Domain News

It’s official - Microsoft and Yahoo have announced a 10-year search and advertising partnership that will give Microsoft’s Bing a better chance to show off its new search technology and provide Yahoo with an opportunity to challenge Google in online advertising.

And in case you’ve haven’t seen the details, the deal goes like this:

• 10 year agreement.
• Microsoft acquires an exclusive 10-year license to Yahoo’s core search technologies and can integrate these technologies into Bing.
• Yahoo will continue to syndicate its current search affiliate partnerships.
• Bing will be the exclusive search and paid search platform for Yahoo sites.
• Yahoo will become the exclusive sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers. Self-serve ads for both companies will run by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform.

So Bing will now power the search algorithm on Yahoo/Bing and Yahoo will now power the premium search advertising for Bing/Yahoo.

But what does that mean to you?

After the jump, there’s a quick trip around the domain space on what people are saying:

Danny Sullivan of SearchEngineLand.com - Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Simplified
“This isn’t 1+1=2, beating the 1 of Google. The two together make it easier for advertisers to reach a common audience, but that’s the main benefit. Neither alone has a Google killer offering, and combined doesn’t just magically make that happen.”

David Hallerman of eMarketer as published in USAToday - Microsoft, Yahoo link up in Internet search deal
“The hope (for Microsoft and Yahoo) is that better technology will mean more relevant results and more relevant results will attract more users. More users mean more potential to click on ads and that means more money.”

Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire - Dear DOJ: Don’t Slow Down Yahoo-Microsoft Deal
“The deal creates a competitor. It takes two also-rans in the search business and turns them into a true (although still relatively weak) competitor to Google…I’m convinced that having at least two viable advertising providers in the search space is critical to keep each one in check. Right now we have a growing ad provider in Google and a faltering one in Yahoo…By Yahoo and Microsoft joining forces, their scale will be enough to entice more advertisers to pay attention. This, in turn, will benefit web entrepreneurs.”

Michael H. Berkens of TheDomains - Done Deal: Yahoo Gives Microsoft Its Search Business
“What the deal means to domainers is far from settled. We have many of our domain names parked with various Yahoo parking partners. What this will mean to our bottom line is just a guess at this point but my guess it will be good for domainers.”

Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch - Yahoo Got Binged
“The two companies will work hard to pull this off. Their futures depend on it. And the deal is structured in a way that makes sure both sides make more money the more searches and advertising dollars Bing generates. Getting to that ideal state, though, won’t be easy. In the meantime, as they work through all of the implementation issues, Google could strengthen its position and take even more share.”

LLLL.com - Goodbye Yahoo Search
“What this will mean in the future for domainers and webmasters remains to be seen — I reported on July 26th that Bing users are much more engaged by advertising. It remains to be seen what the reason for this is and whether the television advertising and other promotions Microsoft is offering to promote Bing are skewing results…this will mean 12% lower paying clicks for those currently monetizing their domains through Yahoo, however, assuming the click-through rate for those monetizing their websites through Yahoo goes up anywhere near what Bing is currently reporting, they should end up earning more money resultant of this search partnership.”

Tom Demers of WordStream on SearchEngineJournal.com - Why I’m Torn on the Bing Yahoo! Deal
“For my money: PPC just got simpler, and SEO just got more complex.”

Arnold Zafra of SearchEngineJournal.com - What the Yahoo-Microsoft Search Deal Means to Everyone
“For web publishers, the search deal will: offer more competitive bids for search syndication deals, give more compelling advertising avenues to reach more users, and provide greater value and transparency.”

Ben Parr on Mashable.com - Google vs. Microsoft: Will This Time Be Different?
“Does Bing + Yahoo search represent Microsoft’s best shot at defeating Google? Unequivocally. Are were certain that Microsoft has a strategy for stealing market share? Absolutely.

