discuss Are domain names becoming less valuable in the near future?

[Fayaz Ahmed]

Just thinking out loud:

Interests in Social Media and advancements in Search Engine algorithms caused the decline in low & no content website traffic severely.

gTLDs and possibility of an alternate decentralized domain naming system such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar) diluted the domain name industry even further.

Popularity of smart phones and phone apps made many services available to mass people that were previously mainly served by websites. So the app market, on one hand facilitated the creation of new brands (hence more brandable tech domain names), but on the other hand, it contributed to the decline in web traffic. Besides, as we are reaching to an equilibrium point to the number of these new brands, eventually the smart phone app market are more likely to contribute to the further decline of interest in websites and hence domain names.

And last but not the least, the recent advancements in Ai implementations like ChatGPT is threatning website traffic even with content.

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

Surely ultra valuable domain names will most likely still remain valuable in the foreseable future. But what about the others?

To summarise, in the near future (say 5-10 years):

• What sort of names will prevail?
• What sort of names are most likely to fade away?
• What's your thought on this overall concern?

Please also provide your reasoning behind those thoughts.

Note: I'm not asking this to spread negativity. Instead, please look at it as a discussion to better prepare for a probable foreseeable future.

 

[bmugford]

Just thinking out loud:

Interests in Social Media and advancements in Search Engine algorithms caused the decline in low & no content website traffic severely.

gTLDs and possibility of an alternate decentralized domain naming system such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar) diluted the domain name industry even further.

Popularity of smart phones and phone apps made many services available to mass people that were previously mainly served by websites. So the app market, on one hand facilitated the creation of new brands (hence more brandable tech domain names), but on the other hand, it contributed to the decline in web traffic. Besides, as we are reaching to an equilibrium point to the number of these new brands, eventually the smart phone app market are more likely to contribute to the further decline of interest in websites and hence domain names.

And last but not the least, the recent advancements in Ai implementations like ChatGPT is threatning website traffic even with content.

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

Surely ultra valuable domain names will most likely still remain valuable in the foreseable future. But what about the others?

To summarise, in the near future (say 5-10 years):

• What sort of names will prevail?
• What sort of names are most likely to fade away?
• What's your thought on this overall concern?

Please also provide your reasoning behind those thoughts.

Note: I'm not asking this to spread negativity. Instead, please look at it as a discussion to better prepare for a probable foreseeable future.

A lot of these points have been debated for years. Domains are still around.
They were not replaced by social media, apps, etc.

The one legitimate threat would be AI, but that is a threat to society in general. Domains would be way down the totem pole.

AI could replace jobs, in fact entire fields and professions. If not reigned in, it should possibly reshape society in a very negative way.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Hmmm I do not read or visit websites.
What about you ?

You are on a website right now.

Brad

 

[Recons.Com]

Domains are doomed.

Now please stop bidding up names at auctions. Please?

 

[NameBuyer.com]

Just thinking out loud:

Interests in Social Media and advancements in Search Engine algorithms caused the decline in low & no content website traffic severely.

gTLDs and possibility of an alternate decentralized domain naming system such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar) diluted the domain name industry even further.

Popularity of smart phones and phone apps made many services available to mass people that were previously mainly served by websites. So the app market, on one hand facilitated the creation of new brands (hence more brandable tech domain names), but on the other hand, it contributed to the decline in web traffic. Besides, as we are reaching to an equilibrium point to the number of these new brands, eventually the smart phone app market are more likely to contribute to the further decline of interest in websites and hence domain names.

And last but not the least, the recent advancements in Ai implementations like ChatGPT is threatning website traffic even with content.

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

Surely ultra valuable domain names will most likely still remain valuable in the foreseable future. But what about the others?

To summarise, in the near future (say 5-10 years):

• What sort of names will prevail?
• What sort of names are most likely to fade away?
• What's your thought on this overall concern?

Please also provide your reasoning behind those thoughts.

Note: I'm not asking this to spread negativity. Instead, please look at it as a discussion to better prepare for a probable foreseeable future.

No, none of these matter. A company that has a product or service still needs to be branded and found by customers. Even if you use an app for some services, most of them have a main page to solidify their brand and give additional info that is universal across all devices.

Some may use decentralized domains, but as of now it's not viable for commercial use.

There's a market for gTLDs, in my opinion, this is the same as other domains. Just invest in what you think will be in demand.


