Looking through data on startups, I routinely come across companies using the appendage “Get” before their brand name, such as GetExample.com, if a company’s name is “Example”. For most companies, this isn’t the most desirable domain. Their best domain, in this case, Example.com, is either too expensive for the company to acquire, or it’s already in active use.
If the company in question is already invested in the “Example” brand name, using the “Get” prefix seems to be one of the more popular types of domains for startups to use. Especially if they’re offering a product or app. But are these types of domains investment-worthy? Should domain investors be acquiring these “Get” domains?
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How Many Use “Get”?
I analyzed data from over 60,000 companies that had been founded between January 2015 and May 2020. With such a large collection of data, it should be fairly easy to see how popular a domain type is. From what I’ve found, there are 729 companies using “Get” at the beginning of their domain name.
Out of those 729, 168 are not .COM, so we’re discounting those. If a company is opting to use GetExample.co, or GetExample.io, it really shows they have an overall budget for a domain of $50 maximum, so in most cases it’s not worth looking at anything but “Get+Keyword” in .COM.
We’re also not counting any companies using “Get” plus more than one keyword, for example “GetExampleApp.com”. We’re discounting hyphens too. That leaves just 121 companies that are listed as using “Get+Word .COM”, such as “GetExample.com”.
Some of those companies are using GET as an initialism, such as Global Energy Transmission using GetCorp.com. We’re still counting those. So out of 60,000 companies formed in the last five years, just 121 are using a “Get+Word .COM”.
Acquiring .COM domains with prefixes always seem like a lottery to me. You have to acquire a significant amount of domains for any sales to happen, and with just 121 companies listed as using “Get + Keyword” in the last 5 years, it looks like a very small chance of a sale happening.
Companies that have upgraded from “GET”
For most, the “Get” prefix is a stepping stone domain that’s used until they achieve enough sales, traction, or funding to acquire a better domain name. Here are a couple of prominent examples of companies that have upgraded from a “Get” domain name to something a little more premium:
July
Australian luggage company July only started business in December 2018, but their digital strategy ensured that they operated on the @July username on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. However, their domain name didn’t match. They were “GetJuly.com”.
That is until September 2019 when the company acquired July.com for an undisclosed fee. The name was previously owned by the Future Media Architects domain portfolio. This was around the same time that July announced that they had raised $10.5 million AUD (around $7 million USD) in a Series A funding round.
Room.com
Room is a startup that installs personal booths into busy offices so that there is always somewhere to go for a meeting or a phone call. Room started life on GetRoom.com before upgrading to Room.com in a deal that is worth $1.5 million
Launched in 2018, Room quickly raised a $2 million funding round and acquired the domain around a year after this.
Successful companies still using “GET”
Not all companies upgrade, though. Some successful companies carry on using the “Get” keyword and do not upgrade. This may be because they cannot acquire their exact match .COM, or their website or online presence isn’t such a vital asset to them that it would make paying a six- to seven-figure fee for an upgraded domain questionable.
Cruise – GetCruise.com – a self-driving car company recently acquired by General Motors with a total of $5.3 billion in funding.
Epic – GetEpic.com – a digital library for kids founded in 2013. The company has raised $51.5 million in funding with a $30 million Series D funding round in January 2019.
Fabric – GetFabric.com – a supply chain company founded in 2015. Fabric has raised $136 million to date with a $110 million Series B funding round in February 2020.
Canopy – GetCanopy.com – a practice management software provider, founded in 2014. Canopy has raised $85 million in funding.
Weave – GetWeave.com – the remote business toolbox has thrived using GetWeave.com, receiving $152.5 million in funding since it was founded in 2011.
Bread – GetBread.com – this financial company powers pay-over-time solutions for retailers to make financing products easier. Bread has raised $200.3 million in funding.
In some cases such as Fabric, Cruise, and Epic, their exact-match .COM domains are fully developed by other companies, but it could be argued that Canopy.com, Weave.com, and Bread.com could be attainable for the right price.
Sales Data
According to data from NameBio, there have been 467 sales to date with the prefix “get”, with an average sales price of $1,866. Based on the recent action, most “get” prefix sales are occurring at GoDaddy auctions, with largely domain investors picking up “get” names for several hundred dollars a piece.
As for end-user sales, I have found a few prominent examples from the past five years:
- GetFabric.com – $3,500
- GetRally.com – $3,795
- GetCoconut.com – $2,500
- GetSwipe.com – $2,000
Three out of those four sales occurred at Sedo. In the past five years, the largest “get” sale has been GetPixie.com for $10,349 at GoDaddy.
Interestingly, many higher value “get” sales are phrases, with “get” forming part of the phrase rather than being a prefix. Sales include:
- GetInvolved.com – $6,750
- GetCredit.com – $6,666
- GetPumped.com – $4,658
- GetSober.com – $4,544
Conclusion
The question posed was, should domain investors be buying “get+keyword” .COM domains? After reviewing the available data, I can give my own opinion, which is no. You might believe differently (it would be dull if we all thought the same), but based on the data available, “get” prefix domains seem like a lottery.
The domains are used by end-users, but they seem to be more of a stepping stone than a final destination. They’re seen as a potential option when a startup has very little to spend on a domain. If a company’s desired “get” domain is for sale for $5,000, the company could very easily turn to one of the other multitudes of domains potentially available (such as Try+keyword, My+keyword, On+keyword).
Thanks to Braden Pollock for the original article idea.
Great analysis, James! Thanks for putting in the work.