Will it work? While we still believe Google’s not going anywhere, you never know what can happen when two titans go to all-out war. It fosters innovation, opens up the door to innovative startups, and keeps big corporations on their toes. Google’s needed a legitimate competitor for years. We finally have one, even if it’s made up of many complicated parts”

What are your thoughts? How do you think the Microsoft-Yahoo deal will affect domainers?

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

DomainConvergence | August 12-13, 2009 | Toronto, ON, Canada
Keynote speakers: The Castello Brothers on "Branding your Domain"
Christian Heilmann, Developer Evangelist, Yahoo!

Original post by Chad Kettner

According to a recent study by Memorable Domains, Bing gives keyword-based websites the biggest boost in search engine rankings compared to other leading search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Memorable Domains randomly selected 125 generic .co.uk websites and analyzed the position of each site within the first 2 pages (20 results) for a search on the keyword or keyphrase contained within its domain name (ex. “SpecialEffects.co.uk” and the “special effects” keyphrase). The study used Google UK, Yahoo UK, and Bing UK - all in default search mode except from selecting “results from the UK” modifier as offered by each search engine.

Two metrics were examined: the presence of the site within the top 20 results (on a “yes” or “no” basis) and the specific position at which the site was displayed if it was in the top 20.

“Yahoo UK (default mode) and Google (default mode) both saw similar numbers of domains ranking within the first 20 results, at 56% and 57% respectively”, according to the study. “In other words, over half of all the sites in the study ranked within the top 20 results on Yahoo UK and/or Google UK for a search on the keywords making up their domain name, and this was the lowest overall result. For Bing UK (default mode), 62% of domains ranked within the top 20 results.”

While Bing is the most generous search engine for keyword-based domain names, the evidence shows that keywords always play an important factor in achieving a top 20 ranking on any search engine.

[via MemorableDomains.co.uk]

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

DomainConvergence | August 12-13, 2009 | Toronto, ON, Canada

Original post by Chad Kettner

Authority Labs is offering a free trial of their search ranking monitoring service! This is a relatively new company having launched in December 2008, but I’ve had a chance to test out the product for a few weeks and it works well.

Just what does Authority Labs really do?

The service allows you to monitor your domain names for search engine rankings of specific keywords or search terms of your choice.

Once you set a domain name and define the search terms you want to track, Authority Labs goes to work monitoring your ranking for those terms. There are options to be updated via email alerts and you can view charts to track your performance over time.

Monitor One Website for Free

You can give this service a go for free through a promotional free trial account. You can monitor one domain and 10 search terms.  Simply visit the Authority Labs website to sign up.

There is also a Personal Plan which is $9 per month to monitor 3 domains, though the beauty of this service may lie in the fact that it’s scalable, allowing paying customers to monitor many many more websites with ease.

Why Bother?

Monitoring search rankings can beneficial for numerous reasons. For one, it can help you visualize the progress you are making, especially if you are just getting started!

Keeping tabs on those rankings can help you discover where your traffic is coming from and try to repeat that success.

Do you track your search rankings? Would love to hear your thoughts.

This article is from DotSauce.com Domain Name Magazine.

Monitor Google, Yahoo and Bing Rankings for Free with Authority Labs

Original post by Mark Fulton

The Aftermarket.com auction at DomainRoundtable in the coming week has just added the name “Contests.com” from the premium domain portfolio of Yahoo! to their lineup. The domain is listed with a reserve price of $150,000 USD. Yahoo! had recently sold the wp.com domain name for an undisclosed amount to Wordpress.

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

Auction
Real Estate Domain Listings Portfolio
The World’s Largest Known Real Estate Listings Domain Portfolio Including More Than 2,600 Geo-Targeted Domain Names.
Auction Held at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco
Thursday, June 11 at 1:00 P.M.(PT)
Fore a complete list of domain names in the Portfolio, please visit www.jpking.com/domainauction
800-558-5464

Original post by Frank Michlick

The Aftermarket.com auction at DomainRoundtable in the coming week has just added the name “Contests.com” from the premium domain portfolio of Yahoo! to their lineup. The domain is listed with a reserve price of $150,000 USD. Yahoo! had recently sold the wp.com domain name for an undisclosed amount to Wordpress.

