EuroDNS Blog

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) described its decision to approve the creation of new gTLDs such as .PARIS, .APPLE, .LONDON, etc., as historic, and believe the new extensions will ‘shake up’ search results. 

This initiative means that website addresses could adopt almost any word, in any language as their extension, making the Internet open to users whose language contains accented characters. It will give organizations the opportunity to optimize their brand, country or highlight their ‘good cause’.

Early applications include:

• .EARTH, .HOTEL, .MUSIC, .RADIO, .SHOP

• .AFRICA, .LONDON, .NYC, .PARIS

• .GAY, .WINE, .GOLF, .PEACE

• .CANON, .DELOITTE, .UNICEF


Is it worth it?
Unfortunately, these new extensions are not cheap, with $185,000 application fee, followed by a $35,000 management fee per year. You must also demonstrate sufficient capital to keep the registry operational for a minimum of three years. As with VeriSign, who are responsible for all .COM TLDs, you will be wholly responsible for all the domain names registered with your .NAME gTLD.

But, could that expense and additional work be justified if the new TLD web addresses are automatically favoured over a .COM name? Of course it could, if we are to believe that the new TLDs may receive preferential treatment. 

Alas, Google says no!
Google has emphatically stated that content and relevance will remain the deciding factors when ranking websites, not giving preference to the new TLDs. They strongly warn against registering a new ‘name specific’ TLD expecting it to improve your website’s search engine ranking, as you will be disappointed. (1)

Déjà vu?
This is not a new concept with previous ‘name specific’ TLDs already in use, such as: .MUSEUM, .NAME, .COOP, .AERO, .JOBS, .TRAVEL, .CO and .MOBI. Regrettably, these early TLDs did not always prove successful; .MUSEUM, created in 2001, shows approximately 500 registered domain names, whilst the big names felt safer keeping their original domains: louvre.fr, tate.org.uk, guggenheim.org. 

Despite its rather unsuccessful history, businesses are applying for their own domains, concerned they will lose out to their competitors if they don’t. 

Don’t forget, Google said no! But… 
If they were to be acknowledged as keywords and rated, .MOBI, used by mobile devices for accessing the Internet via the Mobile Web, would benefit from Google’s search engine as they give priority to .MOBI sites when searched from a mobile device. .COM and .MOBI were indexed in less than 12 hours by Google spiders, performing a keyword search and .COM and .MOBI were the only webpages found. 

Should you choose .MOBI? Google said yes when they, along with Microsoft and several tier one CSPs, financially backed the domain.

The clue’s in the name
The IHRA (International Hotel & Restaurant Association) is actively pursuing the .HOTEL extension for the exclusive use of hotels, thus reassuring visitors that they are on genuine hotel sites. It can only help hotels when appearing in searches with this extension, returning control to the hotel industry and away from commercial distributors. Whilst the extension .COM provides no clue, .HOTEL broadcasts its content without question. Adopting place name extensions would also help local hotels in searches, how could besthotel.paris fail?

When publishing your website it is worth remembering that for Google to present the most appropriate page in a search, it is advised that a ccTLD should be used when producing content specific to a particular country. Therefore, when publishing content in French or German, use .FR and .DE, respectively. 

A small, French baker’s website, written in French, would have more success with boulangerie.fr, keeping it local and talking to a specific audience, rather than using boulangerie.com and advertising to the whole world. Boulangerie.paris would appear in searches for Paris, again attracting too wide an audience, but if you were a large chain with branches all over the world then boulangerie.paris, boulangerie.co.uk, may strengthen your branding, and improve results in country-specific searches.

Using the right tool for the job

Should you wish to improve your brand’s exposure, these new TLDs offer a possible opportunity. .CO is working well for start-up businesses, and the media industry has readily adopted the .TV extension. So, whilst they may not improve your keyword usage, they should be recognised as a beneficial marketing tool.

Food for thought
It has been predicted that by the end of 2012 there will be approximately 1000 extension applications approved. Are we really to believe they will be ignored in search engines? That Google, for instance, has not already considered the implications and begun integrating them into their algorithms.We will have to wait and see!

STOP PRESS!
April 12, 2012, ICANN announced that the TLD Application System (TAS) was, temporarily, taken offline due to a bug in the system, allowing a number of applicants access to other applicant’s data.

April 20, 2012, with new procedures in place to improve system performance, and testing underway, ICANN say they are committed to reopening the application system as soon as possible, and endeavouring to notify all affected users.

