1&2 Character .Asia Domains Now Available on Sedo.com

With the Sunrise and Landrush Priority Registration phases completed, DotAsia is excited to announce that the Public Auction Phase for 1&2 character .Asia domains is now in full swing.  World-renowned brands have already snapped up their domains such as ‘F1.asia’, ‘Y.asia” and ‘FB.asia’ just to name a few.

 

Single and double character .Asia domain names are short, compelling, easy to remember and can be quickly shared, while short numeric strings can all together transcend language barriers. These domains are highly sought-after virtual real estate due to their rarity and valued for their memorable qualities.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to:

• LAUNCH effective and unforgettable marketing campaign websites
• SNAP up lucrative investment in prime virtual real estate
• INCREASE brand discoverability, harvest type-in traffic

.Asia is now offering premium 1&2 character .Asia domains such as ‘1.asia’, ‘hi.asia’ and ‘U.asia’ to the public via auction on Sedo.com.  From now and through 2014, these unique, prized domains can be yours! 

For a complete list of names please visit Sedo.com at https://www.sedo.com/us/sedo/connecting-asia-with-one-domain/?et_cid=16&et_lid=246412&et_sub=DotASIA_October&language=d or www.dot.asia/downloads/1and2_asia_Available_20131202.pdf

This DotAsia news release was sourced from:
www.dot.asia/12-character-asia-domains-now-available-on-sedo-com/

.EE Registry Price Reduced 20%

The Estonian Internet Foundation will lower the price of a .ee domain by 20% from 1 January 2014, i.e. down to €12.

 

Premium .com.au domain names a valuable asset for Australian businesses by George Pongas, AusRegistry

One of the most pertinent issues business owners face when establishing an online presence is how to direct customer interest to their website and translate that into revenue.

 

Often, this includes sales and marketing tactics like direct mail, lead generation and online campaigns to drive awareness.

Some savvy business owners also invest in search engine optimisation and marketing techniques to increase the number of leads they receive from Google, Bing and Yahoo!.

An area businesses regularly overlook is their humble domain name.

A domain name is the business asset that underpins your entire online identity and it acts as a digital lighthouse to illuminate your web presence. A good domain name can be a cost-effective and highly successful method for increasing direct type-in browser traffic to ultimately improve your bottom line.

When it comes to effective domain names, there is no better option than premium generic domains.

What is a premium generic domain name?

A premium generic domain name is a short, memorable, descriptive and commercially-oriented domain related to the market vertical or industry sector of your business.

For instance, a florist would see great value in flowers.com.au, as would a camera shop with cameras.com.au.

Given their intuitive nature, domain names such as these are seen as the most authoritative and trusted online providers in their sectors. Consumers are drawn to these websites over others and the domain name actually helps to drive in traffic. It’s a bit like getting the prime eye-level product position on a supermarket shelf, rather than being located out of sight at the bottom.

These premium generic .com.au names work; the proof is in multiple success stories operating on the Internet at the moment.

For example, in September 2011, investmentproperty.com.au became the highest recorded domain name at auction when it was snapped up for $125,000 by New South Wales property developer Vision Homes. Similarly, hardware.com.au was purchased at auction by Woolworths in 2010 for $33,000. There are unofficial sales rumored at significantly higher values, however often domain name sales remain confidential and there are no laws that require the details published as there are for offline real estate sales.

The sale of these premium generic .com.au names demonstrates the strong demand shown by major brands that recognise the important role they play. They also demonstrate the enormous intrinsic value .com.au domain names hold despite their retail price, which can start from around $20.

Perhaps the example of a premium generic domain name comes from carloans.com.au.

CarLoans.com.au case study

The first incarnation of Shaun McGowan’s car loan business was initially called Beep.com.au and turned over a healthy $60 million.

As a savvy digital entrepreneur and domain investor, Mr McGowan knew the business had greater potential and turned his attention to purchasing a premium generic .com.au for the business.

Following the acquisition of CarLoans.com.au and a brand refresh in June 2013, the business saw an immediate increase in website traffic and customers, a decrease in marketing spend, 40% reduction in ad word spend, and overall growth of 60% to generate turnover in excess of $100 million.

I recently caught up with Mr McGowan to draw on some of his insights on the value of a premium generic .com.au domain name.

“We have not done anything different, we’ve only changed our domain name and that has seen this huge growth for our business.

Our business is not unique and we have many competitors. In this marketplace, you need a competitive advantage. While deep pockets to generate awareness is an advantage, so too is having the best domain name. We don’t have to tell people what we’re doing – people know to go to carloans.com.au to get a car loan. Our marketing budget has significantly reduced because we don’t have to educate consumers. The education is already done in those eight letters – that’s the power of a domain name.

