Sales are increasing fast! Short Domain Names in High Demand!

Great week of sales! I will make a prediction that in the coming 24 months we’ll see a rapid increase in the value of 2 & 3 letter .com domains (all short domains for that matter).

As Mobile plays a larger and more important role in how people access the internet the demand will be for short domain names which are easy to type in from a mobile device. Mobile devices are more prone to typos than a standard keyboard and the shorter your domain name is, the more likely it is that your visitor will find you (quickly) and come back often. We recently tried to broker the domain name HX.com to HomeExchange.com. HomeExchange.com is the global leader in home exchange and house swapping.

They are the TripAdvisor of that vertical. I spoke several times with the owner of the company at great length. Sent marketing materials, lots of information and purposefully did not actively market the name because I felt that this should be a slam dunk for them.

It just made sense. HomeExchange.com is a great domain name, but that double “e” in the middle is prone to typos and the name is a bit long. HX.com would not only solve a problem for them – but it was a tremendous branding opportunity with tons of upside potential both from a business development standpoint as well as from an asset and investment stand point for the company. However, after hours of discussion and educating them, the board wouldn’t approve the acquisition and I quickly turned around sold it to a Chinese Company who didn’t even hesitate. You see China and other developing nations are far more advanced than the USA & even Europe when it comes to mobile internet and mobile interaction.

I need to discuss the domain I own!

They understand their audience better. Panama is as a perfect example. A small country of about 4 million people. A very low percentage of households in Panama have an internet connection at home. However, a large majority (I would venture to say close to 80%) DO have a mobile device which could access the internet given a connection. They give away blackberry’s here like cocktails at the casino. Well that is just what the government is doing. They will supply the entire country with free internet over the next 18 months. That means millions of people will soon be online in Panama (via mobile devices and a free internet connection) that previously could not access the internet.

Panama is just a small example. But the same is happening in countries with the largest populations on Earth (Brazil, India, China, etc…). Apps won’t defeat the domain name. But I do believe that companies will want (if not need) SHORT domain names. …sorry this was just a semi-lucid thought I had after seeing so many big 3 letter sales in the last few weeks (including several that we have made as well)