300,000 in 2004. That same year, the biggest sale among all TLDs was juegos.com (games.com) for $1 million. This domain was re-sold last week to a gambling company; however the price has not yet been reported but is estimated to be between 10 or 15 times the 2004 purchase price. In other words, juegos.com will be one of the top five biggest sales ever. ،Ole!
In response to the ever-increasing Spanish-speaking market in the US and in Latin America, I have moved from our Cologne, Germany office to our office in Boston to build a Sedo team to better serve these markets. If you would like more information, and/or would like Spanish language assistance, my team and I are at your disposal. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
SEDO SPEAKS
Sedo Auctions Taking Off
By Mara Miller, Marketing Associate
I’d like to thank all of our users who offered suggestions on what they’d like to see in a domain auction system. We’ve listened and three weeks ago launched Sedo Auctions. The auctions are designed to make it easier for buyers to find high quality domains, while enabling sellers to maximize their final sales price through a public auction.
Since launching we’ve added a number of new features making it easier to differentiate between auctions where the reserve has and has not been met. Additionally, partners can now access a complete list of live auctions for different geographic markets. Just click on the country to view the live list: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Spain. The file, updated multiple times each day, includes important information such as current highest bid and auction end time. The date is saved as timestamp and can be converted to your local time.
Sedo Auctions are available to all Sedo sellers and there is no additional fee for starting an auction. The transfer fee for selling domains through Sedo Auctions is the same as through our traditional offer, counter-offer system – 10%. Sellers may start an auction within five days of receiving an offer or owners of quality, premium domains may work with a Sedo broker to start an auction without first having received an offer.
When sellers collaborate with a broker, Sedo works with him or her to set a reasonable reserve. Brokerage auctions are more likely to close if they start with a low reserve price, inviting numerous offers – the final sales price can be way beyond the actual reserve price. In a recent example the reserve for w2.com was $12,000 USD and the auction closed at $31,000 USD!
Remember, with auctions, most of the bidding activity occurs during the last couple minutes before the auction closes, greatly increasing the final sales price. In addition each time a bid is made during the last five minutes of an auction; the auction is extended by 10 minutes. Buyers should take note and keep an eye on auctions closing soon which they are participating in, or place a high enough proxy bid to ensure you are the winning bidder. In the case of playback.com, the auction closing time was extended 8 times.
I encourage you to take a look around and visit sedo.com/auctions for more details. We look forward to your feedback as we continue to enhance Sedo’s services.
LEGAL BRIEF
Monthly Update on Domain-Related Legal News
By Sheri Archidiacono, Esq, L.L.M Legal Counsel
Keywords are Not Trademarks under the Federal Lanham Act
This past month, a New York Federal Court stated that the sale of a trademark as a keyword does not constitute trademark infringement in the case of Rescuecom Corporation vs. Google, Inc. The court stated that Google’s sale of Rescuecom’s mark as a keyword with the purpose of generating advertisements was not a valid legal claim because it did not constitute “trademark use in commerce.” The Court based this decision on the principle that because the consumer never sees the trademark in an ad or otherwise on any goods or products, Google was not using any trademarks “in commerce”. The court was basing its decision from an earlier case, in which another court stated that when a pop-up advertisement from a Plaintiff’s website does not display its trademark, it is not using the trademark in commerce. Rescuecom made several arguments supporting their claims that Google’s use of the “RESCUECOM” trademark constituted infringement and free riding.
First they said that by selling the “RESCUECOM” trademark, Google was free riding on the goodwill of their mark. The Court did not agree, stating that although Google was using the mark in a commercial nature, they were not using the mark in a way that they were generating revenue from the use of the mark, which is a requirement for proving free riding. Second, Rescuecom argued that the Google’s use of their trademark hinders consumers trying to access the Rescuecom website. The Court stated that because none of the links being complained of contained trademarks belonging to Plaintiff (except those links going to the Plaintiff’s site), there was no free riding. Lastly, Rescuecom claimed that Google's sale of keywords modified search results delivered to users and such modifications diverted its customers to other pages. The court further disagreed with Rescuecom stating that Google’s internal, invisible use of the “RESCUECOM” trademark to generate sponsored links is not an official trademark because there is no evidence that Google “…places plaintiff's trademarks on any goods, containers, displays, or advertisements, or that its internal use is visible to the public." In the end, the court dismissed all of the claims against Google, finding that there was no free riding or infringement on their part.
