Arif Sengoren
Founder, SecretBrokerage.com

Arif Sengoren has racked up millions of dollars worth of domain sales in the 13 years since he entered the domain business. After his career shifted into high gear with a multi-year stint at Frank Schilling's Uniregistry brokerage, Arif set up his own show at SecretBrokerage.com in 2020 where he has continued to thrive and expand an ever growing client base.

Arif Sengoren

Considering the landscape shaped by COVID-19 pandemic, the first three quarters of 2023 marked the final phase of correction. Layoffs were widespread across almost every industry, coupled with an increase in interest rates and a decline in investments. Also, Unfortunately, the 21st century continues to witness heart-breaking wars.  

In addition to these challenges, we observed the undeniable AI revolution, particularly with the advent of ChatGPT. The year 2023 stands as a monumental period for AI, one that future generations will read about in books and stories. A notable shift is on the horizon as the FED initiated a steady rate-holding strategy, signaling anticipated cuts in 2024. Simultaneously, the cryptocurrency market has shown signs of resurgence.  

Regrettably, the domain industry is among the first to be impacted by economic downturns, as many companies view domains as marketing or similar expenses. In unstable economic conditions, these costs are often the first to be cut, resulting in a decrease in publicly announced sales volumes and

high-end deals (6,7, and 8 figures). While millions of dollars in transactions occurred under non-disclosure agreements, the reality remains that a correction in the domain market transpired. In 2023, the focus shifted towards building value, making it an opportune time for investments/acquisitions, particularly for those with available cash, rather than a favorable time for selling.  

However, this situation does not affect the value proposition for premium domains, especially keyword and exact match one and two word .COMs and even for good brandables. They have not only retained their value but have become even more valuable. With low supply and high demand, premium domains continue to thrive. In parallel with the AI boom, the .ai domain market also experienced substantial growth. Numerous 5 and 6-figure .ai domain sales occurred, and investor prices even reached the high 5, low 6-figures.  

In 2023, from my observations, many domain investors experienced a sense of disappointment when listing their domains on a limited selection of marketplaces. In 2024, I anticipate the emergence of a new domain marketplace with an innovative commission and listing structure. Same thing about expired domain auctions. I won't be surprised if we see a new player in that part of the business. Also, apart from CryptoExchange.com and a few registrars, I also have a wishful thinking that more companies will adapt to crypto payments.  

Last but the most importantly, one constant remains and I don’t see this changing anytime soon: the ongoing need and desire for a premium domain name. At SecretBrokerage.com, we have strategically positioned ourselves to assist our clients in acquiring the best domains at fair prices. We frequently update our appraisal criteria behind the scenes to provide the best appraisals in the world. More will come to the domain portfolio management side as well.

Sometimes it seems like Dave Evanson's name appears in DNJournal's bi-weekly report of top domain sales just as often as the column's author (Ron Jackson). Over the years, Sedo's Senior Broker has placed countless five, six and seven figure sales on the DNJ charts. He's been doing it consistently for over 13 years now so you can expect to more of the same in 2024. 

Dave Evanson

Sedo.com’s Brokerage Team completed another very solid performance in 2023.  I am very proud of the contributions of our highly ethical, driven brokerage team and I was pleased with my output as well.  I attribute a lot of my success to the talented, dedicated, experienced internal teams at our brokers’ disposal.  Our transfer team, finance team, customer support, legal, analysts, etc. go out their way to help our clients and brokers.

 Looking back just a couple of weeks to the holiday season I was able to do approximately $5,500,000.00 in brokerage sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I would have topped the #1 sale in 2023 on DN Journal's 2023 Top 100 Domain Sales Chart if not for NDAs and I helped set the table for a $700,000.00 .AI deal earlier in the year.  I could not have achieved this without the internal infrastructure a large company like sedo offers to its brokers.  I even went to our CEO, Michael Robrock, a couple of times during the year for help with sorting through unique or complicated situations.  

Economic uncertainty, wars, multiple key worldwide elections, etc., point towards a relatively unstable 2024.  Continued expansion of AI, hyped demand for category-defining domains and some relaxation of VC funding by Q3 should lead to more 6-7 figure sales.  Two word .coms in the 5-6 figure range should do well.  I anticipate the momentum we saw in 2023 brokerage will continue into and through 2024.  In my view Sedo is well-positioned to serve the diverse needs and demands of clients worldwide.  We do business in 170 countries and our brokers and support teams speak over 20 languages.  We begin the year with 3 million customers and can tap into our extensive database of approximately 22 million widely varied domains for sale.  We are ready to again leverage the strength and expertise of our organization to get better results for our clients. That is the goal every day.