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

Auction
Real Estate Domain Listings Portfolio
The World’s Largest Known Real Estate Listings Domain Portfolio Including More Than 2,600 Geo-Targeted Domain Names.
Auction Held at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco
Thursday, June 11 at 1:00 P.M.(PT)
Fore a complete list of domain names in the Portfolio, please visit www.jpking.com/domainauction
800-558-5464

Original post by Frank Michlick

With all that’s happened with Yahoo! recently, this may come as no surprise, but Jerry Yang has stepped down as CEO. Yang, who co-founded the company in 1995, has come under a great deal of criticism in recent months, most notably for turning down Microsoft’s $47.5 Billion dollar buy-out proposal (almost 3x what the company is now worth).

Yahoo remains in a very vulnerable position as their market cap plummets , the Google-proposed ad partnership has reportedly disappeared . There have also been no new developments coming from the rumored AOL deal and Yang’s departure could signal the end of that possibility.  Yang’s decision is better late than never, but in this economy it will take a lot of work to get the company back where it was just months earlier.  With the close connection domainers have to Yahoo, this is important news. Hopefully this move is a sign that the company is making a turn around.

Camera.co.uk , Saws.com , Medicinas.com , Coed.com - All For Sale at Aftermarket.com Online Domain Auction November 20th . Click here to register for the auction.

Original post by Adam Strong

Ten Emerging Beliefs and the Opportunity They Present

Domain conferences share a commonality during which, over time (turbulent times no less), certain conventional wisdoms begin to emerge as the industry matures and infrastructure solidifies. In other words, the more the industry coalesces and becomes viable and full, the more common beliefs come into play and perception becomes a central figure.

Trips to shows this year and all the conversations that went on behind the scenes produced many threads or commonly held and generally agreed upon principles that can help provide guiding light in an uncertain future.

Now, eighteen months ago, this would have been a different article, with different results and beliefs – ultimately, this is a testament to the cycle that is the domain business. Yes, domains too are subject to cycles and those around long enough have weathered a few with their dot com raincoats.

To wit, the current cycle (low with seasonal and economic effects piling on) has cleared up a bit, allowing us to make the following ten potential ‘statements of state’.

1. With recent Yahoo changes, arbitrage is on its last legs and may have hurt domainers on a large scale - arbitrage is always a declining strategy (not even an asset) as word spreads.
   
   
2. Premium domains (premium and brandable generics) are here to stay.
   
   
3. Sub-prime, replaceable domains continue to lose value. Large chunks of registered names have dwindled to ‘caveat empty’ at base prices.
   
   
4. ccTLDs are the next best choice after .com.
   
   
5. A true shift from traditional TV advertising has begun, led by the Fortune 1000.
   
   
6. .TV has its place yet development is likely a necessary adjunct to the formula.
   
   
7. True development (requiring innovation on some level) is expensive and difficult – the industry having yet to produce a ‘home run’ on the development side (outside industry providers).
   
   
8. Traffic, traffic, traffic as always BUT there is a change going on – with a focus on ‘eyeballs’ as opposed to ‘clicks’ from the Fortune 1000. This is the effect of #5 above as they apply the same principles to the Internet as they did the tube.
   
   
9. The middleman’s influence in the marketplace is shrinking and naturally so - and largely by their own failings. At some point, competitive saturation and strategy combined with fraud, budgetary needs and simple intelligence will push more advertisers directly to the owners. Sendori may be the key figure here.
   
   
10. European domainers are far more skilled in monetization than their American colleagues. Without PPC, they have turned to development and sponsors and networks – they can teach us much in a shaky PPC environment.