This is a landmark case for search engines and online ad providers. "We welcome Chief Judge Mordue's decision to dismiss the case, which again confirms our long-held belief that our trademark policy is lawful," said Google senior litigation counsel. Google has been sued several times under similar pretenses here in the United States as well as overseas. This is the first case found in favor of a search engine stating that the sale of a keyword is NOT trademark infringement.
Typo-Squatting Infringes the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act
On September 1, 2006, a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin, decided that the Defendants, a group of the Plaintiff’s affiliates, acted in bad faith when they used typo-squatting to generate revenue on the Plaintiff’s sales by linking to their commercial website. In the case of Lands' End, Inc. v. Remy, the Defendants were accused of acting in bad faith when they attempted to gain extra commissions from the Plaintiff’s affiliate program via its website, www.landsend.com. Lands' End sued under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, [15 U.S.C. §1125(d)] ("ACPA"). The Defendants argued that they did not act in bad faith, however, the court did not agree.
Lands' End maintains an affiliate program whereby links to their website were provided through pre-approved “affiliate” websites. Each referring affiliate would receive a commission on sales made on landsend.com in return for the referral. The Defendants were four separate affiliates, all pre-approved by the Plaintiff. In addition to the other domain names that were approved and listed as affiliates, the Defendants further registered domain names similar to landsend.com without the Plaintiff’s knowledge or permission. Allegedly, the defendants created a system that would automatically and invisibly redirect Internet uses to the official Lands' End site, generating a commission for their pre-approved domain and additional commission from the other misspelled domains. When the Plaintiffs became aware of this situation, they sued the Defendants for false advertising, breach of contract, fraud, and violations of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
Although the Defendants claimed that they did not act in bad faith because they did not divert customers but had actually generated more sales for the Plaintiff, the court rejected the Defendants' contentions, stating that the Plaintiffs supplied the court with enough evidence to prove that the Defendants impermissibly used the Plaintiffs trademark by registering misspells of the “LANDS END” trademark to then gain additional referral commissions.
HOT SHEETS
Domain Tasting
By Georgina Wood, Domain Broker
One of the least appetizing items on the menu recently is domain tasting. Domain tasting is when a registrar registers a domain name to determine the amount of traffic it generates during the 5 day grace period. Some registrars are even offering this service to their customers. Sounds interesting, so why do they do it? The general idea is to determine how valuable a particular domain might be. Basically, domains that have low traffic are deleted at no cost by getting a refund of the registry fee while they hang on to the higher traffic names. So the registrar is effectively acting as both registrant and registrar, registering millions of domains without even paying for them.
So how does it work? Domain tasters have started using automated software to register mostly expiring domains that have good traffic already, are listed in Google or are typos of existing domains with good traffic. Registrars obviously have an unfair advantage. Some suspect registrars of even “spying” on potential domain owners to see which domains they are interested in when they do a search. Then if the domain is not registered, the registrar snaps it up. Registrars are allowed to keep domains for 5 days and evaluate the number of clicks it receives within this period at which point they can drop it and incur no costs whatsoever.
What can be done about it? Domain tasting is beginning to cause some concern in the internet industry but no one can prove that registrars are actually doing this. However, Nominet (a UK domain registration service) has been one of the first to decide to take tough action against registrars engaging in “domain tasting.” Nominet announced that any abuse of the “deletion facility” other than to correct spelling errors will not be tolerated. At the same time, those in favour of domain tasting are claiming the altered domain owner records are due to technical issues. Perhaps more specific guidelines will emerge in the coming years as awareness of domain tasting grows. As always, we will be sure to keep you updated.
VVhat’s a Domain Name by Any Other Name?
