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Registrar Connections
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July 2005
In
This Issue:
Web
Site Usage Update
VeriSign commissions a quarterly study from Cyveillance,
an Internet monitoring company, to look at trends in Web Site development
and usage. In the latest quarterly report conducted in May 2005,
76% of all domain names were associated with a Web Site – 62% are live
and 14% are associated with a parked page.
With the dramatic growth of new registrations beginning
in Q304, VeriSign has been closely watching the Web Site to Domain Name
Registration Ratio. The stability of this ratio, we believe, is
tied to a stable renewal rate for .com and .net as well as gives us
insight into how domain names are being used. Parked page percentage
increases are a clear indicator of the increase of new registrations.
As these new domain names come up for expiration in Q3 and Q4 2005,
we expect some significant changes to occur in the Web Site to Domain
Name Registration ratio. We will keep you updated as we get these
reports.
The other interesting item that we have started to
watch in relation to the parked pages are the domain names that are
PPC-purposed. We have commissioned a new study from Cyveillance
to try to determine which domain names are used for the PPC market and
which are simply ‘parked’ in the traditional sense. We hope to
provide you with that analysis in the next issue of the Registrar Connections.
Other data points that are tracked via the Cyveillance
quarterly crawl, are the percentage of Web Sites that are eCommerce
enabled. This number floats between 4 and 8% and recently has
been on the rise again. This latest report puts the percentage
of ecommerce sites at 5%. The other data point is the number of
pages associated with Web Sites. For more information about this
study please contact namingmarketing@verisign.com.
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2005
ASCII 1st Time and IDN Renewal Promotion Results
The 2005 Renewal Promotion was a success! Thanks
to the 68 Registrars that participated in the ASCII part of the promotion
and the 57 Registrars that participated in the IDN portion.
The ASCII 1st Time Renewal Rate increased
4% during the March and April performance period to 64%. The IDN
Renewal Rate saw an even larger increase to 65%, a 33% increase vs the
same period last year.
Renewal promotion earnings announcements have been
going out and dollars will be mailed shortly. Due to the US law
Sarbanes Oxley, VeriSign needs to have a completed and signed W9 tax
form from US Registrars and W8 tax form from non-US Registrars in order
to disburse payment for any marketing programs. These documents
last for one year so we merely need to have one on file. The W8
form is to verify that the company we are giving funds to is not a US
entity and thusly does not need to pay taxes on the income. If
you have questions regarding the tax forms or the renewal promotion
please send an email to namingmarketing@verisign.com.
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Brasil
Marketing and Advertising Test Update
On August 1, 2005, VeriSign will launch the first
of its kind advertising campaign for .com. We will have print
advertising in select newspapers and magazines as well as online advertising
in the form of banners, search words, and newsletters. In addition,
we will be doing direct mail towards the middle of the campaign.
Guerilla marketing activities and event sponsorships will round out
the campaign.
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Below you can see the print ad that
we will be using. Our tag line is ‘The Global Economy operates
at one address - .com’. This look and feel is present in all our
materials. We will make all the creative available to registrars
for your own use, if you choose to use it, in the next couple of months.
The campaign will run for 3 months as we test the
various activities. There are 6 Registrars that have signed on
to participate in this trial program. We will continue to provide
updates as to the effectiveness of this type of campaign as the results
come in. If you have any questions about this program, please
send an email to namingmarketing@verisign.com. |
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.tv
- The New Face of the Internet
As the Internet continues to evolve from a text-based
medium to one of multimedia, companies in all industries are offering
video on their websites, and using .tv domain names to market and promote
that fact. The early adopters of the .tv brand were television
broadcasters such as Turner
Network Television, Viva
Television and NBC
Los Angeles, who used the domains for the literal meaning
of “tv”as television. However, over the past few years, companies
and individuals all over the world have used .tv domain names to identify
themselves with a video-based, rich-media experience, regardless of
any association with the television industry. A few good examples
are Farm
TV; offering streaming video of farm properties and other
real estate for sale, H2O
TV; offering underwater video and online programs, and CVTV;
an online service producing video resumes. The .tv domain provides
different meanings for different users, and all of them relate to one
common theme; video and rich media.
