Bing and Yahoo search ads to merge by end of October

Bing and Yahoo search advertising will merge by the end of October, Microsoft said Tuesday.

Both search engines will move to Microsoft’s advertising platform, adCenter, in the U.S. and Canada. The combination is part of the Microsoft-Yahoo search partnership.

Last week, Bing began providing all the search results for Yahoo’s websites in the U.S., making Bing the second largest search engine behind Google. Google is still the king of the hill, with 66 percent of the search market. Together, Bing and Yahoo have 28 percent, according to research firm comScore.

Most users will probably not notice a difference. The handover is more significant for advertisers, who will no longer have to buy advertising at three different sites — Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo’s advertisers will have to make the move to adCenter.

Major advertisers, worried about Google’s de facto monopoly, want the Microsoft-Yahoo partnership to create more competition for search advertising.

Calorie.org Auction Begins today

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Calorie.org, an 11-year old domain name is being auction at Digibroker.com. Starting bid is $5,000 and the auction runs until September 9, 2010 at Midnight. Estibot values this domain name at $9,500 undeveloped.

This keyword is search 7.5 million times a month. Stop by digibroker.com and see their auction for calorie.org.

The Way to Sell Domain Names to End Users

This article i from AlanBolen.com. Thought you might like to hear a different perspective.

If you’ve got domain names to sell and need to know a way to sell a site name then this text is for you. You would like to sell domain names however don’t know where to begin? Domain selling is clearly not as easy as domain shopping for as I’m positive you found out already. So how to sell domain names? Is there a domain tool or are there whois domain tools that may help? How do I begin domain selling? These are some of the queries this text can address.

First necessary step to sell a site name is to own a high quality domain. Sadly, 95% of domains are basically worthless. Individuals often register name that sound cool, and could build excellent sites if they’re developed and branded, however as domains are only value some dollars. Thus the first step to domain selling is to create positive your name is actually valuable. Keywords with high search volume within the name will forever help sell your domain name. You start by doing keyword analysis on your domain name and related terms to urge an plan of the potential market. Selling domain names that are directly related to a marketable product or service is abundant easier than attempting to sell domain names that are in an exceedingly niche that has no products or services. Domain selling needs somebody to perceive your domain as a method to increase their revenues.

The full key to domain selling is to find somebody that already knows the price of that domain. Sounds obvious, but most individuals do not understand the gravity of that statement. You will want to search out and speak to end users that are already competing in the identical niche. Thus where and the way do I realize buyers interested my domains? There are a few ways in which of doing this, and therefore the suggested method is to use a website tool. Whois domain tools can prevent tons of your time and frustration.

In order to understand what a good domain tool does, we tend to can first outline the manual process used to sell domains. The domain selling method sometimes starts with typing your keywords into a pursuit engine. Then each result’s manually checked using a whois domain tool to find the e-mail address and name of the owner. The last step involves contacting each person one after the other and informing them that your domain is available. To sell a website clearly needs persistence and patience. You’ll not sell your domain name if you lack these qualities unless you have got a good domain tool to help you.
To summarize the way to sell domain names:

1. Sell domain names that have price, have a top quality domain for sell to begin with.
2. Find interested consumers in the same niche using whois domain tools or do it manually.
3. Contact the potential consumers to allow them to understand you are selling your domain.
4. Carry on, being persistent and patient.

Shopping for and selling domain names can be frustrating, exciting and rewarding all rolled into one. I can honestly say it’s very exciting when you sell a site name to an end user for a nice profit! Armed with a very little data, and the right whois domain tools you too can sell domain names successfully.

The key to being successful in selling domains or something else for that matter, is to stay educating yourself and making an attempt new methods. You’ll learn more about how to sell your domain name at sell domain name guide. Experience the joy of domain selling for yourself!

Jervais Tucker has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Selling, you can also check out latest website about

Are domain auctions doing the right thing?

In the past six-months, we have seen many major auctions sell less domain names than a year ago. So is it auctions are seeing the end of the auction concept? I say NO… The auction platform is still alive and well but the concept of selling premium domain names has changed. In the past, domain name holders focused on buying premium domain names and holding for six-months to a year and then selling for 2x the original price they paid. The focus has changed to where premium domain name holders are developing their names into websites and business models.

The state of the economy is affecting every products sales including domain names. Developing domain names into businesses allows the domain owner to sell products or services 24-7 to a global audience. If the business model works, the name now can be sold as a name and business with revenue skyrocketing the price over its original single domain name price.