Giuseppe Graziano specializes in helping companies and individuals buy and sell high-value short .com domains defined as "liquid", including 2 letter .com and 2 and 3 number .com. Giuseppe also publishes, in collaboration with Intelium, Escrow.com, and ShortNames.com, the quarterly Liquid Market Report, that analyzes the major indicators that drive supply and demand in the domain aftermarket.

Giuseppe Graziano

As someone who covers the short .com domain market, also known as “Liquid Domains”, 2023 has been a record year. On our Liquid Market Report we recorded $43M in escrow.com sales in Q1 only. To offer a comparison, the total sale volume for 2022 was $56M. While we are still waiting for the Q4 numbers, 2023 is poised to almost double the sales volume of 2022.  

2023 has also been marked by the surge in attention towards Artificial Intelligence related domains. Several .ai domains sold for large amounts and many acquisitions were carried out by companies operating in the AI space. As a result of that, the investor price of .ai domains saw a significant increase, which was reflected in exceptional auction prices. While early buyers might have made nice profits, it is unsure whether the current investor price of .ai domains - given the high carrying costs - might already be too expensive to constitute a profitable investment.

2023 also marked a renaissance in domain conferences - I really enjoyed attending Nordic Domain Days in Stockholm, as well as the new Domain Days in Dubai. The industry is clearly consolidating, but I was also pleased to see many

new faces joining the industry. In 2014 there might still be an opportunity for smart buyers to get into the AI space as it is the industry with the largest potential and budgets. The increased geopolitical tensions are making cryptos rise again, which might be another opportunity for investors focused on this niche.   

The main challenge I see for domain names are the changes in how we use the internet. I find myself “talking” with chatGPT a lot more than searching on Google. If we can get an AI tool to respond and execute tasks for us without having to leave the interface, how does that affect the value of domain names? A big argument for owning a premium domain (especially a category killer) is to stand out against the competition in a search engine. If AI makes us skip the search process altogether - would owning the best possible domain become less relevant? Or would the pie increase so much that there will be a net positive effect in the value of domain names?

In other words, if the internet is a catalog of information, and domains are identifiers which help you remember the address of such information (as well as a signaling tool), how will they change in value when most of the information is accessed from an AI interface - or even via voice?

James Booth has completed over $50 million in domain name sales since 2015. He is also co-founder of MediaX.com, a parent company to several fully-developed websites that provide relevant and informative content over a range of verticals. With over 17 years of experience in sales and investments, James has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the domain industry, as well as in wealth management, customer relationship management, and new business development.

James Booth

The most significant trend and the hottest topic right now is AI. We are seeing some incredible .AI sales and acquisitions and I believe this is only the start. AI will be at the forefront of nearly everything we do for the foreseeable future. Tech leaders are adopting the .AI extension in a massive way and I can see why. Precise.AI looks far more appealing than say PreciseAI.com. 

We have always believed in diversification so will continue going into 2024. The Crypto Industry will also play a huge role in Domain Names going into 2024 and have done so in 2023. We believe the .IO TLD has its place in the Domain Industry for Crypto and Tech Start-ups that are not AI based or have the funding available for the .com domain. 

In general 2023 was an incredible year for domain names surprisingly with everything that is happening around the world. We believe 2024 is going to be even better with some record breaking sales to come. 

Jeff Gabriel is a world-renowned expert in domain brokerage and building sales teams and has had a role in over $400 million worth of domain sales. In 2019 he launched a top tier boutique brokerage that specializes in acquiring, selling, and appraising domains. Previously, Jeff was the Vice President of Sales at Uniregistry where he and his team quadrupled sales dollar volume. Prior to that Jeff was the President and Co-Founder of Igloo.com and was also a Domain Broker at Sedo. 

Jeff Gabriel

Questions like these bring me back 14 years to the beginning of my time in the industry. While day-to-day shifts may seem subtle, the cumulative transformation over a few years and even the last year is substantial. We witnessed the fall of Crypto along with the surge in AI. We saw a rally in Crypto and the leveraging of AI in our own business. We have seen other market sectors that made up a significant amount of our revenue cool, and new segments rise to take their place. This further proves my opinion that the domain industry is much more resilient than other global market segments.

