More companies are hoping to capture an internet domain name beyond the standard .com, and some are willing to pay premium prices for a domain that ties into their industry.
Donuts Inc., a domain name provider, announced what is believed to be one of the largest sales to date for a premium domain name in real estate–related industries with the acquisition of “home.loans” for $500,000. Donuts holds a giant portfolio of top-level domains on the internet (such as .ltd, .company, .careers, and .support).
In 2014, nearly 2,000 new top-level domains were unveiled on the internet, such as “.car,” “.music,” and “.doctor.” Also starting that year, the National Association of REALTORS® made the .REALTOR top-level domain available to its members for those looking to better connect their domain to real estate.
The ability to tie the domain to your industry is helping firms better brand themselves online. In the most recent record-breaking purchase, Home.loans was purchased by Home.loans founder and CEO Black Janover. Janover plans to launch the home.loans website to become a resource for mortgages.
“We are leading an industry transformation and starting in a small niche,” says Janover. “Home.loans is the ideal organic search term and digital media asset for this business. The website URL is the brand, which will help us drive awareness rapidly and cost-effectively. It creates an absolutely clear vision for the entirety of the site—we won’t be selling credit cards or car loans.”
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