Additionally, auction platforms list too many domain names not allowing time to focus on a domainn names attributes. Many of the past domain names in auctions had or have first page rankings in all of the major search engines with thousands of unique visitors and income from ads or adwords. Have you heard any of this stated in an auction? It is like buying a car. I can tell you I have a new Ford F150 for xxx dollars. Unless I tell you the options, it rating and why you should pay the listed price, you are not going to buy without specific information. The same is true for domain names.

So what would make an auction work better?

1. 70% of all domain name buyers and investors live in the Untied States. Focus 9 out of 10 auctions in the Untied States
2. Get the message out… There is virtually no advertising to end-users
3. List 100 names and no more and spend the time to tout the plus factors about the name
4. Pre-Qualify buyers! This is very important
5. Plan auctions in locations other than Florida, west coast and east coast. No one has serviced the Chicago area that I have seen. It is central to many states and it is a major center for high dollar buyers.
6. Offer incentives! Hold a raffle for a super premium name that requires attendance…
7. Hold more video auctions without the need for an expo or physical meeting place

These are but a few ideas… This is a business and it is all about marketing. After 13-years of domaining, I have not seen the marketing efforts of major domain auctioneers change. Business has changed and those that don’t change the way they do business are doomed for failure.

Finally, the quality of domain names being offer has declined for the most part. If you want junk, go to a junk yard. If you want premium quality, go to a showroom. It takes work to convince premium domain name holders to list their domain names for sale. A seasoned domainer will not lit a domain name in a down market. Remember this is a business and require a plan. Have your buyers ready for premium domain names and pre-qualify them prior to contacting premium name holders so that you can offer this information to a name holder.

IN the past, I have agreed to have people sell my domain names and they made minimal efforts. If you are selling, ask your broker or representative what are you going to do to market my domain name. If they can’t state a plan to do so, move on.

I hope this helps …

Bruce www.digibroker.com

cloudtechnology.org – Huge Keywords Domain Name $1,300

Cloud Technology has the interest of all of the major companies such as Dell and Microsoft. This domain name is perfect for a .org extension. The future is in the cloud technology realm…

http://digibroker.com/cloudtechnology.org

Choice Domain Names Pitched as Investments

Forget real estate, the stock market or Internet startups, the new way to make fast money is to invest in domain names, argues a domain name brokerage that will auction off a passel of domain names on Wednesday in New York.

Stocks.com, Rate.com, Quotes.com, Reggae.com, Cable.com, Artist.com, Alcohol.com and voters.com are among the 934 names up on the block at this auction. Oversee.net, through its SnapNames service, will oversee the auction, which it expects to bring in millions of dollars.

While registrars such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions offer the ability for anyone to own an previously unclaimed Internet domain name, usually for less than US$20, a secondary market of already claimed but seemingly valuable domain names has long existed. And now the brokers in the field are pitching these domain names as an investment opportunity.

For companies that wish to increase their online presence, the appeal of buying a premium domain name is to “own the category” that the business is in, said Jeff Kupietzky, the CEO of Oversee.net. He referred to how Barnes & Noble owns books.com and Johnson & Johnson owns baby.com. Such names can generate immense traffic just by the virtue of being a commonly used word with an attached .com that curious people will type into browsers.

In addition to targeting companies slow to realize the value in a choice Web address, Oversee.net is also hoping to attract buyers who may not even have business interest in a particular domain name itself. Just buying a domain name, Kupietzky noted, can be a good investment opportunity.

“Domains, really, are almost like commercial real estate. They’re investments on their own,” Kupietzky said. He called them “Internet real-estate.” Purchasers can buy a name with no intent on attaching it to some enterprise, but rather hold on to it, or perhaps run some ads on the site, and then resell it a few years later, hopefully at a profit.

“People could be buying, either for the sake of development, or because they expect to sell the name to somebody else,” Kupietzky said. Verisign estimated that there are about 193 million top-level domain names registered across the Internet.

The domain name aftermarket seems to be a growing one. Another domain name broker, Sedo, has estimated that domain name resales generate about $500 million a year, and that the market grew in the second quarter of this year by 38 percent. At least one investment fund has been started ostensibly devoted only to investing in domain names.

Founded in 2000, Oversee.Net now owns over a million domain names itself. The company developed computerized algorithms to determine which as-of-yet unsold domain names have potential value, by scouring the Web for frequently used words and search terms. “It’s much more art than science for evaluating the domain name for the purpose of reselling,” Kupietzky said.

In May, the company sold Slots.com for $5.5 million, and dating.com for $1.75 million, both on the same day. On Tuesday, the company sold a set of t-shirt related domain names (Tshirt.com, T-shirt.com, T-shirts.com, Tee-shirts.com) for $1.265 million.

