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Registrar Connections
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January 2009
In this issue
Enhanced Broadcast Messaging
VeriSign Customer Support is pleased to announce
that in December 2008, we launched a new broadcast messaging / alert
service. Now registrars will be able to receive enhanced broadcast
messaging for Registry-related customer notifications, including emergency
and non-emergency messages such as registrar advisories, maintenance
notices, and Webinar invitations. With the Send Word Now (SWN) Alert Services, registrars now have the
option to receive VeriSign notifications to an expanded list of your
designated communication devices -- phone, email, or mobile phone text
messaging; or all three.
Since the SWN Alert Services is a third-party
vendor, email notifications will require that you add the following
email address to your “Safe Email List” to ensure that your spam filters
do not block this address: swnalert@sendwordnow.com.
All notifications will be securely initiated and managed by VeriSign
Customer Support and it will be clear that the message is from VeriSign.
The enhanced broadcast messaging service was
recently tested to determine if registrars were able to successfully
receive our customer notifications. Technical Support Representatives
researched and resolved message delivery failures after testing.
As part of the test, registrars were also asked to verify contact information.
As previously indicated, registrars may also provide additional contacts,
add alternate communication devices or additional devices for your team
members by contacting Customer Support at info@verisign-grs.com.
We’ll be happy to update your information.
If you have any questions regarding the expanded
notification service or about the planned tests, please contact Customer
Support. Remember, you can also chat with us 24/7 at Chat
Now. (https://admin.instantservice.com/links/5851/21316)
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New
Unit Rebate Program: What You Could Be Doing
With the VeriSign 2009 new unit rebate program
in full swing, now is the time to ensure your marketing outreach and
new customer acquisition efforts are all in place and working most effectively
for you. Programs designed to increase new registrations in the first
quarter can help you meet and exceed your goals for the new unit program.
Below are three simple marketing approaches and initiatives you can
utilize to assist you in these growth efforts. These are just a small
sampling of the many demand generation opportunities registrars can
employ. Regardless of how large or small your budget and resources,
or how simple or sophisticated your programs may be, you can adapt these
efforts to fit what is right for your organization.
- Review
and optimize your customer targeting as needed. Many of you may be targeting
small businesses for example, but with increasing competitiveness in
the marketplace, and constraints on budgets, it is important to ensure
you employ the most effective means to reach these prospects. For example,
is geographic targeting a good strategy for you? If you want to provide
more customized services bundled with domain name registrations, perhaps
targeting customers in a defined geographic area can help. This approach
can be especially helpful as you obtain target lists for direct mail
or email campaigns, or create your online search advertising programs,
which can include geo-targeting parameters to focus on a particular
region or area.
Speaking of search, be sure you are taking advantage of all search has
to offer. This includes submissions to search engines to ensure your
website will be found when prospects are using Google, Yahoo or related
search services to find results such as domain names, and optimizing
the terms and links in press releases your company may create to increase
the likelihood of appearing in search engine results.
- Apply
segmentation to your acquisition efforts. By identifying a particular
segment of your overall target that shares similar needs and problems,
you can better reach these prospective customers and ensure you are
presenting the most compelling message and offer to them. Using small
businesses as an example, you may determine that your product has features
or benefits that particularly appeal to professional service-related
companies, such as doctors, lawyers or accountants. With this in mind,
you can obtain lists designed to specifically reach these segments,
and you can ensure your offer is tailored to their need and shows how
your product helps to solve their business problem. Customize the message
to show a relevant domain name they might register for their practice
and the benefits an online site can provide in scheduling appointments
or providing online information tools. You are more likely to reach
and consider these specialized prospects if you focus your message,
outreach and offer to them.
- Utilize
social media and communities to generate leads and interest. By contributing
to a forum, maintaining a corporate or related blog, or posting special
offers to third-party forums and sites, you can use the power of word
of mouth marketing to reach prospects who may otherwise provide difficult
to convince to consider your service. This type of approach can be especially
powerful if you are targeting developers, designers, or others in a
technology role. These buyers tend to rely heavily on reputation
and recommendations by their peers, so a positive peer comment posted
to a site can be more effective than paid advertising.
There are several websites that provide additional
resources and information on online, email acquisition and word of mouth
marketing programs, including Marketing Sherpa at www.marketingsherpa.com
and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association at www.womma.org.
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Help Improve
Your Bottom Line in 2009 with Internet Profile Service
Have you signed up for the Internet Profile Service for Registrars yet? If not – or if
you have, but haven’t accessed your reports yet – we’d like to tell
you more about this program and how it can help improve your bottom
line in 2009. There’s no cost to you, and you can use it to reach your
customers with targeted, timely offers.