The recession is the main issue and it's becoming more brutal.

I sold indicor(dot)com for $29,500 in October and WorkLeap(dot)com for $14,500 in November (sold too cheap ).

I’ve had zero in real sales since then from Dec-Feb. First time in 10 years and I have close to 7,000 domains.

I’m dropping the lower 20-30% of domains and upping prices on the better ones.

 

[Recons.Com]

Now, on the subject:

Domains are absolutely necessary and cannot be replaced by something else. Of course, the world would do just fine with .com .org and cctlds. The rest are redundant, basically.

Domains are human-friendly version of true internet addresses: IPs. They point to the location of the info and allow seamlessly changing that location without client even noticing it.

They also are the foundation of the email system. And emails are like virtual passports for people. How do you get around that?

 

[Recons.Com]

Honestly, domains likely won’t decrease in value. However, the manner in which their value is assessed will require a revamped technique and more progressive outlook.

Every point mentioned into your post constitutes “a variable to be factored”. Not so much a defining element of what’ll shape centralized domain values in the near future.

The emergence of new technological and digital identity mediums simply means the centralized domain industry will be forced to evolve quickly due to how fast technology tends to evolve.

From our view, the primary issue that’ll hurt centralized domain values will be the investor culture that tends to favor .com, short and aged. As we know, all else tends to be viewed as “inferior”.

In many respects, the centralized domain system is a reflection of a specific technological era. (Primarily the 1980s.) This was a time where the .com bubble laid the foundation for a pursuit.

Many veteran domain players have amassed decent fortunes leveraging the metrics, ppc and landers. The time has come where that particular approach has run its course.

All in all, domains act as street signs for the web and/or any other digital destination. This includes for apps and everything else. However, their utility will ultimately determine their value.

As of now, centralized domains are placeholders and not much else. Big centralized players realize this; and some have finally began to make calculated attempts to enhance value.

With everything stated, the TLDs, SLDs and 3LDs that’ll thrive will be those backed by utility; and those backed by money will survive until it’s not feasible to maintain their “illusion of worth”.

In no way should your post be viewed as negative. It’s quite valid to say the least. It shows that you’re open-minded; and realize that all things are subject to evolve at one point or another.

Rest assured, your post reflects that you’re on track to recognizing the bigger picture for how domain investing will work in the next chapter of internet and technological advancements.

Kudos!

How did you manage to split the whole test into equal text bites of a line and a half? ?

OpenAI, is that you?

 

[Ostrados]

Domains are just friendly translations to IP addresses that humans can easily remember and memorize.

The only situation where domains will no longer be used is when IP address is no longer in use. Which will not happen as long as there is internet.

The emergence of AI may reduce the demand on domains in some areas, particularly for content websites and blogs that relies on search engines, but strong domains will continue to be a necessity for brands and businesses to establish and maintain their online presence.

 

[branding]

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

No. The opposite. They will go up in the next decade.

What sort of names will prevail?

Generics and brandables + Cctlds.

What sort of names are most likely to fade away?

Web3. Web 3 is a great concept but has been around for ages, never matured but has been marketed in the right way and right time. Under the hood, hardly any change.

What's your thought on this overall concern?

I have little concerns. For businesses it's all about conversion. Apps, social media and what not, are just a means to an end to get people to their domain/website (read checkout).

Voice kinda sucks from an UX pov, AI could be a thread though... Not saying I'm even remotely impressed by the likes of Open Ai. Kinda bland but it'll evolve. Will be interesting to see whether we will allow it to become illogical, not political correct, indecent and basically as creative as our own human minds.

Summarizing, good quality generic and brandable domains will prevail.

 

[trelgor]

Some futuristic musings.

There is convergence of potentially very disruptive technologies going on. There are also things that will not easily reform.

One of those things, beside the infrastructure of the internet, is the existence of TM law. Brands will just never allow "outsider" content creation or compilation of TM protected products and services in a commercial context benefitting someone else. That is, posing as the target of the actual search result, and not only serving the search function.

I'm saying this because it could be the case that AI sooner rather than later, will be able to design and serve a viable website from scratch in an instant, based on a relevant and actionable query.

The only place where this "instant website" technology could happen is the world of search, dominated by a rent-seeking monopoly and a few huge, but comparably small competitors.

