The term geodomain refers to domain names that are exact matchesFrom Brandable to Exact-Match Geo Domain Making $1.5M Per Year – With John Colascione in spelling to geographic locations, such as cities and countries. They are unrelated to the ccTLDs such as the .us country code domain. Examples of geodomains are Atlanta.com, LosAngeles.com, Texas.com and LongIsland.com. Since geographical names are limited in number, and have good name recognition, geodomains are valuable, with the .com extension valued the most. Geodomains tend to provide a virtual representation of the locations they serve—for example, Hawaii.com is heavily tourism focused, while Syracuse.com and Madison.com have more local content. Collectively, geographic domain names are estimated to represent approximately over 500 million dollars a year in gross hotel bookings alone.
Seizure of France.com
Unlike United States law, GEO domains and trademark rights may be treated differently around the world as in 2018 the European Country of France successfully seized France.com from its owner, a Miami, Florida resident,France Seized France.com. This Miami Man Is Suing To Get It Back who according to a lawsuit filed in CaliforniaThis Man Is Taking France to Court to Win Back France.com had lawfully owned and used the domain name in commerce since 1994. This was an unprecedented occurrence where the registrar, Network Solutions (Web.com), was intimidated by a French Court Order, despite the lack of jurisdiction, and transferred the domain name to the complainant without notifying the owner of France.com, Jean-Noel Frydman, who is suing and will likely take years to sort out.Insane: France Seizes Geographic Domain Name France.com with Help from Web.com
Industry conferences In 2008 the GeoDomain Expo was held in Chicago from July 10–12.2008 GeoDomain expo coverage story In 2010 the GeoDomain Expo was held in New Orleans from April 28-302010 GeoDomain expo coverage story
Highest reported sales Many geodomains were reported to be sold for high amounts. Among them:
Domain Sale price Sale date Source China.com $11,700,000 2013 China.com sold for $11.7 million – HongKong.com also sold Korea.com $5,000,000 2000 BusinessInsider.com.au California.com $3,000,000 2019 Mark Thomas Closes Biggest GeoDomain Sale We've Ever Reported - California.com Goes for Millions England.com $2,000,000 1999 BusinessInsider.com.au Russia.com $1,500,000 2009 Sedo Brokers Industry's Second Largest Geo Domain Sale Russia.com Sold for $1.5 Million by Leading Geo Domain Developer Paley Media Melbourne.com $700,000 2007 High-profile Australian web domains up for sale Macau.com $550,000 2006 Macau.com sells for $550,000 NewZealand.com $500,000 2003 New Zealand Government Pays $500,000 for newzealand.com Longisland.com $370,000 2010 Commack company owns longisland.com domain name Pensacola.com $150,000 2018 Herrholz owned Pensacola.com domain name
See also GeoTLD
References
External links The Future Of Geo Domains: Chicago.com Makes $125K In 1st Year Of Selling SubDomains & Email Addresses City dot-coms still waiting to strike it rich article