The Internet Profile Service for Registrars
provides a new way to learn more about the .com, .net, .tv and .cc domain
names you manage on behalf of your customers. The service provides relevant,
actionable reports to help you better segment and target your customers,
and in turn, help improve domain name registration and renewal rates.
It’s easy to participate, and there are several
reports to choose from based on various attributes. For example, if
you want to increase .tv domain name registrations, you can use the Rich Media
Content report to identify your .com and .net registrant customers
who are prime candidates for a corresponding .tv registration based
on particular attributes related to their domain name or Web site. These
include links to rich media content, commonly found key words on the
Web site, embedded content from major video content providers, and other
characteristics. These .tv domain names have been automatically cross-checked
with the .tv zone as available for registration prior to your report being generated.
It’s easy to participate. Just sign and return
the Internet
Profile Service for Registrars Agreement, retrieve customized
reports from your FTP account, and use the data from these reports to
contact your customers through telemarketing, direct mail, and email
marketing programs.
To learn more, please visit
our Web site, or contact Customer Support.
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Compliance Corner:
Registration Authentication Process
As part of VeriSign’s compliance program, VeriSign
is implementing a new authentication operational requirement for registrars.
Starting this month, all newly accredited registrars, as well as those
who have not yet been granted access to the SRS(s), will be required
to undergo the authentication process before they will be permitted
to register domain names within VeriSign’s Shared Registration System
(“SRS”). Existing registrars will also be required to undergo
the authentication process and each registrar will be contacted by VeriSign’s
Customer Affairs Office prior to the commencement of the process.
What will the Authentication Process Involve?
In order to comply with the authentication
requirement, each registrar, at a minimum, will be required to provide
requested documentation demonstrating the following:
- That the Registrar
is currently registered with and approved by an official registration
or chartering agency in their jurisdiction. (For those companies registered
in the United States the agency may be the Secretary of State.
For companies registered outside of the United States the agency will
vary);
- That the domain
registration (i.e. Whois) details of the domain name provided by the
registrar reflect the full organization name and other details as provided
in the notice of accreditation received from ICANN; and
- That the ICANN Primary
Contact (or the individual executing the Registry Registrar Agreement
for those registrars already in production) is an employee of the registrar
and /or has the appropriate authority to act on behalf of the registrar.
VeriSign may also employ a variety of additional
methods to authenticate the registrar. Additional authentication requirements
may be required to successfully validate that the authentication requirements
have been met.
How Will It Work?
As stated above, starting this month, all newly
accredited Registrars, as well as those who have not yet been granted
access to the SRS(s), will be required to complete the authentication
procedure as part of VeriSign’s domain name registrar certification
process. Existing Registrars will be required to undergo the authentication
process by VeriSign throughout the year as part of the VeriSign compliance
program and will be contacted with the necessary details to begin the
process.
The authentication process will be required
as part of the Operational Requirements under Section 2.11 of the Registry
Registrar Agreements.
VeriSign may modify the authentication process
and/or require additional means to validate that a Registrar has met
the VeriSign authentication requirements.
Have questions or want more information?
Simply e-mail cao@verisign-grs.com
or call +1 703-925-6999 and a VeriSign representative will be happy
to assist.
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International Marketing Program
Update
VeriSign currently has several key international
programs underway to increase awareness and growth of .com domain names
in key regions worldwide.
The first VeriSign local language advertising
campaign in China launched in December 2008. This campaign is designed
to further increase awareness, understanding and adoption of .com domain
names throughout the country. With the campaign tagline, ".com brings the world to your business", the advertising
and content was positioned to appeal to small business owners expanding
their operations and increasing their reach to customers online. Developed with
local agency MRM in Beijing, the campaign uses traditional Chinese characters
and images to reinforce the notion that local companies in China can
reap the benefits from using a .com domain name as part of their business
and brand. Extensive research of small businesses in both Beijing and
Shanghai metro areas was used to guide the messaging and campaign development
to ensure they met the needs of, and was positively received by, the
key intended audience. The campaign consists of online, print and search
advertising, as well as ongoing public relations outreach efforts. The
advertising directs customers to a campaign microsite with an advertised
URL to gather leads from prospects who come to the site to learn more
about .com domain names or search for a domain name through one of the
campaign’s participating registrars. The campaign microsite can be viewed
at www.51mycom.com
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VeriSign’s Webinar Schedule
for February and March
Thank you to those of you who joined us for
the January VIDN Webinar, the first of the 2009 webinar series.
For those of you who were unable to attend please email namingmarketing@verisign.com
for archive details or click here
for more VIDN information.
Mark your calendars for the next two webinars
that VeriSign will be hosting. The first is scheduled for Thursday,
February 19, during which Vice President of Product Marketing, Jill
McNabb, will be speaking about the latest Domain Name Industry Brief
and Industry Trends. Then on Thursday, March 20 we will have a technical
webinar focusing on VeriSign’s EPP SDK’s and Tools.
