CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced the results of its Q2 2011 Domain Market Study, which reveals domain industry trends based on its marketplace transactions. In Q2, Sedo’s Domain Marketplace saw close to $25,000,000 in global sales, revealing 13 percent growth compared to Q1 2011 and 4 percent year-over-year growth.
Notable sales including datacenter.com for $352,500 and navidad.com for $100,000 support the .com’s continued strength and relevance. However, domain sales priced at $5,000 and below accounted for 48% market share, proving that there is a wide range of affordable domain choices for both established companies and SMBs looking to extend their brand online. For example, sunburnt.com recently sold for $8,800 and boatoutfitter.com was purchased for only $1,000.
During the three months ending June 30, 2011, 10,600 domains changed hands on Sedo’s Domain Marketplace. Leading with the substantial $2.5 million sale of gambling.com, Q2 2011 represents the strongest quarter the marketplace has seen in over a year, once the record-breaking sale of sex.com from Q4 2010 is factored out.
“The significant increase in sales – one of several optimistic benchmarks this quarter –seems to disprove the theory that the announcement of new gTLDs will diminish the value of existing TLDs,” says Jeremiah Johnston, COO and general counsel of Sedo. “The wide range of relevant keyword domain names available to support seasonal and holiday initiatives provides marketers, entrepreneurs and businesses with boundless investment opportunities that are not only affordable but provide the most significant ROI possible.”
In addition, the average sale prices of .com domains in Q2 2011 reached $3,114, a 20 percent increase over Q1 2011. Average .com sales prices for Q2 2011 were also higher than those for every quarter last year, excluding Q4 2010, which saw the record-breaking sale of Sex.com for $13,000,000. Other highlights of Sedo’s Q2 2011 study include:
- The .com extension continues to be the most popular TLD, accounting for 52 percent of all Q2 TLD sales. The .net extension came in a distant second with 6 percent of the market share.
- Overall in Q2 2011, .de continued to be the most frequently traded ccTLD on the marketplace, accounting for 18 percent market share, while .co.uk and .eu each accounted for 6 percent of the market.
- Median sales prices for gTLDs remained fairly consistent quarter over quarter, despite a significant increase in Q2 2011 median sales prices for gTLDs across the board.
- The .co extension maintains its position as a top TLD, revealing its staying power since its debut on the top TLD list in Q1 2011.
- Fixed price sales accounted for 27 percent of all Q2 transactions, putting it in second place as the most popular form of seller-buyer interaction, following offer/counter-offer transactions (41 percent).
- Top US sales include gambling.com ($2,500,000), datacenter.com ($352,000) and consolidation.com ($200,000).
Sedo’s complete Q2 2011 report can be found online at: http://www.sedo.com/fileadmin/documents/pressdownload/Q2_2011_DomainMarketStudy_US.pdf
About Sedo
Sedo, an acronym for “Search Engine for Domain Offers,” is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany and with offices in London, England and Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world's largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 18 million listings. The success of Sedo's model has attracted a global membership base of more than 1 million domain professionals. For more information, visit www.Sedo.com.