This evolving landscape has also seen a shift in leadership trends, with younger CEOs displaying a greater openness toward adopting alternative domain extensions than .COM.

Simultaneously, Saw.com has continued to invest in technology that we plan to share with the industry by launching a marketplace that puts the control back in the domain owner's hands to make their own decisions and maximize their revenue. Additionally, we've integrated AI into our 

operations, harnessing its potential to enhance efficiency. This strategic use of technology will/has enabled us to maximize our impact, even with the possibility of fewer opportunities than in previous years.

The global economic forecast suggests a continued cooldown, which will reduce the formation of new businesses and a slower pace of product launches. While the domain industry is quite resilient during economic downturns, it is not entirely immune to such trends and will experience a little heartburn.

To combat this we plan to launch a domain sales marketplace to navigate these challenges proactively. Designed by many who designed/shaped DomainNameSales/Uniregistry Market, this platform is created with a critical feature that distinguishes it from existing marketplaces: it empowers sellers by providing them with direct access to buyer information. This transparency enables sellers to make strategic decisions to optimize their sales outcomes. We are excited for 2024 – Giddy Up!

Joe Uddeme entered the domain business as the Director of Business Development at Domain Holdings. After five successful years there he opened his own shop at NameExperts.com in 2015 and since then has racked up over $80 million in sales. Over the past couple of years he has made headlines with sales like Poker.net at $750,000, IW.com at $570,000 and several others well into six figures.

Joe Uddeme

AI became the hottest segment to disrupt the domain space. .AI domain name grew from a typical sale in the five-figures, now trading well into the six-figures. Generic domains that help the users tell their story with the .AI. The .com continued to impress in 2023 with more brands understanding the importance of short and generic/brandable. Common consumers look for a simple URL which is easy to remember and adds credibility and equity to the strategy.

Current World events created a bit of headwinds in the domain name aftermarket in 2023. Couple that with the unknown Economic fallout of Inflation, the market was unique in 2023. The year ended very well with domain sales ticking up nicely in the 4th Q. 2023. On a monthly basis, 2023 was A-typical with larger deals occurring over Summer and well into Q4 2023. The normal busy time of year is Spring and Fall in the Western Hemisphere—when brands are planning their yearly budgets. There were significant layoffs in 2023 in the Tech-sector. Many new startups and incubators were born out of the mass layoffs that occurred in late 2022 and early 2023. Many of those individuals created their own brands after they were laid off from X(Twitter), Facebook and Linkedin. All major brands experienced cuts last year—except for AI. 

Other TLD’s that performed well in 2023 include, .co, .io, .org, .us and .xyz. Companies increasingly consider alternatives to the .com and .ai if they are out of budget or not solid acquisition candidates. 

Domain values will continue to increase, specifically for .com and .ai-related tld’s. The market should begin to roar back to life, with inflation now under control and interest rates projected to start to decline. Businesses will start rehiring workforce and growing new segments and Crypto will explode in 2024 due to ETF’s adoption or BTC and other technology. 2024 should definitely see growth in the domain space across many TLD’s. Businesses continue to see the relevance of the foundation or their brand. It all starts with a good domain name. All commerce trades on this principle and will continue to strengthen and improve the domain aftermarket landscape. With 2024 already off to a strong start, I’d expect the market to continue to improve. Domain names that are short and generic hold the most long-term upside and investment. 2024 should see a steady increase in domain name values, both from the investment community as well as the end-user channel.

Some of the issues that could affect sales for 2024 include the Chinese economy which has continued to struggle with labor as well as overall economic conditions in China. Global unrest and War never help stabilize markets or overall performance for alternative investments. Therefore, these headwinds can certainly create an unfavorable market to buy and sell domain names.

I’d continue to expect sales to increase over 2023 with an overall—better outlook for this upcoming year and ahead.

Seeing domain name sales brokered by Kate Buckley at the top of DNJournal.com charts has become a common occurrence over the years as Kate continues to ring up sales of six and seven figure sales with astonishing regularity. Kate also has a fascinating life story, one that we detailed in a 2018 DN Journal Cover Story. Parent company Buckley Media continues to expand with a new enterprise at Defining.com set to debut next.