A separate email from Naming Marketing will
be sent out with Dial-In and Log-In details- we look forward to having
you join us then. If you have any issues logging into the archive or
have questions feel free to contact Naming Marketing: namingmarketing@verisign.com.
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VeriSign EPP SDK’s and Tools
VeriSign builds and supports multiple EPP Software
Development Kits (SDK’s) and tools to make it easy for Registrars to
integrate with the provisioning systems. The complete list of
EPP SDK’s and the tools is available on the Domain
Name Services EPP Software Development Kits web page.
The EPP SDK’s and tools include:
- Java EPP SDK
- C++ EPP SDK
- EPP Tool
- Protocol Tool
VeriSign is continuing to look at ways to improve
the EPP SDK’s and tools based on the feedback you supply to Account
Managers, in surveys, in Customer Service requests, and in Engineering
Symposiums. If there are any tools or improvements to existing
tools that you would like to see, please reach out to Customer Service
at +1 703-925-6999.
Java EPP SDK
The Java EPP SDK provides a set of binary and
open source distributions that support all of the services available
in the following provisioning systems:
- COM NET
Registry
- Name
Store Platform including TV, CC, JOBS, and Domain Name Suggestion Service
- NAME
Registry
The high level features included in the Java
EPP SDK include:
- Server Stub – The SDK includes a test server that can be run locally
for testing. The Server Stub supports multiple transports (TCP,
SSL, HTTP, HTTPS) and supports full XML schema validation. The
Server Stub can also be customized to simulate specific server behavior
and includes an in-memory poll queue for testing EPP poll queue messaging.
Having a local EPP Server can be very useful for testing client-side
code independent of whether you use the Java EPP SDK in your client
code. For example, the Java EPP SDK Server Stub was used to test
the C++ EPP SDK.
- Session
Pooling – Full support for one or more session pools with independent
pool policies, with automatic idle timeout and absolute timeout management,
and with independent SSL configurations. Using the built in Session
Pooling can greatly simplify the client-side code that needs to meet
the VeriSign connection policies.
- XML Schema
Validation – Ensures that the EPP commands in the Server Stub and the
responses in the client code are fully compliant with the EPP XML schemas.
The validation can be turned off as well.
- XML Schema
Caching – XML Schema Validation can be made more efficient with the
use of the built in XML Schema Caching.
- Pluggable
transports – A client can be configured to connect using TCP, SSL, HTTP,
or HTTPS without any coding changes.
The latest distributions of the Java EPP SDK
(Name Store / SRS Bundle 3.8.0.2 and NAME Bundle 1.2.0.2) include the
following enhancements:
- Support
for the Name Suggestion language element and the DNSSEC Extension (RFC
4310) in the Name Store / SRS Bundle
- Support
for pipelining commands. This helps reduce the transport latency.
- Support
for pre-creating session pool sessions at initialization. This
helps grab the desired number of sessions at startup.
- Support
for configurable new session retries. This helps mitigate intermittent
dropped connections without having to write the retry logic yourself.
C++ EPP SDK
The C++ EPP SDK supports all of the services
of the COM NET Registry. Instead of VeriSign building a new C++
EPP SDK, an add-on was built for the open source EPP-RTK.
The add-on is called the comnet-rtk-addon, and it builds on the following
EPP-RTK distributions to provide a fully featured C++ EPP SDK for the
COM NET Registry:
- EPP-RTK
DomTools 1.0.6
- EPP-RTK
CPP 0.9.3
EPP Tool
The EPP
Tool is a form based web-based tool for creating and sending
EPP XML Commands to EPP servers in OT&E. All of the services
available in the following provisioning systems are supported:
- COM NET
Registry (Core)
- Name
Store Platform (NameStore) including TV, CC, JOBS, and Name Suggestion
The EPP Tool requires no setup and can be used
to send any EPP command (well formed or not) in OT&E to test various
scenarios. It is also useful for learning the EPP commands and
extensions supported by the COM NET Registry and the Name Store Platform.
Protocol Tool
The Protocol Tool is a Java Client that can
connect to multiple environments (OT&E, Production, Java EPP SDK
Server Stub) with a set of customizable templates and with three menu
layouts. The layouts supported include Name Store, SRS (COM/NET), and
NAME. The Protocol Tool can connect to servers using multiple transports
in parallel (EPP/SSL, EPP/TCP, EPP/HTTPS, EPP/HTTP). It requires Java
1.4 or higher and requires an official Java Keystore for connecting
to OT&E or Production.
