Why not Use Google Product Blog Domain Names?

In a continuing look at Google-owned Domain Names this week, I'd like to look at a few tidbits that I've found regarding the word "Blog" in domains monitored and protected by MarkMonitor.com for Google. Yesterday we reviewed a few "Android" SDK domain names Google has set aside - and only that - set aside. They don't resolve to anywhere and are clearly being held to prevent others from reserving them.

Here are some more like that. Google has got dozens of blogs on just as many topics, all hosted by BlogSpot (which you can't go to directly, only to subdomains - Blogspot.com redirects to Blogger.com (Sheesh!). I've always wondered why. Why, when Google has plenty of resources and hires MarkMonitor to protect their trademark and intellectual property rights, do they not acually USE those domains they reserve - at least the ones that could be used?

It seems absolutely bizarre to me that ADSENSEBLOG.com for example doesn't actually resolve to Google's Adsense Blog. Instead, they host it at http://adsense.blogspot.com/. Why is that they do the same with their Adwords Blog rather than hosting it at http://www.adwordsblog.com/?

Google owns no fewer than 24 dot com (.com) domains which include various Google product names, combined with the word "blog." Yet they don't host their blogs on those blog domains in most cases (I don't have time right now to check them all.)

Here are a couple more: quickly:

• GOGGLESEARCHBLOG.com again, at
• GOGGLEVIDEOBLOG.com

And hey - I'll bet they own the domain names for many, if not all of those Google Blogs listed down the shoulder of their "Official Google Blog" and shown in the partial screenshot here. (This is approximately HALF those listed on their blog) The question for me is - "Why don't they use the blog domain names they own?

Some Non-Blog domains that they own actually resolve to a site, like "Adsense.com actually works and redirects to the longer Google URL of https://www.google.com/adsense/ and Adwords.com actually works, again, redirecting to the longer Google URL of https://adwords.google.com/select/ What's up with that Google. You are an official domain registrar - yet you don't sell domain names yourself - but through partners, you own thousands and thousands of product related domains but don't use them but to redirect in a few cases - the rest don't resolve. We now know that the registrar data you can access is baked into your algorithm to assign ranking to domains of others. But why are you ashamed of your other domain names?

Late to the Domain Name Blog Party

According to this post from Domain Name News, I'm very late to the domain blogging party. It's been done by many before me. Does that mean I should quit? Naahhhh! I'll take comfort knowing that I was one of the first with a Domain Name Tutorial and still want to serve my visitors well with the best imformation I can find.

2007 The Year of the Domain Blogger
There were domain blogs long before 2007 and good ones such as DomainNameWire.com and DomainEditorial.com.

(The post fails to note that Domain Editorial which just made it's last post, is being rolled into Domain Name News.)

However, 2007 marked the year that even DomainNameNews.com got rolling, and we weren't alone in launching a site dedicated to domain oriented stories. Previously reclusive and veteran domainers like Frank Schilling, Sahar Sarid, Larry Fischer, Chris Stewart and Michael Berkins among many others came out of the woodwork to launch blogs dedicated to domain related topics and conversation. Many other notables like Rick Schwartz, Michael Gilmour and Elliot Silver threw their hats in the ring as well, too many in fact to list. Check out this site for a good list, keeping in mind most of these were started this year!

The domain name blogs name dropping is a great resource for those just getting into domaining and I encourage all to subscribe and read those if you want to invest and profit from domain names. However - if you just want to learn the basics, buy a domain name and get back to business - thanks for dropping by.

If you are in the domain space and just now starting a blog, well that is sooooooooooooo 2007.

All right guys, I know I just started this week and I'm SOOOOOO 2007 - but I'm not stopping now. Thanks for the list though and I'll happily subscribe to those feeds and pick up more domain name news and commentary.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

How about that 1999 Entrepreneur Magazine rave, eh?

So in the LOOOONG tradition of WebSite101 tutorials, sharing information with entrepreneurs launching and growing businesses online, this list of domain name blogs is a great service to all of those visitors and I hope everyone finds it as useful as I do. (Being new and all that ;-)