Kate Buckley

Looking back at 2023, I think it’s safe to say that AI dominated the headlines. It’s difficult to underestimate the impact that AI had on both the world in general and domain names specifically. This was not only a massive disruption to tech, but also an extremely interesting inflection point for domain names—increasing both the value of .AI domains and descriptive premium .COMs associated with AI and LLM.  

Additionally, a weak economy pushed companies into austerity mode, reducing available capital for assets like domain names. And while tech layoffs have slowed, they aren’t entirely over. VC funding was down 57% from its peak in 2021, which resulted in trepidation around new investments. As a result, we worked with our clients (on both the buy and sell sides) to develop creative funding solutions around domain acquisitions. We put together more payment plans than ever—creating truly win/win solutions and enabling companies to build on their best possible digital raw land while preserving capital and ensuring an appropriately conservative runway.

While an election year always brings uncertainty, there are are a lot of positive signs on the horizon, including the thaw of Crypto winter—Bitcoin ETFs and Halving means renewed interest in that 

market. Moreover, VC investment is expected to increase in 2024, and those funds can be spread across a broader spectrum of companies (e.g. smaller tranches) that can be expected to grow in a fraction of the time—months vs. years. That exponential growth should have a positive impact on the domain industry as many firms will be looking for credible domains earlier in their life cycle than before. 

On another note, undoubtedly new businesses are more accepting of alternate TLDs.  As more .COMs go into the “forever used” category, new companies are in the position of having to decide whether to use an alternate TLD and keep the keyword(s), or rebrand. Crypto and FinTech startups are becoming more comfortable with a small subset of these new extensions, making premium .COMs even more rare and valuable, but also increasing market value for select TLDs.  

We also predict that AI will massively disrupt search in 2024, forcing companies to hedge their bets against massive AdWord and SEO budgets. This Forbes article outlines that threat. What does that mean for our industry? Strong brands and premium domains are more important than ever. 

More companies will realize just how crucial a unique, credible domain is—accelerating the values of easy-to-remember premium domains. We'll probably also see more talk around regulatory discussions on domain governance and how privacy laws affect domain ownership transparency. Overarchingly, we expect the domain industry to continue to evolve—largely thanks to new trends and tech. AI and machine learning could make domain sales smarter and faster. Also, as new tech fields grow, they'll likely want domains that resonate with these emerging sectors.  

At Buckley Media, we are preparing for these changes by rebranding to Defining.com and combining forces with the former CEO of a top tier branding agency, best known for creating billion dollar brands. Yes, the rumors are true: Buckley Media and the founder of INK Agency, Todd Henderson, are merging operations to establish a new standard in Branding & Domain Services: Defining.com. Additionally, we’re thrilled to welcome another senior partner onto the leadership team: Shane Cultra AKA “Domain Shane”—a domain expert with 25 years in the space, and a seasoned generalist well-versed in advising companies in every stage of growth. Together we are Defining.com: The New Standard.

Over a decade ago, Mark Daniel played a key role in establishing Domain Holdings Group, a specialized boutique firm focusing on high end domain brokerage. In 2017, he assumed the position of Managing Director, overseeing the company's operations and Brokerage. Mark is a Digital Real Estate expert who specializes in helping clients acquire and divest premium domain names and other online assets. Collaborating with a diverse range of individuals, startups, and major brands, he is widely known for his dedication to his clients and the broader domain industry.

Mark Daniel

One of the more significant trends has been Artificial Intelligence (AI), in terms of investment, new startups, and general public awareness of the large role it will play in everyone’s future. We know that .ai domain extensions have been around for many years, but only recently have we started to see .ai domain names make the news. In the industry, we know “ai” officially stands for Anguilla, but people outside the domain space don’t always make that connection when they see those letters because they think of “ai “as an abbreviation for artificial intelligence. I think that the .ai extension has a long and bright future given this connection to AI and future technologies. Look at how popular the .io extension became and the public doesn’t associate those letters with anything.   

I still believe .com is and always will be king. Although we have facilitated several .ai transactions, our main focus continues to be on high value premium .com domain assets, and we speak to a lot of individuals, startups and 

companies throughout a given year. This past year it seems like we have seen more requests for social media handles than previous years and although those can have their own challenges, there are a lot of usernames switching hands which will continue in 2024. As we all have predicted and seen year after year, the value of premium domains will only continue to increase as the inventory dwindles.