Now that broadband access has become commonplace,
end-users are spending more time on Web sites seeking out rich content.
Web site and portal owners are using video and rich content in the hopes
that users stay on Web sites longer to generate advertising revenue.
The .tv TLD is the address that is home to Web sites that are leading
the convergence of the Internet, television and cable through services
that put the control of content in the hands of the user/viewer. In
addition, the two letter phrase ”tv” means the same thing in every country,
in every language. The registrants understand the importance of
these factors and are registering .tv domain names in increasing numbers
worldwide. In addition, they are using them; 70% of .tv domain
names are associated with a Web site, which means the .tv registrant
is likely to use value added services.
Registrars can increase their revenues by adding .tv
to their purchase flows as well as offering special promotions.
Many registrants may not know about the value of a .tv domain name so
Registrars have the opportunity to inform and sell this valuable TLD.
With the Marketing Funds Program for .tv currently running, there is
no better time to promote .tv registrations.
Recent Articles:
Web
sites act more like TV to keep users ‘tuned in’
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Frequently
Asked Questions from VeriSign's award winning 24x7 Customer Service
Support Team
The
top issues impacting Registrars in the past 30 days:
Please provide me with sample XML commands.
To access the EPP web tool, click
here and you will need your NameStore OT&E login and
password. Once in this tool, you will be able to generate XML sample
code.
When submitting my EPP commands for Com/Net domains to I need to specify
the sub-products, and do I need to specify contacts for the domains
I create?
When submitting EPP commands it is necessary to specify the sub
product, and you will not need to specify the contacts on domain creates.
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Special
Report on eCommerce in Western Europe from eMarketer: The Euros
Are Coming!! The Euros Are Coming!!
Published: July 12, 2005
Online commerce is picking up across Europe — but
at different rates in different countries. Internet penetration rates
and broadband adoption play important roles, but cultural differences
are key factors as well.
France, where broadband uptake has zoomed, is estimated
to have registered e-commerce growth of more than 40% last year, with
similar gains expected for this year. The UK, a more mature market—and
one that has been more open to online purchasing—has passed through
a period of hypergrowth but is still logging gains of some 30% a year.
Online shopping and purchasing is on the rise even in countries that
are seeing deteriorating offline retail sales.
"E-commerce should continue to grow at a healthy
pace this year and next throughout Western Europe, as more people go
online more frequently, and at greater bandwidth," said Jeffrey
Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of a new report, Western Europe E-Commerce. "Each passing year will
create a larger population of more-experienced Web users, and if the
US is a model, experience online leads to purchasing online."
Continued gains in Internet adoption will certainly
create a larger pool of potential European Internet shoppers and buyers,
but longtime offline purchasing habits in many economies may mean that
even mature online markets will not reach the levels projected for the
US.
The Western European countries, led by Germany and
the UK, have some of the largest Internet user populations in the world.
In 2004, the combined Internet populations of Germany, the UK, France,
Italy and Spain totaled 131.5 million, compared to 170.1 million in
the US. By 2008 the gap will narrow considerably to 174.6 million versus
188.5 million, as Internet users grow at a 7.3% annual rate in Europe
as opposed to a 2.6% rate in the US. The fastest growing online countries
in Europe are Italy and Spain.
There is a three-tier digital divide in Western Europe.
The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands are the most wired societies.
Sweden, with three of four individuals online, leads the continent in
Internet penetration. Next are the central European countries. Slightly
more than one-half of Germans use the Internet. The UK, France and Belgium
follow. The least advanced nations in terms of Internet uptake are the
southern European countries of Italy and Spain. In 2004, the Internet
penetration rate in the European Union was 48%, compared to a US rate
of 61%.
Germany lags behind its Western European peers in
broadband household penetration and broadband annual growth, based on
eMarketer's analysis. Overall, broadband uptake in Western European
households is high and penetration rates are quickly approaching the
US level.
