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NL.com and Amsterdam.com to be auctioned off at Targeted T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs in Amsterdam June 1st through the 4th

May 12th, 2009 by Rick Latona

Not all of the names at the auction will be ccTLDs although the mass-majority of them will.

If a name is relevant to Europe and is a premium .com it can get exposure. NL.com and Amsterdam.com both fitting that bill for obvious reasons.

The value of these two names can be tremendous.

.nl has always been one of the top registered extensions out there. It consistently competes with the big boys like .de and .cn for the top number of registrations. Someone could clearly sell names.nl.com as sub-domains to name just one possible use for it.

Amsterdam, of course, is Amsterdam. The geo guys will be drooling over this name. It’s an incredible tourist destination and spending time in the city signing on advertisers isn’t the worst way to pass the days.

We are looking for other monster, relevent names like these. Please only submit super-premium names in the .com extension.

Of course, first and foremost, the show remains commited to ccTLDs so don’t hold back on those. Of particular note, we are a little light on premium .us and .de names so send those in if you have them.

*incidentally, the reserves on these two names will be published soon enough along with the rest of the list.

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12 Responses to “NL.com and Amsterdam.com to be auctioned off at Targeted T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs in Amsterdam June 1st through the 4th”

  1. Elliot says:

    Wow.

  2. Guy says:

    you’ve surpasssed yourself again

    what a pair of names, and what a place to sell them!
    this is sure to get press attention, partic. the amsterdam one

    awesome

  3. Rick Silver says:

    Amsterdam.com – More than a great domain. Although it needs overhauling, the site does rank on PAGE ONE for “Amsterdam” and has 10 year of history.

    Gold mine.

  4. Paul Smith says:

    2nd wow.

    NL.com, not only for the obvious .nl reference does NL.com have meaning but cities also. New London is a city in Connecticut. The possible NL acronym’s are immense.

    Awesome additions Rick!

  5. Phil says:

    wow, what on earth is the reserve on A’dam? I will watch this one with great interest.

  6. Great… .com names :) Hope to see some premium ccTLDs as well :)

  7. Steve Root says:

    Wow is right. These are golden! What do you suppose the ID name city.com might go for? SR

  8. Andrew Hazen says:

    Brilliant marketing….auction a premium domain in its own backyard….
    Type in traffic for Amsterdam.com must be very nice…what price range will this be in – $250k – $500k?

  9. Hold the Hype!

    There are several essential points not to be missed:

    1. iamsterdam.com vs amsterdam.com
    The problem with amsterdam.com is that the city’s official marketing partnership has had an extensive campaign over the past years as iamsterdam.com This has been one of the most successful city marketing campaigns since I Love New York.
    You cannot go to amsterdam without also becoming aware of this brand. So there could be a legal case against the new owners based on a very well established brand, iamsterdam.com and amsterdam.com.

    2.commercially, there is a major challenge in improving on the work done y iamsterdam.com. The website itself is a really well developed geodomain, setting the standard for many others out there. Also, Iamsterdam.com has been working the market for years, and local businesses have been dealing with iamsterdam and will need to be convinced that they should also spend on amsterdam.com.

    3. Furhermore, amsterdam.com has great appeal for (mostly) US travellers to Amsterdam, but only limited appeal to people who live there, as they will identify themselves more closely with amsterdam.nl (which is operated by the city of amsterdam). So the “local media” aspect of this domain is somewhat limited, perhaps only yo the expact community who are already well served with iamsterdam.com

    4. And for people travelling there, most people from other countries like the UK or France, are more likely to book with amsterdam.co.uk or amsterdam.fr. Travellers to Amsterdam come mostly from neighboring or nearby countries like Germany, France, UK, Spain. Amsterdam.com is ideally suited for the US travel market to Amsterdam, but that’s a pretty narrow focus, and any premium you pay will still not let you go beyond that

    5. check amsterdam.info, they’ve been around forever and dominate Google for any relevant amsterdam searches, and might be available for less .

    Of course, some of the above is also true for other non US geodomains, but it’s interesting to see that amsterdam.com has been one of the last European .com capitals not to have been developed. Why?

  10. Dave Bhatia says:

    I wish to submit few domains for ccTLDs TRAFFIC Amsterdam . Few examples :–

    Advertisment.in
    Belly.in
    Biochemistry.co.in
    Biochemistry.in
    Biomedical.in
    Ejaculate.in
    Hang.in
    Rake.in
    Refrigerator.in
    Stomach.in
    TechnologyNews.in
    Tummy.in
    Waist.in

    Where do I submit these ? Please provide me link.

    Thanks,
    Dave

  11. Rick Silver says:

    Eddie,

    Your points are valid for one considering spending 7 figures but…

    1. iAmsterdam is more of an informational type site not one I might visit everyday to find a restaurant, hotel or event listing. I picture more Toronto.com, and I don’t believe for a second that iAmsterdam would have any legal case against Amsterdam.com.

    2. My experience in dealing with local businesses is that they will pay to be on more than a couple of websites as they shift their marketing dollars online. Build a good site, get it ranked, build community and have a local sales strategy.

    3. I often visit Toronto.com, a site that gives me restaurant reviews, movies, shopping guides and event info and does a good job at balancing tourist vs local content. I rarely go to the city run Toronto.ca site. For local/social one must consider language and google.nl rankings.

    4. As a tourist I will look at several sites when planning my trip provided they are informative and useful. I typically wouldn’t look at Amsterdam.ca, and amsterdam.co.uk or amsterdam.fr don’t exist.

    5. Amsterdam.info does rank well and has been around for quite a while. But it looks dated and very basic in content and features. The basic site at Amsterdam.com already ranks on page one for “Amsterdam” and City.com generally gets a Google advantage if built right as does city.com/category. Again need to consider Google.nl. There are many local search players to consider.

    I think this domain will sell for less than 1 times annual revenue of
    a well run city site. And that’s a steal.

  12. Rik says:

    I bid 5 euro :)

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