Name Intelligence’s DomainTools has something like half a million registered users, and the company blog has an Alexa ranking much greater than any other industry blog, so I applaud Jay Westerdal for the marketing effort he is putting forth for the upcoming Domain Roundtable conference auction. While many industry auctions seem to rely on emails and press releases announcing the domain names that will be auctioned, Jay has been writing up mini-reviews for some of the better names that are due to be auctioned in a little over a week. As we get closer to the auction, I anticipate seeing more auction names released.

While the ideal marketing effort would be to distribute informational kits about each domain name to potential end-users, I think Jay’s effort goes above and beyond what other auction houses do (he may already be marketing to end users behind the scenes for all I know). With auction commissions reaching up to 20% per sold name, you would think auction houses would really be marketing the domain names in auction to get the best prices for each name. I think this is a great step.

Since end-user businesses should be able to justify spending the most for a domain name, they would be the most likely target. I look forward to the day that domain auction houses market certain generic domain names to the potential end user audience. Educating end users on why they should purchase a generic domain name to support their marketing and branding efforts will be the key to fully unlocking the true value of generic category killer domain names.

If you still haven’t signed up to attend the Domain Roundtable conference, you still have a few days to do so. If you vote in the Name Intelligence User Choice Awards, you will be given a coupon to save $50 off the registration fee. Although it says the voting ends 4/11, it doesn’t look like it has been disabled yet, so you might want to check it out ASAP.

With Domain Roundtable just over a month away, now is the time to make travel plans and register to attend the conference. Organized by Name Intelligence, parent of DomainTools, and sponsored by the biggest companies in the domain space, the conference will be held in San Francisco, the first time it’s being held outside of Seattle. There is an open door policy at the conference, and anyone and everyone is invited to attend. The idea behind this is to facilitate discussion and debate among people of various backgrounds.

Why should you attend Domain Roundtable? According to Jay Westerdal, President of Name Intelligence,

“Domain Roundtable is geared towards serious domainers that want an advantage. The contracts and ideas that people take away from the Roundtable every year is extraordinary. Several times after a show I hear first hand from people that meet someone randomly at the show and now are entering into a very profitable agreement because of it.”

Unfortunately, I will be with my family in New Hampshire celebrating a Jewish holiday, otherwise I would be attending the conference. From my experience, each domain conference has a unique feel, and they all present great opportunities to meet other people within the industry. I have had the opportunity to meet many industry leaders and learn about various companies within the space at similar conferences. This is a super opportunity to learn and network.