The company also offers a set of management services for other domain name brokers, including appraisals and escrow services.

Thus far, the company has held about 10 auctions over the past four years. This week’s auction will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time. Bids can also be submitted online, via a simulcast. A live caller, who has auctioned homes, cattle and all manner of other physical assets, will oversee the proceedings.

“The benefit of the live action is to allow everyone in the room, and on the Internet, to immediately know the value of a domain name through the auction process,” Kupietzky said. The reserve, or the minimum bidding price, for the highest profile names, such as stocks.com, will likely start at $1 million or more.

Bidders are required to preregister, so Oversee.net can check to see if they have the financial wherewithal to purchase a name. Through a partner, Oversee.net can offer financing for up to 80 percent of the cost of the name, using the name as collateral.

Some of the domain names will also come with complete businesses as well. “We’re seeing a model where the domain name has all the value and [the business] just comes with it,” said Kupietzky.

“Think of it like commercial real estate. If I sold you a property on Columbus Circle in New York, there may be an old apartment building on it. While you know the apartment building brings in some rent, the real value is the location. Ultimately, you will tear that down and build a much more expensive property,” he said.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab’s e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com

Mandeville companies sue programmer for stealing domain names

8/25/2010 7:17 AM By Michelle Massey

Barbier
Two Mandeville companies have filed a lawsuit against their computer programmer for stealing their domain names.

Corks N Canvas and Painting with a Twist filed suit against Brent Pourciau and Hauser Productions on Aug. 18 in federal court in New Orleans.

The plaintiffs provide a program of group instructional painting classes where participants can learn painting techniques, product art and socialize. The groups are the owner of federal service mark registration for Painting With a Twist, Reg. No. 3,703,428 filed Jan. 14, 2009 and registered Oct. 27, 2009.

The defendant was retained in 2008 to assist the groups with designing a computer program, to create and maintain websites, set up search engine optimization, and register domain names.

Corks N Canvas and Painting with a Twist claim the defendant registered the domain name in his own name with the intent to further his own interest and to injure their business.

Further, the plaintiffs claim that after business picked up, the defendant requested additional compensation for past work, as a condition to continue to operate the computer programs and maintain the website.

The defendant is also accused of building the computer program into his own site instead of a stand-alone computer program as agreed.

The petitioners terminated their working relationship with the defendants in May 2010.

The defendants are accused of cybersquatting, trademark infringement, false designation of origin of Painting with a Twist Mark, false and deceptive advertising, copyright infringement, unfair competition under Louisiana law, dilution under Louisiana law, and Louisiana unfair Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Corks N Canvas and Painting with a Twist are asking the Court to prevent the defendants from further infringement activities, to engage in corrective advertising, to account and disgorge all profits derived from the unlawful acts, an award of damaged, enhanced damages, statutory damages of $100,000 per domain name misuse, attorney fees, interest and court costs.

The plaintiffs are represented by Stephen G. Bullock and Lesli D. Harris of Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann in New Orleans.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier is assigned to the case.

Case No. 2:10cv02773

How to Fine Tune Your Domain Trading Business to Earn More Money

Most of us buy a good expired domain at a hefty asking price and add that domain to our ever growing inventory of domains. But, we also forget to work on them immediately to make them commercially viable and profit making. Failure to turn your collection of expired domains into commercial entities will lead to a certain financial disaster. Smart expired domain entrepreneurs make it a point to subject their expired domains to all sorts of monetizing treatments, so that they can recover their investment within the shortest possible time. Once you purchase your domain and register it with a registrar, you may wish to start working on it immediately.

The most common method to monetize your domain is to follow these simple steps:

a) Create a min site of a page or two and add relevant content to the pages. Once this site is up and running, you can subscribe the portal to a lucrative program like Adsense. Adsense is a famous web site monetization program.

b) Another intelligent thing to here is to attract web site visitors to clock on some sponsored advertising banner in the form of an Adsense box.

Tips: Ensure that you are using latest and advanced SEO techniques while inserting content.

Note: You may also need to check the accumulated traffic in your site. If you perceive that the traffic generated is disappointing, then you may need to change the content to make it more suitable for the advertising.

Caution: Whatever you do, just ensure that you are recovering the cost of maintaining your expired domains like annual registration charges.

When you host an Adsence campaign, you have to make sure that the expired domains make enough money. You may wish to set a definite goal for each of your expired domains. As a starter, you can set a goal of around $10 everyday for each of your expired domains. Now, you will need to work towards making your goals a big success.