April 20, 2012, ICANN will not be providing a date for reopening the application system until all affected applicants have been identified and informed. They said, “In order to give all applicants notice and an opportunity to review and complete their applications upon reopening the system, we will keep it open for at least five business days. No later than April 27, we will provide an update on the reopening of the system and the publication of the applied-for new domain names.”

(1)   As stated by Matt Cutts, Team leader Webspam Google, on Google+

EuroDNS announces yet another special, limited time offer on the .CH domain name registration. Valid until May 8, 2012, register .CH domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code PRCH12A and benefit from this special deal available for 2 weeks only!

The latest EuroDNS promotion gives businesses and individuals the opportunity to register with this popular domain name extension, .CH; communicating directly with a Swiss audience, whilst remaining accessible to the rest of the world. Register a Swiss domain name to protect online businesses, creating a memorable and unique web address.

Experience a significant increase in traffic by registering a Swiss domain name. With no restrictions on who may apply, and no limit to the number of domain names any individual or company use, registering a .CH domain name is simple. The length of .CH domain names can be from three to 63 characters, and since March 2004, may contain accented characters. 

SWITCH, the registry in Switzerland administering the .CH domain names since the Internet began, implemented, in November 2010, a new security procedure to combat malware. Despite Swiss websites being amongst the most secure in the world, they were experiencing a rise in websites spreading malicious software. The new security check alerted SWITCH to any possible abuse; the site owner was then contacted and given the opportunity to remedy the problem. If the situation was not addressed within one working day, SWITCH blocked the domain name.

At EuroDNS all that’s needed to register a domain name is under one roof, ensuring a secure and stress-free process. Experience a unique and memorable web address with the .CH extension, communicating on a personal level with the audience in Switzerland.

.CH is the Internet country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Switzerland. The .CH domain comes from Confœderatio Helvetica, the Latin name for the country, introduced after the formation of the federal state in 1848.


More than just cuckoo clocks

Geneva is the birth place of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions, also housing a large number of international organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but is not a member of the European Union, or the European Economic area; joining the EU has been frozen due to the population consistently rejecting membership. Historically, Switzerland remains neutral and avoids alliances that may entail military, political or direct economic action.

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world and possesses the highest wealth per adult of any other country in the world.The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) tunnel, built by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, situated in Geneva, it was also the birth place of the World Wide Web.


Mmmmmm, chocolate!

So much chocolate, so little time; the Swiss are the world’s largest consumers of chocolate and most Swiss chocolate produced, is eaten by themselves. 

Made in Switzerland since the 18th century, the invention of conching and tempering compounded the quality of the chocolate immeasurably. Conching was invented by Rodolphe Lindt in 1879, previously chocolate was conched (agitated) for as little as six hours; legend has it that Rodolphe left a mixer running overnight and after his initial distress, realized the huge improvement to the consistency of the chocolate. Good quality chocolate is now mixed for up to 72 hours. Tempering is the final process in producing chocolate. To achieve a uniform sheen and crisp bite, rather than crumbling, small cocoa butter crystals are produced during this process.


The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sale Officer, EuroDNS said, “We want to offer our customers the best service possible, hence we are offering this promotion on .CH domain names. We believe individuals and companies adopting this extension will experience an increase in traffic to their site, whilst reaching out to one of the richest countries in the world.” 

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we offer a wide range of solutions and services to help our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the needs of our customers, includes cloud computing services. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .CH domain at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRCH12A, valid until May 8, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS. 

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.


About EuroDNS 

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. 

The domain registry lists $225,000 as the value of bowlingballs.com, saturn.pl is worth $189,000, empire.com a mere $135,000. 

Due to the confidential nature of many secondary market domain name transactions it appears that there are few sales taking place, indicating that the market is in decline. This is not so, according to the latest report from Sedo, the sales in 2011 are on par with 2010 ($84,431,965 vs $101, 438, 953) exclude the sale of sex.com in 2011 for $13 million, and the figures are comparable and remain healthy. 

Sales early in 2012 confirm this market to be growing: ule.com selling for $145,000, airline.com at $125,000, qe.com at $89,000. The domain name register at Sedo was led by .COM in 2011, this domain name extension is valued above all other domain name extensions, commanding five to ten times more than the same domain name with an alternative extension, followed by .DE (18%), .CO.UK (6%), .EU (4%), with .CO and .ME still too new to count. 


Time to call in a professional

Certain domain names are highly sought after but not all are up for sale, purchasing and registering these domain names requires an expert to handle all areas of the negotiation.