Companies that initially opted for less-than-ideal domains continue to recognize the importance of premium domains in enhancing their credibility and facilitating growth. We are seeing more awareness among seasoned marketers regarding the significant impact that a great domain asset can have on their business and brand. That being said, we still encounter those who just don’t get it yet.

In 2023 VC funding went down and I am not sure if that will change much this year although we hope it will. I think we will continue to see .ai domains selling for high prices. Tech layoffs will likely continue and unfortunately AI will start displacing traditional business positions like HR and Customer Service.

With the overall inventory of great one word. com’s getting smaller, we have seen the values continuing to increase on what is left out there. As the case has been for the last few years running, we also saw significant 6-figure value in a lot of 3-letter combinations, and that trend will continue in 2024.

One of the main challenges in the brokerage sector as our industry grows is the increase in unqualified individuals calling themselves domain brokers. This is not a new challenge, but it seems each year there are more and more people out there trying to help companies buy and sell names without the qualifications necessary to complete these transactions. As reputable domain brokers, just do the right thing. 

We are proud that so much of our business comes from referrals from existing or past clients. We offer our clients personalized service to guide them toward the best decision for their needs. Here’s to a great 2024!

Mark Ghoriafi has had a meteoric rise  through the domain industry since debuting with .CLUB ten years ago. After rising through the ranks to becomes Sales & Marketing manager there, he honed his sales skills with .GLOBAL, Afilias and Radix before making the biggest splash of all with his own brokerage at MrPremium.com. Still, Mark had one more big move up his sleeve. In October, Sedo pulled off a coup by convincing him to join their world class brokerage team.

Mark Ghoriafi

Diversity of sales.
Diversity of success.
Diversity of domains.

This unquestionably sums up my 2023 selling experiences, both whilst operating my own domains brokerage (MrPremium.com) up till October, and then joining Sedo.com as Premium Domain Broker.

The industry saw a more diversified “DNJournal Top 100 Domain Sales Chart” for 2023, which perfectly synchronizes with my wide spectrum of brokered names throughout the year. I began 2023 with a rather unusual yet record-breaking .Dog sale (woof!), and ended the year with a six-figure .co.uk sale, also achieving millions-of-dollars more success across a multitude of extensions.

gTLDs including .club, .cloud, app, .win, .xyz, and .online, all made impressive appearances in the aforementioned Top 100 Sales Chart, led by the $400,000 sale of Betting.Online. This was a notable difference to the previous year which only featured sales from one gTLD extension (.xyz), continuing to illustrate the steady growth, acceptance, and adoption of these advancing alternative domains.

With regards to .io domains, much of our industry is aware that I’ve gained significant success with .io over the years, becoming somewhat synonymous with the extension. However, whilst 2023 did produce many great industry sales, including Hero.io at $125,000 and Eleven.io at $121,000, I saw less consistency with month-to-month selling activity compared to the previous 2-3 years. I noticed a drop in inquiries and longer gaps between sales, although when an .io sale did happen, it usually was of a more sizeable amount.

That being said, I still see .io as a strong, relevant domain, and I believe this 2023 change had correlation with the rise of the .AI attraction and Web3 markets. I find it absolutely incredible that as of December 31st, an astounding 64 of the all-time top 100 reported .ai sales came from 2023 alone! With Sedo’s $700,000 sale of You.ai leading the pack, followed by five more six-figure sales (Source: Namebio).

In-line with the above data, I saw a substantial rise in market activity from qualified buyers in the final quarter of 2023. I represented multiple clients for acquisitions, presenting numerous six-figure offers for various .ai names, and was frequently met with seller resistance and instant declines, indicating they are happy to wait for the .ai market to gain more strength, and sell in the seven-figure range. Escrow.com CEO Matt Barrie publicly spoke of a $1.5M .ai sale that took place in 2023, although was unable to disclose the name.

This gives hopeful indication that high value .ai sales continue to be attainable in 2024, but I would always recommend to not let a single-known large sale, or a small group of attractive sales influence your decision to price all your inventory at that range. Look at the present market as a whole. There is no harm in being optimistic, but also be realistic and harness expectation.  

When Mark Ghoriafi (far left) was hanging out with Sedo's Mark Stepken, Dave Evanson and Michael Robrock at the 2020 NamesCon Global conference in Austin, he had no idea he would become a Sedo premium broker himself  three years later.

Michael Law is a veteran domain investor who entered the industry back in 2007. In 2019 he expanded into brokerage with Founder Brian Harbin at Grit Brokerage in what proved to be a perfect fit. Known as a people person with a background in direct sales and finance, Michael is a great listener and problem solver with extensive knowledge of the Internet landscape.

