Julianna
The Internet is a buzz with talk of last week’s T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference and the potential value of the domain business.com.
According to the Wall Street Journal (subscribers only), business.com is now up for sale – for $400 million dollars! If this sale goes through for even considerably less than its asking price it will become the most expensive domain ever sold, by a large margin. The current record breaker is sex.com, which sold for $12-$14 million in 2005.
The domain owned by Business.com Inc. is currently a search engine for businesses, making $15,000,000 a year EBITDA. While there is much speculation from people in (and outside) the industry as to whether this domain could sell for close to the asking price, the purchaser is getting more than just this one domain, they are also buying the company built up around business.com.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the traffic at Business.com has risen 50% in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the first quarter of 2006. Much of the talk points to using this traffic to appeal to businesses willing to pay for search traffic and authority links. Whether or not the value (or future value) of this site is proven, the real question is, will someone pay this incredibly high price for a domain?
For more information and comment on the potential sale check out:
Wired blog – Domain Madness
Search Engine Journal – Business.com for sale
Domain Tools Blog