In this insightful conversation, domain industry veteran David Clements speaks with our content editor Brendan Boyle about:
- What makes a great domain name?
- The power of domain names for branding
- The longevity of .com domains
- The huge potential of .ai
- What domain trends resellers, web hosts, and marketing agencies need to know.
Brendan Boyle: What inspired you to write The Ultimate Domain Name Handbook?
David Clements: I really wanted to create a comprehensive guide for business owners, investors, and marketers. I didn’t see anything out there in the marketplace like this. And I wanted one place to which I could refer people to understand the true value of domain names.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of companies miss out on the opportunity to own the correct domain name for their brand. And owning that domain name creates a powerful branding opportunity for them. It seemed like I was having the same conversation over and over with business owners, so instead of just having a page on a website to refer them to, I decided to actually put together something, which turned into 23 chapters and 72,000 words. So, my goal was really to put two decades of experience into a practical guide that can help people make informed decisions on buying domain names.
BB: Your book highlights the power of domains for branding. Why do you think this aspect has been overlooked for so long? And why is branding now more important than ever?
DC: I think branding’s always been important, but in today’s digital world many businesses focus on social media handles and ad spend while forgetting that the foundation of branding is the domain name people type in to go to their business online.
I think that in 2025, with AI-driven voice search and digital assistants becoming more prominent, the days of people using Google to find things will start fading away. These AI agents still refer you to a landing page or the domain name of a company and it’s still critical for people to remember the brand. If it’s a one or two-word exact-match brand, it’s easier for people to remember.
BB: Looking back at the sales you’ve made over the years, I was wondering if you have seen a shift in the type of domain names that are most popular?
DC: High-value domain sales today still typically involve short, single-word .com domains. That continues to be the gold standard.
Brands are moving towards cleaner, category-defining terms. They’re also looking for brandable terms that can be used in multiple industries. I find it interesting to see how things like animals, colors, seasons, or other unexpected concepts can evolve into iconic brands, simply by being used that way, starting with a domain name.
.ai is a very interesting TLD. I think it’s going to be popular for more than a year because AI is so hot. But people are still going to go back to .com. The single-word .com domain names continue to increase in value. I would recommend opting for a two-word .com domain over a .co or .ai, especially if the budget doesn’t allow for securing the single-word .com first. In any case, a .com is more memorable – people are more likely to remember and type in “catscan.com” than “scan.co” or “scan.ai.”
BB: You’ve been involved in a lot of discussions and negotiations. I was wondering what is something that most people don’t know about high- value domain sales. For example, what factors determine the value of a domain?
DC: It’s becoming increasingly clear that domains end up with the company or founder who has the most money or has raised the most funds. Business consolidation is a common trend, with larger companies buying smaller ones. As domain names become scarcer, every one of them holds more value.
There’s only one “oneword.com” and only one “Brendan.com.” If you own “Brendan.com” and a founder of a company wants to launch a nonprofit arm called “Brendan.com,” they’ll likely make you an offer you can’t refuse. The offer will reach a point where the amount is so life-changing that you’ll say yes.
Today, domain names are selling for incredible amounts of money, and companies that don’t see the value or think it’s not worth it are missing out. If you don’t realize the potential value of a domain, it suggests your idea might not be big enough. There are companies that have the financial capacity to pay for these high-value domain names, and eventually, they will. Over the past 12 to 24 months, more domain names than ever before have sold for eight-figure amounts in USD.
What’s interesting is how domain valuations often align with stock market trends. When the stock market is up, domain valuations tend to rise as well. This has been an ongoing pattern.
BB: In your book, you discuss the evolution of the domain industry so I wanted to ask you about the past decade – what trends have you observed, and what trends do you think will be important for 2025? Specifically, what should domain resellers, hosting companies, and marketing agencies be aware of?
DC: The rise of AI, which is fairly recent, is going to turn out to be one of the more significant developments for search. Elliot Silver, a fantastic guy who invests in domain names and writes frequently on his blog, recently wrote about how he decided to use AI to create a series of two-word .com domains. He searched to see if they were available, and I think he registered eight or nine of them. He’s already sold one, making well over his expectations on hand-registered domain names that were recommended by AI. I thought it was a really interesting article. The rise of AI is going to help domain resellers, hosting companies, and marketing agencies tremendously.
BB: The release of your book coincides with the 40th anniversary of .com. Can you briefly share your thoughts on the longevity of .com? Do you think it’s the first-mover advantage that allowed it to embed itself before the others, or is there something about .com that just makes it work?
DC: That’s a great question. When .com came out, everyone just got used to typing “dot com” after a domain name. I’ve literally typed my name and accidentally added “.com” after a period at the end of a sentence because I own davidclements.com. I’ve done that more than once, and I still catch myself doing it occasionally, even with domains we have under engagement. It’s like muscle memory.
The first-mover advantage of .com can’t be overstated. It was the first major TLD to come out, and it still represents a huge portion of the domain registrations – about a third of the 365 million domain names registered globally.
In most countries, especially in the US, .com is still considered a trusted TLD. In Western Europe, there are other country code TLDs like .co.uk, .uk, .fr, .es, but even in Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Mexico, .com is still quite dominant. They do use their country code TLDs, but .com is still widely used.
I think the first-mover advantage for .com is unlikely to change. People’s muscle memory is ingrained with .com, especially in their home countries. For example, people in the UK have been typing “.co.uk” for so long that when .uk came out, it just didn’t catch on, despite being a technically better TLD. The adoption rate of .uk has been poor. People are still much more likely to type “.co.uk” after the domain name because of that muscle memory, and that’s not going to change easily.
In Germany, it’s interesting to note that .de is popular, but they also tend to use dashes in domain names. In fact, Germany is the one country where dashes in domains are more valuable and important. If it’s a two-word .de domain without a dash, it’s worth less, and people might even accidentally type the dash because they’re used to seeing it. German words can also be long, so this is a very country-specific issue.
To answer your question, I think the first-mover advantage of .com is a big part of its longevity, but after 40 years, it’s hard to argue that newer TLDs, which are much younger, can compete at the same level.
On the flip side, while I’m not sure that’s the only reason, .net, for example, which most people will still type correctly, has become far less valuable over the years due to the confusion created by all the new TLDs. If someone’s in a pinch and can’t afford a .com, I’d recommend .net, because it’s still familiar and people will generally type it correctly, unlike some of the newer, less recognized TLDs.
BB: One last question, David: If you had to give one piece of advice for businesses looking to become more successful with domains – whether they’re resellers, web hosting companies, or marketing agencies – what would it be?
DC: When a company is starting, the founder will look for people who can bring in force multipliers – someone who can drive sales, handle finance, manage marketing, or fill whatever the team needs. They’re looking for people who can really elevate the business.
I think your domain name is a business multiplier. It’s a brand multiplier. It sends a signal that says, “you’ve arrived.” When people hear a one-word .com and it matches the brand, the trust level for that brand goes up significantly. It’s not just an address – it’s a business multiplier. A good domain makes the brand more credible, easier to find, and harder to forget. If you don’t secure the right domain name, someone else will.
You can listen to the Openprovider podcast with David Clements in full here.
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