It must be pointed out that while some of the above can be considered ‘good news’, I must continue to stress the need to de-generalize our domain discussions. The above points to specific classes and not ‘domains’ as an entirety.

In short, those with premium and brandable generics, geo-domains, prime ccTLDs and .TV have brighter days ahead on the monetization and resale side. Others holding long names, alternate extensions, TMs, typos or generally subpar domains should be looking over their shoulder.

Point being that the above can be a valid road map to the current state if you are not caught up in the generalization and can plot a unique course. These simple statements open mountains of opportunity – that is, if you can read between the lines and extrapolate it forward in time.

M. Fiol is a regular DNN contributor and DomainConsultant.com analyst. He also runs and is CEO of HappyBirthday.com.

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Visit our Calendar of Domain Industry Events.

Share

Original post by M.Fiol

I’ve been away from my PC, so this is hardly up to the minute stuff, however I wanted to get this snippet up on the site before it was completely stale. As previously seen on Tech Crunch , Yahoo was rumored to be courting Demand Media, and Demand wants a truckload of cash. . . ie. BILLION$. However, it was later reported that “there has been no offer floated.” Demand Media is the parent company of domain registrar Enom.com and domain aftermarket site NameJet.com. The company also owns a variety of media sites such as eHow.com and Trails.com as well as web 2.0 / social media companies such as ChannelMe.tv and Pluck.

If you want to know more about Demand, check the video of CEO Richard Rosenblatt from All Things Digital at the link or after the jump. There’s nothing in the video about the acquisition, but it’s a good candid interview.

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

Share

Original post by Adam Strong

According to a TechCrunch post, Google and Yahoo will be announcing a partnership arrangement today (1:30 PST). Stay tuned for breaking news as it happens [more here]

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

Original post by Adam Strong

As hinted earlier, Yahoo! announced today that they have reached a non-exclusive deal with Google around Search & Advertising. For more information read the Google Blog Post, Google Press Release and Yahoo! Press Release.

[via TechCrunch]

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

Original post by Frank Michlick

According to a TechCrunch post, Google and Yahoo will be announcing a partnership arrangement today (1:30 PST). Stay tuned for breaking news as it happens

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

Original post by Adam Strong

Marchex (MCHX), a company already known for its leading local search/advertising network as well as their domain portfolio, has combined Industry Brains and Enhance Interactive to create Marchex Adhere, a new pay-per-click channel that will provide advertisers and agencies with exclusive access to more than 200 premium publishers.

Marchex Adhere is primed to compete with Google and Yahoo over domain name advertising feeds, allowing advertisers with any budget to reach a highly-qualified audience.

According to the press release, it “enables national advertisers to efficiently fulfill their online budget in the same manner as they purchase offline advertising; namely national, spot and local in a single media buy.” It also “provides small- and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to reach local customers directly through Marchex’s OpenList and reach national customers through premium, vertically focused publishers.”

Marchex has already struck deals with major distribution partners including BusinessWeek, PC World, The Motley Fool, RealtyTrac.com, CNET, MorningStar.com, Kiplinger.com, BankRate, and more. If you want to find out more about this exciting advertising platform, you should check out the Marchex Adhere video.

Further Reading:

• Marchex Adhere Press Release
• LocalPoint: A Marchex Milestone
• The Domains: Marchex Launches New Pay Per Click Advertising Channel: Adhere
• Domain Name Wire: Can Marchex Pull It Off?

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Visit our Calendar of Domain Industry Events.

Original post by Chad Kettner

According to this article on TechCrunch, Yahoo! will be running a two week test to include Google Ads in 3% of their search result advertising. While this might be part of a strategy for their negotiations with Microsoft, it also serves as a painful reminder for the domain industry. Domain monetization options are basically limited to working with Google and Yahoo! or one of their aggregation partners. Should one of the two companies start relying on the other, there would only be one partner to work with.

