Cameron Olthuis

Not five minutes after I post about picking a brand over keyword domains comes news that Business.com is on the block for 400-500 million. Business.com was bought back in ‘99 for what then was the largest domain purchase ever at 7.5 million. Turns out that it was a huge win for them.

My question is — how much did the domain factor in toward their success? They don’t even rank number one for business. It obviously had something to do with it though as that’s a domain that would get a lot of type in traffic.

It’s pretty interesting to watch what’s been happening with domains lately. Seniors.com just sold for 1.8 million tonight. While there are a lot of smart plays you could arguably make with it, I tend to think 1.8 mil is overboard for that specific domain. Not to mention SEO.com selling for 5mil earlier in the week.

Now, I don’t claim to be a domain expert but I really can’t see that much value in a domain that, in my opinion, wouldn’t get THAT much type in traffic. And while many think this could be a good real estate investment, I disagree. I do agree though; that there are a lot of domains that are hot buys right now, even at the astronomical prices. This just isn’t one of them. But again, I’m not a domain expert so I could be off.

I’d rather buy something brandable and use the 1.8mil to start building toward a billion dollar audience. Afterall, the biggest and most valuable properties on the web aren’t Search.com, Portal.com, Encyclopedia.com and Social.com.

In most verticals I would choose brand over keyword specific domain any day. I understand most of these purchases probably aren’t for the sake of developing an iconic brand, rather having real estate that hopefully continues to increase in value. I wonder who typically makes more — a real estate developer or someone that buys and holds?

I guess my whole point is that some of these domain purchases seem like they are out of control.

Design custom MySpace background images based on your brand. Then release them to all your brand’s friends on MySpace.

Why is it that so many companies wait until the bad results already show up in Google before they start managing their reputation? They should be hitting this stuff the minute it’s published. It’s much easier to manage “Your Google Top Ten” if you do. Although it’s just as important to respond immediately, regardless of Google.

• Om Malik says that Live is a better brand than MSN. I agree with him. Live is going to be powerful and gooble up the mainstream audience like you wouldn’t believe.

• Logic+Emotion asks if the Agency video was for Agency.com or Subway. It was obviously for Agency.com but that isn’t a bad thing. While the video is cheesy people are still talking and thinking about them.

• Fred Wilson’s VC cliche of the week is don’t count your chickens before they hatch. One of the first leasons I learned in life but man it’s a hard one to follow sometimes.

• USAToday has a feature on Danny Sullivan, the unofficial ambassador of search marketing. Congrats to Danny and all his success.

• Bottlz 2.0. See what happens when a drink company hires a web designer.

• Adrants points us to SuperPitch, a game where you become an ad agency trying to win new business.

Update: Coudal Partners launches their response to the Agency.com video.