With CarLoans.com.au, consumers think they’ve seen us before even if they haven’t interacted with the business previously. People just assume they know us because we’re seen as the biggest and best.

There is a natural assumption the biggest and oldest companies have the premium generic domain names. In terms of the domain name investment, the name paid itself back within four months.

Ultimately, having the biggest and best exact-match premium generic domain name in our industry is what’s going to count at the end of the day.

For example, do you buy shoes from shoes.com.au or ABCshoes.com.au? With shoes.com.au, you’ve got instant credibility because customers believe it must be the biggest and best retailer, whereas ABCshoes.com.au must build that trust with consumers to educate them on who they are and what they sell.

The exact-match domain name is exactly what it is; it’s powerful, it’s credible and consumers believe it. It gives you instant recognition.

Purchasing premium generics

I encourage business owners to consider registering a premium generic .com.au domain name.

In most cases, premium generic domain names will have already been registered. This does not mean they are unavailable for purchase though.

Various Registrars provide expired domain and aftermarket auction services to help businesses acquire highly sought-after domain names. Simply contact your preferred registrar and ask how they can help you register the perfect domain name for your business.

This article by George Pongas, General Manager, AusRegistry, was sourced with permission from: www.ausregistry.com.au/news/premium-com-au-domain-names-a-valuable-asset-for-australian-businesses

AusRegistry Reappointed .AU Registry Operator

[news release]Following an extensive review process with the .au Domain Administration (auDA), AusRegistry is pleased to announce that the auDA Registry Licence Agreement for the management of the .au second-level domain Registry has been extended for an additional four years, until 30 June 2018.

 

This is welcomed news and is a result that was popularly supported by industry stakeholders during the 2012 Industry Advisory Panel review.

The renewal of the licence will provide an increased level of business confidence, continuity of service and greater level of investment in the namespace for all .au stakeholders. Most importantly, this decision provides certainty for everyone involved in .au, paving the way for another strong four years of stability, security, and growth.

The licence renewal was the result of a long, diligent and transparent exercise that included two public consultation rounds over a 10-month period. This culminated in the Panel’s final report to the auDA Board in December 2012 which recommended that auDA renegotiate the registry licence with AusRegistry.

Following the Panel’s recommendation, the auDA Board voted in February 2013 to proceed with renegotiating the registry licence with AusRegistry. The Board then approved the outcomes of the negotiations between auDA and AusRegistry in October 2013.

This news release was sourced from:
www.ausregistry.com.au/news/ausregistry-reappointed-as-au-registry-operator2

.ME Registry Announces .ME Loyalty Program at NMX in Las Vegas

The .ME Registry, the company behind .ME domain, announced the .ME Loyalty Program,  a platform to connect all .ME users into one community and reward them with exciting perks and prizes.

 

You can read the press release after the jump:

” The .ME Registry, operator of the most personal domain extension available, is proud to announce the.ME Loyalty Program, a platform to connect all .ME users into one community and reward them with exciting perks and prizes, including T-shirts, domain name and hosting packages, gift card vouchers and much more. The platform has been launched at NMX in Las Vegas, and will be available as of January 4, 2014.

For over five years, the .ME domain has been the perfect virtual home for bloggers, startups and companies looking to personalize their online presence. With over 750,000 domain names under management, more than 170 accredited registrars and clients from all over the world, .ME has become known for its personal branding appeal, its call to action potential, and the Premium Domain Program.

The .ME Loyalty Program is designed to honor members of the .ME community through a fun exchange of points and rewards. The entire concept consists of these three simple steps:

1.    Sign up at the Loyalty Program page
2.    Perform fun actions to collect points
3.    Redeem rewards

NMX attendees can join the .ME Loyalty Program during the conference by signing up with Facebook, and earn their first points by sharing thoughts on the program and photos taken at the .ME booth on Twitter and Instagram using the #domainME hashtag. “As longtime sponsors of NMX, we have developed a truly special relationship with our blogging community. We would like to invite everyone attending the conference to stop by booth number 607 to chat with us, pose for personalized photos and take home swag we’ve designed for the blogger on the go,” said Predrag Lesic, CEO of the .ME Registry.

For more information about the platform and program, follow our social media channels and keep an eye out for announcements at FB.ME/domainME, as well as on the #domainME hashtag.

We are looking forward to being able to give back to our outstanding community. Become a part of it today and help us make the Internet more personal!

To learn more about the .ME Registry, developing a .ME business idea and many clever uses of the .ME domain or to simply find out how to register a .ME domain name, go to Domain.ME”

Check out EuroDNS here to register your .ME domain name .