By Jude Augusta, Director of Partner Development
Along come the “ClickAlikes”. What are they? That is the whole question. “ClickAlikes” are “look-alike” domains. They use alternate characters which look very much like the original to spell the word or words in a similar highly desired generic domain name. For example, incorporate.com can be represented as beginning with a lowercase “L” as lncorporate.com, organicfoods.com can use a “zero” for 0rganicfoods.com and whitehouse.com can use “two v’s” as vvhitehouse.com.
What possible utility could Clickalike’s have? There’s obviously not going to be much direct navigation or organic traffic. However, search engine marketing platforms like Google’s AdWords and soon Yahoo! systems value relevance above all. If someone were to develop a site with relevant elements which can be monetized and buy sponsored link keywords in Google, users could be drawn to otherwise “relevant” results. Ostensibly, www.lncorporate.com (using a lowercase “L”) might seem more relevant than www.Hot-Cos.com. Therefore, clicks on the ClickAlike domain www.lncorporate.com would increase its standings & rank in search engine marketing programs such as AdWords.
This gives businesses an opportunity to buy a ClickAlike of the domain they originally wanted, lost to a domainer, are in battle over, or would like to protect.
Sedo does not endorse infringing on trademarks, copyrights, typos and the like. However, the nature of these ClickAlikes are unknown; they are a whole new breed. They are certainly clever, edgy, and curious; we thought you would find them the same…
A Basket of .KR Goodies
By Keith White, Customer Relations Representative
Korea – at least the Northern half of the pair – has been all over the news as of late. Therefore, it should be no surprise then that the .KR extension is stirring up some buzz within the domain community. With South Korea’s relations steady and defined, and the North’s attempts to enter into the world stage as a tour de force, it could only be expected that the two countries would want, and deserve, a legitimate place of their own on the Internet. However, as North Korea has its own extension, .KP and is opposed to external registration, it’s appropriate to focus on the .KR of South Korea.
Now, the .KR is certainly not recent news; it’s anything but. However with the recent attention, comes business interests and a heightened hope that such a news-worthy area could be worth a web presence, as it might lead to increased traffic. However, there are some limitations to the extension in regards to registration. As the National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA) has indicated, most domain owners world-wide will find that only South Koreans will be able to own these names until early in 2007.
Spring isn’t especially far-off, but for many anxious speculators who have realized the full potential of the Korean market, April 19th, 2007 is an eternity away. However, for those lucky enough to have a personal or business address in South Korea, March 28th 2007 is the lucky day, where those with a presence in South Korea can begin registering their domains. Worry not, domainers! As most of this year’s registration is reserved for government or administrative organizations, many of the good, creative, or generic domains could still be available.
All the news the Korean countries have created could very well be the driving force behind international notoriety in regards to the .KR. After all, web-surfers and information seekers might be more likely to visit a domain for a nation that’s been front-page as opposed to a nation that’s tucked quietly away on the sidelines. It might be jumping the gun a bit to keep an eye on these domains, but if expansion into an up-and-coming Asian market (on- and off-line) is desirable, or Korean traffic sounds like an orchestra to your ears, then no time is too soon. Spring could be a domain owner’s best friend, including a basket full of .KR eggs.
For information about .KR, the Korea Network Information Center (KRNIC), or the National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA), please visit http://www.iana.org/root-whois/kr.htm.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Growing Demand Makes Food and Restaurant Domains An Appetizing Target
With the harvest season in full bloom we thought it would be interesting to analyze the food industry and its presence on the web. Be sure to take a look at the related domains included in the link at the bottom of the article, which are being offered for a special price this month to celebrate the harvest season.
On average, U.S. consumers spend US$1 trillion annually for food, or nearly 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The supermarket industry accounts for approximately US$ 430 billion in annual revenue
Non-traditional stores such as convenience stores and wholesale clubs rack up another US$100 billion.
Restaurants alone account for an additional $467 billion every year and 1 in 3 meals eaten in America are consumed outside the home.