Total retail sales growth in Western Europe is weak
– fourth quarter consumer spending increased on an annual basis by a
modest 1.6% overall among the 25 members of the European Union, according
to European Commission data. By comparison, US retail spending for the
same period rose by 8.3%. The UK and Spain have had the healthiest retail
growth, but even these two economies may be showing signs of weakening.
Germany and Italy are experiencing a long, slow slide.
Market size data from the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) shows
the relative growth prospects for the major Western European retail
e-commerce markets.
In 2004, according to Forrester Research, the UK and Germany combined accounted
for over 61% of online sales in Western Europe. When France, Italy and
Spain are added to the mix, the total share increased to 76.9%. By 2009,
the UK and Germany will represent 49.5% of sales, while all five countries
will account for a 76.2% share.
As the US retail e-commerce market matures, many online
retailers are beginning to target customers in faster growing foreign
markets. "Western Europe and the UK in particular are drawing a
lot of interest because of cultural affinities and fewer language barriers,"
said Mr. Grau
To learn more, read the new eMarketer report, Western Europe E-Commerce.
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In
The News
This section contains a selection of articles pertaining
to the Domain Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.
"July 2005 Web Server Survey"
Netcraft (07/01/05)
The Internet could reach historic levels in growth
this year. The Web Server Survey for July 2005, which drew responses
from 67,571,581 sites, reveals that 2.76 million hostnames were added
in the month of June, and that there has been 10.7 million new hostnames
so far this year. The growth of hostnames is on pace to easily surpass
the record increase of 16 million hostnames in 2000, if there is no
significant decline over the second half of the year. The 2.76 million
hostnames added last month is the second-largest gain on record, trailing
only the 3.3 million gain in hostnames in March 2003. Speculation surrounding
domain names, as resale prices rise and revenue generating opportunities
for parked domains grow, is one of the main reasons for the increase.
Opportunities involve pay-per-click advertising and keyword-based contextual
ads. Also, more small businesses are turning to the Internet and Weblogs
are gaining more of a presence online.
(http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2005/07/01/july_2005_web_server_survey.html)
"Company Buys Web Addresses Echoing College Names"
Chronicle of
Higher Education (07/08/05) Vol. 51, No. 44, P. A29; Foster, Andrea
L.
Burnsville, Minn.-based investment company BDC Capital
announced last month that it has purchased more than 1,400 domain names
that sound like the names of colleges in top sports conferences as well
as 22,000 Web addresses mimicking high-school names. Most of the college
names consist of the name of a school combined with a mascot name in
the .com namespace. Some of the more recognizable names are harvarduniversitycrimson.com,
stanforduniversitycardinals.com, and universityofmichiganwolverines.com,
and universityofnotredamefightingirish.com. BDC said it made the purchases
in hopes that other businesses selling college-related items, marketing
sporting events, or promoting ties to alumni would want to license them.
But trademark experts say this declaration of intent could prove costly
if impacted schools should take the company to court. By admitting that
profit was behind the purchases, the case of "bad faith" cybersquatting
can more easily be made. Already, the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor has sent a letter to BDC asking that it stop using the domain
names, and Stanford may follow suit. "We believe that both the
individual and the aggregate values of these largely undeveloped domain
names hold promise as marketing, communications, and outreach vehicles,"
said BDC CEO Richard Pomije in a previously released statement.
(http://www.chronicle.com)
"S'Pore Offers Multilingual Domain Names for
6-Month Trial"
Channel NewsAsia
(07/04/05)
Organizations and individuals in Singapore and elsewhere
around the globe who want to reach Chinese and Tamil speakers online
can sign up for Internet domain names in those languages through the
Singapore Network Information Center (SGNIC). The national domain registry,
which is considering a commercial roll out of the "internationalized"
domain names, has made Chinese and Tamil domain names available to the
public starting July 4, 2005, as part of a six-month trial, which will
end Jan. 3, 2006. SGNIC will have a better idea of whether the IDNs
are in demand as a result of the initiative. The IDNs will have an ".idn.sg"
extension. SGNIC, a unit of the Infocomm Development Authority, wants
to become a regional infocomm hub and offer a multilingual and multiracial
presence online.
(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/156042/1/.html)
© Copyright 2005 Information,
Inc.
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