SEDO

Sedo is the name of a web platform for trading domains on the Internet. The company is headquartered in Cologne and is part of United Internet AG. According to company data, more than 16 million domains are available for purchase on sedo.de. Customers can buy and sell domains there. Sedo AG acts as trustee for the latter.

Development

The Sedo platform went online for the first time in 2000. Only a year later, Sedo GmbH was founded by four shareholders. The small start-up continued to develop rapidly, and four years after the company was established, Sedo expanded into the USA and Great Britain. In 2007, the company finally took over its competitor Great Domains. Today, Sedo is one of the world’s largest platforms for domain trading. It has 150 employees worldwide, is available in 20 different languages and has a customer base of more than one million customers. Every month more than 3,500 domains change ownership through Sedo. A total of more than 16 million domains are estimated to be available through this portal.

How it works

The Sedo platform offers customers various options of domain trading, which are briefly outlined here. Prerequisite for the use of the Sedo functions is a confirmed customer account.

• Domain purchase:
  Buyers can search for a domain using the portals search. If you find what you were looking for, you can either purchase it at a fixed price or bid on the desired domain. All purchases are administered by Sedo in trust for a fee. Alternatively, the platform regularly performs domain auctions, where domains can be acquired for the maximum bid.

• Domain sales:
  If you want to sell your domain, you can also use the web platform. Here again, Sedo manages the domain for a commission in a fiduciary capacity.

• Domain parking:
  If you don’t currently need a domain, you can “park” it at Sedo. Applicable advertising will be displayed on the parked domain by its advertising partners (Sedo belongs to affiliate network Affilinet). The revenue generated in this way is shared by the owner of the domain.
• Domain transfer:
  If you need to get a domain moved, Sedo can also provide a secure transfer for a processing fee.

• Domain assessment:
  Before purchase, domains can be tested by Sedo with regard to their value for a fee.

Sedo uses an extensive network of partners who have access to the Sedo platform through an API. Domains can therefore also be bought and sold via these partners.

Benefits for SEO and marketing

If you park your domain at Sedo, you may risk loss in rankings in the long term or it may no longer be listed in the SERPs. If a domain is still projected, it is recommended to keep the configuration active and not park the domain. However, if you have a lot of domains, you can sometimes save the annual server costs by parking.

When buying or selling domains, the Sedo portal offers the option of a secure transfer, especially for inexperienced webmasters. However, this is a paid service. If you are looking for new project opportunities and domains, you can quickly find what you are looking for at Sedo. Due to the enormous number of different sites, the platform is a good starting point and is now a real “institution” to discover attractive URLs and buy them securely.