Even though brands will likely never be let in on the "first contact" without these gate-keepers taking a cut, they will also never allow a similar kind of hi-jacking of the explicit contents of the actual brand offer as well.

This means that brand identities will continue to exist on the internet, and elsewhere, and that brand-matching domains are going to stay a natural part of the ever more necessary process of differentiation in business identity.

Without the brand name domain as the guarantor of source authenticity, age-old systems may crumble, at the expense of business at large. If that happens, it could spell the downfall of the search empire, and I don't think that is what it strives for. Business and people would not put up with that kind of concentration of power. The bar is high, but not that high.

In the wake of the possibility to go directly from search to a viable website, the value of branding and TM IP will take a quantum leap.

Atleast in one alternative universe.

 

[DomainNature]

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

The harsh answer is = YES
Until we do something today to destroy the 666 AI beast.
I m going to make my websites only for members access and block any bots that crawl for data, I will even block Google and Bing, because they will feed it to AI 666 beast!

 

[Recons.Com]

No, we get it. We surely appreciate the acknowledgment. You’re awesome! With an attitude and sense of humor like yours, prosperity is in the cards.

Kudos for engaging and breaking away from the conventional dialogue that tends to hinder the human ability to connect. Forums can be tough places.

Mel (QUAD DOMAINS)

You've got style, I'll give you that )) Just wondering why do you use "we"? ) Do you, guys, collaborate on each post or it is some royal thing? ))

 

[WillW]

I don't think domains are going anywhere anytime soon. If anything they'll be in more demand now that companies are recognizing that their online image and likeness is basically vital to being successful in this generation.

If you look at commercials on TV or logo's on the sides of work trucks, almost every company has their website and domain posted for consumers to see. The company that I work for, which is a small local company in my area, realized a few years ago that they needed to get with the times and build their online image and brand. They hired a company to redo their website, paid for advertising and marketing, and they changed all the logos. Now their website is legit, modern, and their domain name is part of the logo and on all the company vehicles. My boss is the literally the farthest thing from tech-savvy but even he knew that a strong web presence is important. And a domain name is the first step to achieving that so yeah I think domains will be in demand for a while.

 

[Recons.Com]

Thanks, but that was not the question

The question was:


Becoming less valuable is not the same as becoming extinct.

For example, there are many apps that reduced the number of emails we previously used to send to interact with people. Many personal websites are replaced by social media profiles.

Evolution is unavoidable. So internet will evolve too. And if we can predict the path of that evolution, even to some extent, then that will be extremely valuable in the coming days for us domainers.

Thanks for the clarification

No, domains won't become less important because their basic function of a) pointing to companies/person's own content; b) working as web mail address and virtual passport, cannot be ADEQUATELY replaced.

Sure part of function of content pointer can be taken on by apps (they have been around for a lot of time now, yet, there are way less apps than sites/domains for many reasons, including way higher dependence on third parties) and mobile phones (just the id portion and short messaging/chatting), but nothing gives the same experience, reliability, independence, robustness, all-aroundness etc. Apps and mobile phone numbers complement domains/emails, don't compete with them.

Given the above, the domains will become MORE valuable as technology adoption increases and population grows until reaching a plateau. Of course, the better extensions and names will get the most of this value, while the rest will be just temporary placeholders screaming "hey, I couldn't get my dream domain, so I settled".

 

[branding]

I'd say it's highly decentralized nowadays. There is 1 DNS root zone, it's managed by PTI under contract. There are 12 organizations hosting the DNS root zone, 13 root hostnames, and already over a 1,000 instances around the world which have a copy of the root zone and serve it through IP anycast.

Go enlighten the fake TLD supporters you're right though.

ALTs have been tried before. Failed miserably. They failed yet again and will continue to do so.

No governance = no trust = no traction = no adaptation.

All hype, little substance.

 

[Fayaz Ahmed]

Looks like people took it negatively after all, LOL.

Cheers people, take the discussion lightly.
Anyways, I'm thankful for all the comments and the votes (even downvotes).

All engagements are valuable engagements.
Happy domaining everyone

 

[WillW]

Thanks! I agree with most of it.

However, if you read my original post, you'll notice that I didn't assume/ask that domains are going away.

Instead, my question was, will they eventually become less valuable?

I know...I was just responding to the OP - "Are domains becoming less valuable in the near future"
With everything I said, because companies are investing more in their online image, in turn I don't believe the value of domains will diminish. They should continue to grow and expand.

