The Freename Forum

Domain trading is always buoyant because companies are late to the Internet and have to register a makeshift domain before they have enough money for the right domain or at least a better one. This is known as an upgrade. The domain trading platform dn.com recently named some recent upgrades.

The domain trading platform for buying and selling domains dn.com calls attention to current developments in domain trading in a tweet from the beginning of July 2024. In the first half of 2024, many companies have improved their domain names by choosing shorter and more memorable domains. dn.com lists the following developments, unfortunately without prices:

i-newswire.com - newswire.com
supportshepherd.com - somewhere.com
hop.in - hopin.com
mytilineos.com - metlengroup.com
convertkit.com - kit.com
sigi-global.com - sigi.com

From our point of view, it is not possible to speak of an upgrade in every case; in some cases the term change of name is better. This may apply, for example, to the headhunting company "Somewhere", which was still called "Shepherd" under the domain supportshepherd.com. Mytilineos S.A. has also changed its name to Metlen. Whether the new domain metlengroup.com really works better than mytilineos.com is also a question. Real domain upgrades can actually be found at Southworth International Group Inc., which changed from sigi-global.com to sigi.com, and others.

A clearer distinction between domain upgrade (shorter domain based on the previous name and reflecting the company name) and name change (the company gets a completely different - short and memorable - domain and renames itself) seems to make sense. There are numerous examples of the former option from the recent past, which also come with a price tag. For example, one of the most expensive known domains of the year is due to just such an upgrade: In February 2024, the domain tp.com fetched US$ 1,200,000 (approx. EUR 1,127,735) and moved to the company Teleperformance, with tp.com merely redirecting to teleperformance.com. The domain voice.art mentioned just last week went to the designer collaboration Voiceart, which previously relied on voiceart.ink, for the top price of US$ 40,000 (approx. EUR 37,383). The domain archies.com, which was purchased by the British fast food chain Archies for GBP 80,000 (approx. EUR 90,961) in March 2023, replaces the former domain lovearchies.com. This also works on a small scale: in April 2024, the US company Cresswell Richardson from Tennessee bought the domain creswell.com for US$ 2,200 (approx. EUR 2,020), improving on mycresswell.com.

This is just a small sample of recent and more recent upgrades. It makes sense for companies to keep their eyes open for upgrade domains, which, as cresswell.com shows, do not necessarily have to be expensive. A domain upgrade usually means better visibility because a shorter domain, possibly under .com or a country or city extension, depending on requirements, is more memorable and easier to remember. If it is also not too complicated and therefore perhaps prone to typos, customers and potential customers will find you better.

The tweet from dn.com can be found on X under:
https://x.com/DNdomainname/status/1807664156721766608