Whilst the buying, selling and registration of domain names still occurs on public marketplaces and auction listings, confidential transactions currently dominate the arena. According to Sedo 80% of transactions in 2011 were held privately. It is therefore imperative that a registrar professional handles these confidential and possibly sensitive negotiations, one that is able to converse in the native language of the domain name owner whether they take place in Europe, America or Asia. 

The marketplace includes domain names that have expired, along with names that the current owner is not looking to sell. If said owner needs encouragement to sell it is essential that a fair price is quoted, the purchaser’s identity must remain anonymous at all times to avoid any price increase. 

Finally, the transaction must be secure financially, legally and technically.


Knowledge is power

The value of secondary market domain names can vary from thousands to millions of euro. The value of these domain names may be determined by:

• the extension in which the domain name was registered;

• the length of domain name – two and three character names are highly desired due to ease of recollection;

• search engine visibility;

• relevance to a specific audience;

• previous association with a high profile website – well established links with other websites bringing steady traffic.


Being anonymous

To purchase, sell and register your domain names successfully, anonymous transaction management is of primary importance. eBrand Services offers your business the professional help you require for all domain name transactions.

eBrand Services is the corporate branch of EuroDNS, providing solutions and consultation for corporate clients. Specializing in domain name management for companies throughout Europe, customers include multinationals, SMEs, international organizations such as the United Nations, law firms and communication agencies. Support and guidance is provided for optimizing online visibility, and the fiscal aspects of both domain name management and trading. 

For more information, please contact Sylvie Rouen, CEO, eBrand Services, srouen@ebrandservices-fbs.com.

EuroDNS announces yet another special, limited time offer on the .AT domain name extension. Valid until April 24, 2012, register .AT domain names for only €7.99. Enter the promo code PRAT12C and benefit from this special deal available for two weeks only.

The latest EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to register this hugely popular domain name, .AT, bringing them closer to an Austrian audience, whilst still allowing communication with the rest of the world. Registering a .AT domain name will increase company website’s visibility leading to a significant growth in traffic. Registration is straight forward; there are no restrictions on who may apply and one does not need to be based in Austria to qualify for registration. 

Register now or transfer to a .AT domain, the process is easy and the registration is completed in under 48 hours. ‘Continuing obligation’ (similar to utility connections) ensures the contract remains active unless terminated by you, the exception being an unpaid invoice. Alternatively, there is a fixed-term contract which will automatically expire unless renewed.

Schnitzel, Schnapps, and Mr Universe

Austria is proud to be the birthplace of some of the most famous people in history, such as composers Haydn, Liszt, Schubert, Strauss, and Mozart; painters including Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, and 38th Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Since joining the European Union in January 1995, Austria has become more and more open to foreign trade. Its central location in the heart of the EU allows Austria to deal with major economic players.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS returns with yet another exciting promotion for our customers offering an excellent deal on.AT domain names with the .AT extension  available at €7.99 only for the next two weeks. Last month EuroDNS announced an additional standard for .AT domain names; the launch of DNSSEC security standard which enhances the safety and security of .AT extensions.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the latest wishes of our customers, includes cloud computing services. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .AT domain at the unbeatable price of €7.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PRAT12C, valid till April 24, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS. 

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS 

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. 

EuroDNS is a Platinum Sponsor of Domaining 2012  

EuroDNS, a leading Domain Name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions, will be exhibiting at Domaining 2012 in Spain - as Platinum Sponsor.Domaining 2012 is one of the biggest events for the domain name industry. For its fourth edition, the conference will take place in Valencia, Spain on April 26 – 28, 2012 and bring together the biggest names in the industry. Attendees (120-150 expected) will be discussing gTLDs, ccTLDs and domain markets at Sorolla Palace Hotel during three days.

This year, the show will focus on the arrival of new Top Level Domains, including city TLDs like .paris, .berlin and .madrid. New extensions that have already arrived on the scene, like .xxx and .co, will also be covered. The event will also attract some of the most remarkable domain name investors.

Xavier Buck, EuroDNS founder and chairman, has been nominated keynote speaker for the event. As such he will present “Past, present and future of domains” on Friday, April 27, at 11.30 am while Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer of EuroDNS, will take part in the “Industrial News” session, at 6:30 pm that same day. 

Join us at Domaining 2012 and discover how our solutions can assist you with your domain names related needs.

If you are interested to meet us and discuss partnerships, promotion, advertising or more, please contact sales@eurodns.com


About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a leading Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption.