⚡A Look Into the $1,025 Bn Domain Industry and Its New Disruptor!
The domain industry is one that is usually not in the spotlight. But this could change thanks to a major merger that will unlock value for both the merging companies and shareholders.
Date: 29 September, 2015.
Place: Google headquarters.
A usual, boring work-day until something not-so-usual happened.
Google lost control of its website! Yes, someone saw its domain google.com on sale (due to an error), and bought it. For a mere $12!
At Google, panic took over. After all, they could lose their entire empire!
They ended up paying $12,000 to get the domain back.
Well, the domain could be held hostage for millions or even billions, but the guy who bought the domain had good intent (he donated the money to charity).
This episode brought to light the importance of a domain. And we did what we do best: dive deeper.
So, sit back and ReadOn!
👀 What's in A Name?
Domain names are the web addresses that people use to find you and your business (pretty much like your physical address).
For instance, 'www.facebook.com' will take you to the Facebook page.
Now, to get this web address, Facebook has to pay an annual subscription fee to a domain registrar like GoDaddy, BigRock, NameCheap, Hostgator, OwnRegistrar, etc.
These are some of India's biggest domain registrars. And these companies are ruling a global market that is set to hit $1,025 billion by 2027.
Yes, the simple job of providing your brand a home on the internet is a massive business.
Now, while we were digging deep into this space, we stumbled upon an interesting company, PayNX Technologies.
🦈 A New Shark Entering the Domain Space?
PayNX Technologies owns OwnRegistrar (a US-based company), a domain registrar, ConnectReseller, a B2B wholesale domain reselling platform and QualiSpace, which is both a domain registrar and a hosting platform (it helps your website run smoothly).
What's more, PayNX also has several other entities under it that handle advertising tech.
These arms provide advertising solutions to companies, connect them with different publishers and help them manage their ad selling and buying processes.
So, PayNX's customers just have to deal with one company for all their domain and hosting needs.
Plus, PayNX's ConnectReseller gives it an edge over other domain registrars. How?
ConnectReseller is a wholesale B2B domain reselling platform.
This means that businesses that build websites can sell domains to other businesses on ConnectReseller.
Since it enables businesses to sell websites in bulk, the domain prices become more affordable, bringing more clients.
Plus, it offers more transparent pricing plans than other domain registrars, building trust and brand loyalty.
And because it caters to the reseller market, it has seen immense growth in emerging markets like Asian and African countries. In countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, CR is a market leader.
Now, you must be wondering how this company, that operates mainly in other markets, impacts India?
Well, one of India's leading publicly listed adTech companies Vertoz Advertising Ltd. is merging with PayNX Technologies.
PayNX's domain & hosting services will combine really well with Vertoz's advertising solutions, creating a one-stop shop for companies starting out digitally.
Plus, with Google now set to remove third-party cookies (which gave advertisers access to user data) in 2024, the existing databases of these two companies will help them create better ads, driving business for both.
This will also bring a lot of international clients and dollar revenue to India.
Win-win, right?
The market probably sensed it: Vertoz's share price is very close to its 52-week high right now (as of 1 pm on December 19).
Vertoz and PayNX's win = huge problem for existing giants in this space like GoDaddy.
But GoDaddy currently has a huge market share in the domain space. Will a combined offering of domain, hosting and advertising be enough to defeat it? We'll have to wait and watch!
⚡ In a line: The domain industry is ready for a major disruption that could change the market dynamics.
💡Quick question: Do you think a new player could defeat the established biggies in this space?
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See you tomorrow :)
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