Sedo, the world’s leading global domain names marketplace, recently announced the results of its latest Annual Domain Market Study.

The report – centred on trends in the domain industry and information based on transactions in Sedo’s marketplace – found that Sedo’s global exchange now hosts over 18 million domain names and produced over $100 million in total sales for 2010, the first time the company has achieved that number.

Overall, the trading of domain names has reached all-time high levels, with a 12 per cent growth in sales of web addresses recorded year on year.

Nora Nanayakkara, Business Development Director at Sedo, said: ”The growth in domain name sales has been consistently on the upswing as more businesses recognise their value in growing a company’s online presence. While domain names like Sex.com, which sold for a whopping $13 million last quarter, are highly prized for their branding and marketing potential, in reality many domain names are much more affordable.

Nanayakkara went on to say that a good domain name is an asset every business should invest in: ”All shapes and sizes of businesses have the opportunity to extend their brand online if they invest in an armoury of decent web addresses. It helps companies to achieve important goals in growing a business online: to capture the right traffic, secure better search rankings and build a more prominent digital brand.”