As far as your other questions:

What names will prevail:
The same as it's always been - 1 & 2 word category killers, brandables and short non-niche specific brandables. Basically any decent and up domains using .com or .org.
There will be niches here and there but overall, I like to place most of my bets on the above.

What names will fade away:
The same as it's always been - certain niches. Some will stick around, some will pop up out of nowhere, and some will fall. If anything it will be certain extensions that will continue to fade away.

 

[TribeMagnet]

I've been thinking a lot about what will shift as AI rolls out. In the next few years, a lot will change. When (not if) AI is smarter than people, some say by 2040, what role will websites play at all? It could be a no-click environment for information.

 

[1Darko]

As long as the internet will exist there will be demand for domains. A change to another system would be very difficult, because corporations all over the globe invested heavily into the internet technology.

Interestingly I asked CHatGPT a few weeks ago how this will switch and I got the answer that we could in the future expect a development searching for information by voice command.

The existing system should be save for some decades. That means domain value will go only up.
The sky is the limit .

 

[Fayaz Ahmed]

OpenAI-ChatGPT replied : it's important to note that domain names have been a critical part of the internet infrastructure for several decades, and they continue to be a valuable asset for businesses and individuals looking to establish an online presence. Domain names are still widely recognized and trusted by users, and they provide a unique and identifiable address for businesses and individuals to build their brand and promote their products or services.

Overall, while there may be some trends and factors that could impact the value of domain names in the near future, it is difficult to predict with certainty what the future holds. However, given the continued importance of the internet and online presence for businesses and individuals, it is likely that domain names will continue to be a valuable asset for the foreseeable future.

LOL, if I wanted input from ChatGPT, I would've asked ChatGPT.

Ai is advanced enough to replace many (not all) content writers, but it's not yet advanced enough to replace the valuable opinions of domainers who are doing it for ages.

What's your own personal opinion? I'm more interested to hear that

 

[Bohdan]

Gated content is the future. And for that, you need a domain

 

[Charybdis]

Interests in Social Media and advancements in Search Engine algorithms caused the decline in low & no content website traffic severely.

Are you suggesting that a serious business should base their presence on the internet on a social media profile? So let's say your "website" is a Twitter handle. You print it on business cards. Your customers bookmark it. You mention it in ads etc. Then all of a sudden Twitter deletes your profile. What now? It's unrealistic that any serious business would depend on a social media profile as their "website".

gTLDs and possibility of an alternate decentralized domain naming system such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar) diluted the domain name industry even further.

Your customers have never heard of "unstoppable domains", they don't know how to use it or what it is.

Popularity of smart phones and phone apps made many services available to mass people that were previously mainly served by websites. So the app market, on one hand facilitated the creation of new brands (hence more brandable tech domain names), but on the other hand, it contributed to the decline in web traffic. Besides, as we are reaching to an equilibrium point to the number of these new brands, eventually the smart phone app market are more likely to contribute to the further decline of interest in websites and hence domain names.

Same problem like with the social media profiles: you build your business on sand. The platform can delete your clever mobile app anytime, you have no control over it. You have no control.

And last but not the least, the recent advancements in Ai implementations like ChatGPT is threatning website traffic even with content.

So how can I book a hotel with ChatGPT? I need to find out the website of that hotel and book a room there. How can I buy a new pair of shoes with GhatGPT? I need to find an e-commerce store (= a website!) and place an order there. Why would ChatGPT replace domains? I don't understand.

Of course every business needs a domain name, or else you have zero control over your internet presence. Only a domain name can give you full control.

 

[777domains]

As the internet becomes more mature, domain names are becoming more valuable in terms of their brandability and SEO value. This is because businesses have started to realize the importance of having a good domain name to stand out from the competition. So, although the domain name industry is witnessing a decline in web traffic due to the factors mentioned above, it is still a very important part of the online landscape and businesses are still very much interested in investing in well-branded domain names.

 

[Fayaz Ahmed]

Domains are doomed.

Now please stop bidding up names at auctions. Please?

OK, done!

 

[Ostrados]

Regarding AI disruption, some people may not realize that websites are the fuel for AI content. GPT-3 was fed on websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit to reach its current level.

Now, if AI leads to the downfall of websites, then AI will also go down. Both must coexist for AI to thrive.