According to Yahoo! the term “food” racked up 4,000,000 searches in August ‘06.With the food and restaurant sector growing in both scope and revenues, this is a great time to take advantage of food and restaurant-related business opportunities on the Web.
Appetizing Domains – Hot Trends in the Industry
Organic food is a growing segment in the food industry. According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), U.S. organic food sales totaled nearly $14 billion in 2005. This represents a 31 percent increase over 2004 sales. Appealing domains relating to organic foods are numerous--OrganicFruitVeg.com and OrganicGrowers.net both offer a memorable and unique appeal, for example.
Thanksgiving is perhaps the most celebrated American holiday, and popular November topics include autumn, harvest, pumpkins, food and harvest festivals. Potential traffic drivers capitalizing on these themes include: HarvestSeason.com, PumpkinLand.net, AutumnCreek.net, or FoodFestival.com. Specific holiday names such as ThanksgivingTheme.com, are perfect for appealing to niche customers, and have tremendous keyword potential for attracting organic traffic.
In addition to the search term “food,” HitWise.com ranked the top ten food industry search terms. The number one term, “recipe,” ranked highest by volume of searches successfully driving traffic to websites. An instant way to profit from this ranking is to purchase a domain with the word “recipe” in the name. (Think “Gourmetrecipes.org” or “RecipeOfTheMonth.com.”) Check out thousands of additional food and harvest-related domains by clicking here.
Special on Medical-Related Domains
With the upcoming cold season, many health ailments will be imminent, which in turn creates a growing number of searches on "drug medication", "antibiotics", "pharmaceuticals", and other medical related information and services.
Would you like to capitalize on an invaluable portfolio of medical related domain names? Perhaps you have a valuable product and/or the information that people are looking for, but the right audience can't find you, because you don't have the right domain name(s). Or you may be an investor looking for an opportunity in something unique. Some great domains currently listed for sale at Sedo include: antibioticdrugs.com, antibioticmedicine.com, and antibioticmedication.com all available in multiple extensions. Check out other great medical-related domains by clicking here!!!
ASK SEDO
Sedo answers some commonly asked questions for our members
Dear Sedo,
I am new to your site and have seen a domain name I would like to purchase. When I went to make an offer I was instructed to certify myself. Please can you explain how I do this?
James, Albuquerque, NM
Dear James,
Thank you for you contacting us.
There are three methods you may use to become a certified buyer. There is no cost to become a certified buyer and the fastest and simplest method is by using your credit card. You will be prompted to enter your account information and agree to our Buyer Certification statement. You will then be certified within a few minutes. (Please note: your card will be preauthorized and an amount equivalent to five Euros may appear on your statement for a few days. However, your credit card is not actually charged during the certification process.) The other two methods include a signed faxed PDF document agreeing to our Buyer Certification Statement or for US business owners, a completed W-9 and signed and faxed Buyer Certification statement.
To certify your account, go to the “Buyer Certification” tab under the “My Sedo” menu. This page will outline detailed instructions on how to begin the quick and easy certification process.
Sedo is the world’s largest domain name marketplace and the best place for people to buy and sell domains. In order to maintain and improve our services we are always looking for new ways to innovate and develop our site. The Buyer Certification Program is designed to benefit all of our customers who use the marketplace. Sellers should see a reduction in the number of unintended bids for their domains, while expediting the transfer process for our buyers.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Best Regards,
Tom Fell
Key Accounts Manager / Transfer Consultant
UPCOMING EVENTS
RECENT SALES
Domains Recently Sold at Sedo
Gays.com 500,000 USD
SPN.com 95,000 EUR
prize.com 70,000 USD
freemail.co.uk 20,000 Euro
sln.com 10,450 USD
salaryfinder.com 10,000 USD
cheaptickets.de 9,000 Euro
fashionspace.com 5,000 GBP
solar.net 1,800 Euro
winter.info 950 Euro
LATEST ARRIVALS
Domains recently listed at Sedo
Republicanpolls.com
Primaryelections.org
Plans.com
Setup.com
Tuneup.com
Winetips.com
Myhomepage.com
Mails.com
Edinner.com
Toyforless.com