2014 is shaping up to be a very interesting year in terms of domain interaction, purchase, and management. If one thing is for certain in the world of internet business and marketing, it is that change is a constant; your business needs to be ready to adapt and change if you want to continue being successful in today’s increasingly competitive markets. Here are four up-and-coming domain trends that can hopefully help you take advantage of current circumstances:
- New TLDs (top level domains) – There are literally dozens of new top level domains planned for release in the relatively near future. “With all these new top-level-domains becoming available, there are sure to be a few winners in the group” says Andrew Rosener, CEO of Media Options. “Whether you are looking to purchase the domains to increase the reach of your own organization or simply make money reselling them, the opportunity is there.”
- Domain Parking Still Alive and Well – Domain parking, while not exactly a growing industry, is still alive and well. “I imagine we will see a consolidation of domain parking providers in coming years as well” Mr. Rosener continued. “Several of the big companies will likely join forces in an attempt to reduce costs in their shrinking market.”
- Domain Apps – Many domain companies already offer their own proprietary apps; 2014 will likely be the year that those who don’t will finally rejoin the race and develop one of their own. The successes of the Go Daddy and DomainNameSales apps have certainly demonstrated their utility to the industry.
- Mass Development on the Way Out – A few years ago, mass development of sites was all the range. However these days, with Google and other search engine changes, many businesses are instead trying to focus on only one or two sites rather than a large group of them. “The fall-off in mass development is likely due to Google being able to identify and then successfully discount and market techniques that made it possible in recent years” Mr. Rosener said.
So all things considered, 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year for domain companies, and anyone else interested in the infrastructure of the internet. “The most important development will assuredly be the new top-level domains that are being released,” according to Mr. Rosener. “While they certainly do depend on being adopted by the majority of their industry to be successful, the odds are that at least one industry will do just that, leading to an incredible set of opportunities.” Only time will tell.
