So why is ‘Go.LA’ a valuable domain and not only worth the registration fee?
Well to start with it is a short 2 letter domain name in a cctld. This fact alone gives the domain some value in the domain aftermarket. The two letters of the domain form a common and often used word in the English language, ‘go’. This I think puts the domain name in the $x,xxx - $xx,xxx price range.
There is also a UK brand of sports footwear called ‘Gola’ so here the use of the domain name as a cognitive domain representing this brand could enhance the value of the domain. Having researched the company and products previously I think this will secure the price in the low $xx,xxx range.
Now we will start building real value into the domain name, for the above is of nothing when compared to potential use for tourism in either the State of Louisiana or the city and county of Los Angeles in California
‘LA’ can and does stand for both ‘Los Angeles’ and Louisiana in the United States. This has not been lost on businesses with many using the cctld as a suffix for their domain registrations. Indeed in 2013 the registrar GoDaddy did a major marketing campaign in Los Angeles promoting the suffix as a good suffix for people, businesses, and organisations in Los Angeles to use. It has since then been regarded by many as the first ‘city domain extension’.
The State of Louisiana
Population: circa. 4,600,000
The domain ‘Go’ is a good positive domain name for travel and tourism, but it can also be applied as a positive forward moving and winning term such as in ‘Go Team’, in this case ‘Go Louisiana’.
The tourism industry in Louisiana is a major part of the economy. A report by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism – Office of Tourism in 2017, reported among other things the following:
- Louisiana attracted 47.1 million domestic & international visitors to the state in 2017
- Of that, nearly 1 million international visitors were welcomed to the state in 2017
- Louisiana generated $17.5 billion in domestic and international visitor spending in 2017
- Visitors who came to the state spent nearly $371 per person during their trip
- A total of $1.8 billion of state and local sales tax revenues were generated by travel and tourism activities in Louisiana in 2017
- 21.65 million Hotel room nights were sold in Louisiana in 2017
- Louisiana’s hotel occupancy averaged 60.9 percent in 2017
- Over 14.3 million total passengers arrived and departed Louisiana airports in 2017
- LouisianaTravel.com had over 3.5 million website visits in 2017
This represents a huge potential market for the development of ‘Go.LA’ as a tourism site covering the State of Louisiana and the associated revenue streams from advertising and affiliate programs on such a site.
There is also the possibility of producing a secondary site for Louisiana residents, the revenue from such would be sourced from all the local advertising in the areas of real estate, law, employment, and all the other possible local advertising that normally is associated with ‘local websites’.
The City and County of Los Angeles in California
City of Los Angeles population: circa. 4,000,000
County of Los Angeles population: circa. 10,000,000
As stated above with reference to the State of Louisiana the same can be said concerning both the City and the County of Los Angeles. The domain ‘Go’ is a good positive domain name for travel and tourism, but it can also be applied as a positive forward moving and winning term such as in ‘Go Team’, in this case ‘Go Los Angeles’.
The tourism industry is massive in Los Angeles.
- In 2018 nearly 50 million visitors to Los Angeles County
- Of that number 7.5 million were international visitors
- In 2018 tourists spent $36.6 billion
- 30,182,000 hotel room nights were sold in Los Angeles County in 2018
- Los Angeles lodging Occupancy rate was 79.6% in 2018
- 87,534,384 total passengers arrived and departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Again, the potential market for the development of ‘Go.LA’ as a tourism site, this time covering Los Angeles, and the associated revenue streams from advertising and affiliate programs is huge.
Again, there is the possibility of producing a secondary site for Los Angeles residents, the revenue from such would be sourced from all the local advertising in the areas of real estate, law, employment, and all the other possible local advertising that normally is associated with ‘local websites’.
An aside about the future
Between the two geographic localities it would at first appear that the potential for Los Angeles compared to Louisiana is circa. twice the size.
There is though one other factor that has to be considered, and it is not a trivial point, that is that in 2028 Los Angeles is hosting the Olympic Games. This will undoubtedly increase hugely the numbers of visitors, both from within the US and internationally, to Los Angeles.
Also, this event will bring about a spike in advertising revenues for any site with the demand for such space being at an extreme premium. If ‘Go.LA’ also were affiliated with a TV broadcaster so as to show the various Olympic competitions broadcast worldwide then it would be able to obtain world coverage via the internet.
And my new valuation is ..............
The above facts now move the valuation of the domain ‘Go.LA’ substantially in a northward’s direction. Given the above facts I have had to revise my initial valuation of the domain name ‘Go.LA’ away from being a $xxx,xxx domain. The new valuation that I envisage it at is in the region of $x,xxx,xxx. I presently have the domain listed on Epik.com at $4,000,000, though that figure could well change in the near future. (I have got much more research to do yet, but if the figure is going to change then it will only be in an upwards direction.)
I am though also open to leasing of the domain with a very reputable company or indeed a development partnership with a company with a proven track record which would take on the development and running of ‘Go.LA’ on a continuous basis.
For both Louisiana and Los Angeles this is a one-off domain name of a lifetime.
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(I undoubtedly will now be told how ridiculous my valuation is, insults will likely be made (and ignored), but the facts speak for themselves. You never know, should 'Go.LA' be developed then they might get a well known actor or music star to advertise it on TV. After all Arnold Schwarzenegger effectively advertised California worldwide.
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