Part 14 - The Journey to Mega-Park
This article continues directly on from Part 12 and Part 13 in the series on the domain industry.
This brings up the most important point that we need to never forget, traffic really is king. It's the one unique resource that everyone needs and they're prepared to pay for it. This is why I think that while domains keep on generating traffic then we'll all still be in the game. Someone, somewhere will want to pay for it no matter what Google and Yahoo actually decide in their corporate ivory towers or if parking company mergers happen.
I'm sure that the last few articles have raised a few eyebrows and created a few smirks on the faces of others but the fact remains the industry will not remain stagnant in the midst of a hurricane of change.
For example, I've now heard it from domainer after domainer that their revenue is down considerably and that this has been caused by a fall in EPC and traffic. What's strange about this tornado of change is that the fall in traffic was for portfolios that have been consistent for years and you could almost draw a straight line since the beginning of this year for the decline.
These storms to the industry at the domainer level must be creating massive cyclones at the parking company level. The hardest being hit would have to be those companies that are not able to cross-subsidize declining revenues from their own domain portfolios or other revenue streams. Some of the companies that raised huge sums of debt at the end of last year must be feeling the pinch at this time.
When I see these sort of changes my "gut" tells me that "times will be changing" and so I'd recommend a close examination of your own risk profile. Once you've managed your own risk you'll be able to enjoy the rocky road forward and even pick up a few bargains on the way!
Source: Posted on WhizzBangsBlog by Michael Gilmour -- Reprinted with permission -- July 21, 2008
This brings up the most important point that we need to never forget, traffic really is king. It's the one unique resource that everyone needs and they're prepared to pay for it. This is why I think that while domains keep on generating traffic then we'll all still be in the game. Someone, somewhere will want to pay for it no matter what Google and Yahoo actually decide in their corporate ivory towers or if parking company mergers happen.
I'm sure that the last few articles have raised a few eyebrows and created a few smirks on the faces of others but the fact remains the industry will not remain stagnant in the midst of a hurricane of change.For example, I've now heard it from domainer after domainer that their revenue is down considerably and that this has been caused by a fall in EPC and traffic. What's strange about this tornado of change is that the fall in traffic was for portfolios that have been consistent for years and you could almost draw a straight line since the beginning of this year for the decline.
These storms to the industry at the domainer level must be creating massive cyclones at the parking company level. The hardest being hit would have to be those companies that are not able to cross-subsidize declining revenues from their own domain portfolios or other revenue streams. Some of the companies that raised huge sums of debt at the end of last year must be feeling the pinch at this time.
When I see these sort of changes my "gut" tells me that "times will be changing" and so I'd recommend a close examination of your own risk profile. Once you've managed your own risk you'll be able to enjoy the rocky road forward and even pick up a few bargains on the way!
Source: Posted on WhizzBangsBlog by Michael Gilmour -- Reprinted with permission -- July 21, 2008