As you can see there are a variety of options
to meet your technical specifications. We hope this recap provided value
to you and your organization. Lastly mark your calendars, VeriSign
will host a SDK & Engineering Tools Webinar on March 20- please
plan on attending. In the meantime, if you have any additional
feedback, comments or concerns please reach out to Customer Service
at +1 703-925-6999.
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Customer Service FAQs: What
Your Should Know
Q: Once a domain name has been renewed, can the renewal be
cancelled so that the domain name's expiration date is pushed back?
A:
No, once the renewal has been successfully completed, the domain name's
expiration date can not be changed to the pre-renewal expiration date
by any means.
Q: If a transfer is initiated during the Auto Renew Grace Period,
but the transfer was completed after the Auto Renew Grace Period, will
the losing registrar receive a refund for the auto-renewal?
A:
Yes. Please note that the transfer initiation is the basis for a refund
to the losing registrar. If the transfer is initiated during the auto-renew
grace period, and completes successfully either during or after the
auto renew grace period then the losing registrar will receive a credit
for the auto renew fee.
Q: How can a Registrar reconcile their monthly invoice?
A:
There are several reports available to Registrars but the Monthly Billing
Transaction report will show all the registrars billable transactions
for that month. You can access the report through the FTP server ftp.verisign-grs.com.
If you need your login credentials, please contact customer support
with your security phrase.
Please note that VeriSign Registry recommends
for all Registrars to archive all their reports so they can use them
in the future. VeriSign replaces the reports with new ones. Only the
most recent reports are available in the ftp server.
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eMarketer: Internet Users Spending
Even More Time on Web
Published: January 16, 2009
US Web population increases online leisure time, but still trails
China.
Americans are spending more time online, on
both a daily and weekly basis. At-home access far outstripped at-work
access time in 2008, according to Harris
Interactive. Expect both trends to continue in 2009, as a
hefty percentage of unemployed people use the Internet to find jobs
or additional training or education, and adults who are worried about
the economic and international news check in more frequently.
However, US adults are not world leaders in
spending leisure time online. That distinction goes to Internet users
in China, who spent 44% of their leisure time on the Internet in 2008,
according to TNS
Global. The company found that Americans ranked fifth worldwide,
at 30% of leisure time spent online—virtually tied with Italy (31%),
Spain and Australia (29% each).
The US may move up in the rankings in coming
years. Since 2001, the average amount of time US adults spent online
per week doubled, from 7 hours to 14 hours. Harris Interactive’s annual
telephone poll revealed that average Internet hours grew slowly between
2001 and 2006, but took off in 2007 and increased even more rapidly
in 2008.
At-home usage saw a more dramatic surge during
that time, according to the USC
Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. Their yearly
survey found that US Internet users spent an average of 15.3 hours per
week online in 2007, compared with about 9 hours the year before.
To read the full report, please contact Jennifer
Moore at 212.763.6046 or send an email to jmoore@emarketer.com
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Industry News
This section contains a selection of articles pertaining to the Domain
Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.
The Internet's 100 Oldest Dot-Com Domains
IDG News Service (12/22/08) Raphael, JR
Some of the Internet's earliest domain names
are still in use while others have become defunct. The first .com domain
name was symbolics.com, which was registered on March 15, 1985, by a
computer manufacturer. Although Symbolics declared bankruptcy in the
early 1990s, the domain is still in use under new ownership. Other early
.coms still in use include hp.com, which was the ninth registered .com.
IBM, AT&T, and Apple all followed by registering their own trademarked
domains shortly after Hewlett-Packard. Although some of these major
organizations were able to register their domains early, many of the
Internet's current dominant brands did not choose to register until
much later. Prominent late bloomers include Microsoft, which registered
microsoft.com in 1991, and google.com, which was registered in 1997.
(Web
Link)
Online Video Viewing Jumps 34 Percent
CNet
(01/05/09) Musil, Steven
U.S. Internet users watched 12.7 billion online
videos in November, a 34 percent increase from the same period a year
ago, according to comScore. Google Sites was the leader in online video,
with almost 5.1 billion videos viewed. YouTube made up more than 98
percent of Google's traffic. Fox Interactive Media and Viacom Digital
rounded out the top three. The report also found that 77 percent of
U.S. Internet users watched an online video in 2008. Several sites,
including YouTube and Hulu, are attempting to draw advertising revenue
to support online video. One analyst predicts that the market for online
video advertising will grow by as much as 45 percent in 2009. An eMarketer
study predicts that the market for video ads will rise to $4.6 billion
over the next five years.
TV.com a leading destinations for online video
viewers. "In the past, it's been a place to get information,"
says Anthony Soohoo, who oversees the entertainment and lifestyle categories
for CBS Interactive. "If we add more video content to the site,
we believe it can drive more community." (Web
Link)
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