Michael Law

2023 was a year full of interesting developments for the domain industry and us at Grit Brokerage. Despite broader economic challenges, continuing and new turmoil among nations, and even some banking failures, the domain market showed remarkable resilience. This resilience along with our knowledgeable and experienced team led to one of our most successful years in domain sales. Our proactive outbound marketing and increased handling of acquisition requests highlighted a growing recognition by companies and organizations of the importance of premium domain names. Although pricing expectations often differed between buyers and sellers, our educational approach played a key role in facilitating successful deals. And once the new owners started using their domains, they quickly saw how it impacted and boosted their brand.

Of course, the standout trend of 2023 was the exponential growth in artificial intelligence, which spurred a significant increase in .ai domain sales. As we broker domains in a variety of TLDs, we were positioned well to capitalize alongside our clients 

on this trend and successfully brokered the sale of several high end, one word .ai domains. We view AI as much more than a passing phase; it's a pivotal shift in how businesses are aligning their digital identity with their technological advancements. So, we're expecting .ai domains and those combining a keyword with .ai in .com to keep doing very well in 2024 and beyond.  

Attending domain events like the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) meetup in Las Vegas, NamesCon in Austin, and The Domain Summit in London was a highlight for me in 2023. These events are not just business meetings; they're great for networking, creating lasting connections with industry peers, and enjoying quality time with friends and company representatives in the domain industry. I look forward to attending several meetups and conferences this year.  

Two of our favorite Michaels - Michael Awada (left) and Michael Law
 at the 2020 NamesCon Global conference in Austin.  

Looking ahead to 2024, I anticipate the demand for succinct, high-quality one and two-word .com domains will continue. The best ones will get even pricier, as more companies see how valuable they are. I am excited to represent and sell some of the best one word .coms available on the market. AI will keep boosting AI-related domain sales.  Additionally, one-word domains are likely to maintain their strength across several TLDs including .io, .org, .co, .net and .xyz. I expect to see more traction with .vc, .gg as well and we might even see another domain extension emerge as a popular choice among end users and investors. I also believe Web3 names will gain more traction with investors and end users with Ethereum Name Service (ENS) at the forefront with their growing integrations and compatibility to the DNS root zone. 

As the domain aftermarket continues to grow, acquiring investable domains at familiar prices is becoming increasingly challenging for investors due to more competition and the domain industry's growing legitimacy. This will continue to put a squeeze on the margins many investors are used to. I anticipate that the domain industry will attract more attention from mainstream outlets, thanks to the efforts of bloggers, media publishers, and social media contributors. It wouldn’t surprise me that we see more big spenders enter the market willing to pay higher prices for top-tier names as investments than most domain investors. 

The domain market may also get a boost from any significant rise in cryptocurrency prices, especially if/when Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs get the green light and with the Bitcoin halving coming up in late April. While there is certainly no guarantee of this playing out how many expect it to, holding domains that align well with crypto and blockchain in .com, .io and .xyz is a good way to hedge your bets. The upcoming presidential election and its distractions could pose a challenge especially in Q3 and Q4. Our persistence and enthusiasm as brokers will drive our sales ahead, both in this and any other tough period this year. And companies that maintain a focus on growth, strengthening their brand and digital presence will benefit immensely from acquiring premium domains this year.  

2024 marks my fifth year as a full-time domain broker and I'm constantly amazed by the creativity and forward-thinking of those in our industry. Domain investors have a remarkable knack for spotting new opportunities early on. I'm looking forward to another successful year in domain sales and acquisitions. On behalf of our team at Grit Brokerage, I want to express our gratitude to our clients, colleagues, and industry participants. All of your contributions are crucial in the advancement of the worldwide domain market.

DomainAgents.com has been making waves ever since the company was founded by Ryan's brother, Phil McKegney and Adam Strong in 2012. DomainAgents consistently ranks among the top ten brokerages in the world, based on total sales volume on the Escrow.com platform.

Ryan McKegney

The past year was defined by the surge of interest in Artificial Intelligence. .AI domain names took the domain market by storm after building gradually over the past few years. Interest in the .AI extension will likely peak in 2024 before leveling off as AI becomes a part of everything we use.  AI was also readily adopted by companies in the domain industry for domain spinners, landing pages, and more.