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Develop Your Domains - Partner with Domain Strategies to Take Your Domains to the Next Level. Visit www.DomainStrategies.com for a free portfolio assessment.

Share This

Original post by Frank Michlick

The Science Channel, part of the Discovery network, has some of my favorite television programming. Some of my favorites are Myth Busters, Future Weapons, Beyond Tomorrow, and Survivorman I love shows that are inspiring, innovative, and thought provoking. Sexy hosts making stuff explode makes it all the better!

“The True Story of the Internet” is about the internet revolution of the last 10 years. The founders of eBay, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Netscape and many others tell the personal stories of how they made their untold billions in this short time period.

The style of the story-telling is up close and personal. With first-hand testimony from the people that matter, we tell a story that has all the excitement of a thriller — full of battles and back-stabbing, moments of genius and moments of sheer hilarity. You will never surf the net in the same way again.

Did They Leave Out the Domain Name Industry?

Domain names are the backbone of all this progress in business, branding and the internet itself. I am not positive, but I don’t think the domain industry will be put in the spotlight within any of these episodes.

Soon domain names will become main stream as more and more big stories unfold. Aside from Mr. Gates himself, domainers are making as much if not more income than many of these featured business founders.

Episode Premier Schedule

There are four separate hour-long episodes in this special presentation. Listed below are the premier air times. Each episode will be rerun many times in the following days if you happen to miss the premier.

Trailer Video Clips

• Mooning the Giant: Bill Gates gets the necessary fuel to begin an all-out war.
• Navigator: Netscape’s latest invention, Navigator, begins to take the world by storm.
• YouTube: YouTube Co-founder Chad Hurley discusses his outlook on people driven browsers.
• MySpace: What’s next for the new generation of Web 2.0?
• Bill Gates: After dropping out of Harvard to run his own company, Bill Gates is going nowhere but up in the PC World.
• Web 2.0: These innovators are heading the revolution of Web 2.0.

Enjoy the show! Feel free to reminisce about what you were doing during the 90’s internet revolution with a comment. I wish I had been buying domains!

Original post by Mark Fulton

The Science Channel, part of the Discovery network, has some of my favorite television programming. Some of my favorites are Myth Busters, Future Weapons, Beyond Tomorrow, and Survivorman I love shows that are inspiring, innovative, and thought provoking. Sexy hosts making stuff explode makes it all the better!

“The True Story of the Internet” is about the internet revolution of the last 10 years. The founders of eBay, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Netscape and many others tell the personal stories of how they made their untold billions in this short time period.

The style of the story-telling is up close and personal. With first-hand testimony from the people that matter, we tell a story that has all the excitement of a thriller — full of battles and back-stabbing, moments of genius and moments of sheer hilarity. You will never surf the net in the same way again.

Did They Leave Out the Domain Name Industry?

Domain names are the backbone of all this progress in business, branding and the internet itself. I am not positive, but I don’t think the domain industry will be put in the spotlight within any of these episodes.

Soon domain names will become main stream as more and more big stories unfold. Aside from Mr. Gates himself, domainers are making as much if not more income than many of these featured business founders.

Episode Premier Schedule

There are four separate hour-long episodes in this special presentation. Listed below are the premier air times. Each episode will be rerun many times in the following days if you happen to miss the premier.

Trailer Video Clips

• Mooning the Giant: Bill Gates gets the necessary fuel to begin an all-out war.
• Navigator: Netscape’s latest invention, Navigator, begins to take the world by storm.
• YouTube: YouTube Co-founder Chad Hurley discusses his outlook on people driven browsers.
• MySpace: What’s next for the new generation of Web 2.0?
• Bill Gates: After dropping out of Harvard to run his own company, Bill Gates is going nowhere but up in the PC World.
• Web 2.0: These innovators are heading the revolution of Web 2.0.

Enjoy the show! Feel free to reminisce about what you were doing during the 90’s internet revolution with a comment. I wish I had been buying domains!

Original post by Mark Fulton