More generally, the domain market was more cautious in 2023 as the impact of higher interest rates, inflation, and less venture capital funding was felt.  We saw slightly fewer sales, but at a higher average price.  There are signs that the worst of it is over, but the post-pandemic economy has proven notoriously difficult to forecast.

The sale of Google’s registrar to Squarespace was the biggest M&A story in the industry in 2023. It was unexpected, but every year there seems to be at least one unexpected merger or acquisition. I don’t know what it will be in 2024, but I would be more surprised if there wasn’t one.

2024 will see major elections around the world.  Spending on the American election will shatter records.  AI will be a major talking point both in how it should be regulated and how campaigns are using it to reach voters.

At DomainAgents, 2023 got stronger as the year progressed. By the last quarter of the year, we saw more and more companies willing to spend significant amounts to get the domains they wanted.  I think that will continue into 2024 and that it will be a strong year for domain sales.  AI will get a lot of the headlines, but one-word .coms are still the most valuable.  We’ll start seeing some of the more successful AI companies upgrading to top tier .coms.

At DomainAgents, 2023 got stronger as the year progressed. By the last quarter of the year, we saw more and more companies willing to spend significant amounts to get the domains they wanted.  I think that will continue into 2024 and that it will be a strong year for domain sales.

Pioneering the concept of boutique domain brokerages, Tessa founded Domain Advisors and Igloo.com,  contributing to over $300 million in domain sales since 2009. She currently works with select clients on sales and acquisitions and provides consulting on branding and domain strategy. Tessa’s service on the ICA board highlights her dedication to the rights and interests of domain name owners and has positioned her as a key player in fostering best practices for domain brokers. 

Tessa Holcomb

2023 was a great year for domain brokerage marked by strong sales across various types of domains with brandables, company / product name dot coms, and category-defining domains accounting for a bulk of the sales. We also saw a particular focus across verticals such as insurance, betting, finance, and health positioning companies to establish a strong online presence within their respective industries.

There was a noticeable increase in demand for geo-targeted domains, and both ccTLDs and gTLDs compared to previous years. The heightened demand for geo-targeted domains demonstrates businesses recognizing the importance of aligning their online presence with specific geographic regions and a growing emphasis on local and regional targeting in online strategies. And while several gTLDs performed well, the explosive growth of Artificial Intelligence in 2023 definitely put .AI at the head of the pack. It was also apparent that the higher pricing expectations set by dot com owners influenced the pricing of alternative domain extensions pushing up prices across the board.

While the desire for established companies to own their company name dot com remained strong, newer businesses were willing to spend more money on brandable domains, dot com or otherwise. This shift can be attributed to a combination of startups prioritizing a distinctive and memorable brand identity to stand out in a competitive market while established companies feel they can rely on their existing brand recognition and marketing efforts, potentially underestimating the impact of owning a specific domain name. Startups also may perceive a brandable domain as having a higher intrinsic value, especially if it aligns well with their target audience, industry, or business concept. It's an interesting reflection of how different companies, based on their stage and objectives, prioritize and allocate resources.

Interestingly, we also saw a shift in the willingness of established companies to sell their high-value and category-defining domains indicating that they may be reevaluating their online business strategies if they no longer saw a specific domain as a crucial asset for their current or future plans. The impact of this shift is multi-faceted. On one hand, it provides opportunities for buyers to acquire premium domains that may have been previously unavailable. On the other hand, it means that businesses are more actively managing their portfolios in an effort to determine the actual value of their individual domain assets.  

Looking ahead to 2024, I believe the trend of acquiring category-defining domains will continue, driven by the increasing competitiveness of lead generation. Further, as prices continue to inflate across gTLDs, dot com domain owners will be more willing to negotiate, leading to an uptick in higher value transactions. However, despite the strength of .AI and other gTLDs, businesses will recognize the enduring value of securing their dot com domain and the demand for dot coms will hold strong, especially as businesses expand and aim to establish a global presence.

The positive momentum from 2023 sets a promising foundation for future opportunities and growth for domain investors and brokers alike. Staying attuned to market demands, emerging industry trends, and the evolving needs of businesses will be crucial for continued success. Opportunities for investors lie in strategically acquiring domains that align with these trends and cater to specific industry verticals. Brokers will see increased demand for their services and seizing opportunities to effectively match buyers with sought-after domains will position them for success.  

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and successful 2024!