Here is a simple income generation scenario:

Let us say that you have 10 expired domain based Adsense web sites. Your main goal is to earn about $10 per site every month. If you compute the monthly income, the anticipated value is 10 x $10= $100 per month or $1200 per month.

Building traffic to your Adsense web sites: Targeted content composed with relevant keywords is known to bring more number of visitors. The content that you insert must ensure the following two objectives:

1) What people are looking for right now
2) What are the most suitable keywords that an advertisers is likely to pay

Advertisers also look for those keywords that are in stiff competition among themselves; these keywords will get instant attention, as they are more likely to generate increased income. Keyword selection demand considerable amount of work and the most sensitive details include:

Top bid price suggested by competitors
Traffic generated during a given period of time
Average traffic generated during the time
Perceived advertiser’s competition suggested.

Profitable keyword selection seems to be the ultimate success mantra to your expired domain trading business. Research efforts focused towards finding the best possible expired domains should be your top priority.

About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.ExpiredDomainGains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.

Yahoo switches over to Microsoft’s Bing for searches in US, Canada in challenge to Google

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE , Associated Press

August 24, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft Corp.’s technology is now processing all the search requests on Yahoo Inc.’s website in the U.S. and Canada, completing a long-awaited leap that creates a more formidable challenger to Google Inc. in the most lucrative part of the online advertising market.

Tuesday’s shift marks the biggest step yet in a partnership that Microsoft and Yahoo forged 13 months ago after spending years trying to catch up to Google on their own, only to fall further behind.

Microsoft eventually will fuel Yahoo’s search engine throughout the world, but the transition in other countries won’t occur until next year and 2012. The technology in the U.S. and Canada will only field requests made in English for now, with other languages expected to be added in the next few weeks. The deal doesn’t affect Yahoo Japan Corp., a separately run company that plans to rely on Google’s search technology.

Since regulators approved their alliance six months ago, Microsoft and Yahoo have been scrambling to get their systems to work cohesively in the U.S. so that they would be able to capitalize on the advertising blitz that heralds the holiday shopping season in November and December. Now that Bing is powering Yahoo’s search requests, Microsoft’s next challenge is getting its marketing service ready to serve up ads alongside Yahoo’s search results before the holidays. Yahoo is providing the ads for now.

By leaning on Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Yahoo plans to dramatically lower expenses and focus on other products as it tries to snap out of a financial funk that has depressed its stock price.

Yahoo will sell some ads initially and will use Microsoft’s technology to display them. During the first half of the 10-year partnership, Yahoo will get 88 percent of the ad revenue from search requests on its website. After that, the commission could fall to as low as 83 percent or as high as 93 percent, depending on which company handles sales with the top search advertisers.

Microsoft tried to take advantage of Yahoo’s problems in 2008 when it offered to buy its rival for $47.5 billion, only to withdraw the bid when the two sides kept quibbling over the price. That’s a decision that Yahoo investors and even the company’s current CEO, Carol Bartz, have lamented, with Yahoo’s stock price trading far below Microsoft’s last offer of $33 per share. Yahoo shares fell 18 cents to $13.47 in Tuesday’s afternoon trading while Microsoft shares declined 14 cents to $24.14.

As it picks up more traffic from Yahoo, Microsoft hopes to get a better understanding of people’s search requests and establish Bing as a more compelling alternative to Google. If it can pull that off, Microsoft will be in a better position to finally start making money in its online division, which has lost $4 billion combined in the company’s last two fiscal years alone.

Combined, Microsoft and Yahoo hold a 28 percent share of the U.S. search market, still far behind Google’s 66 percent, according to comScore Inc.

Even though Microsoft will be powering Yahoo’s search engine, Yahoo says its search results won’t look identical to those at Bing. That’s because Yahoo’s engineers can still tweak the results to serve up unique twists, such as different pictures or suggestions, developed by the company.

ICANN to release shorter dot-travel domains

Posted by Dennis Schaal USA on 23 August 2010
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ICANN has approved and will soon release all one- and two-character dot-travel domain names, according to the The Travel Partnership Corp.

Until the change, the dot-travel registry assigned top-level domains that were at least three characters long.

dottravel

But, under the new system which TTPC says it will detail in September, names such as 1.travel, A1.travel and AA.travel will be permitted for the first time.

“Registration of names from this limited group offers an opportunity for registrants to achieve a high level of name recognition,” TTPC says in a recent newsletter.

There are thousands of travel companies using dot-travel domains, including plenty of destination marketing organizations ranging from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada to ElSalvador.travel.

However, whether TTPC’s boast of a “high level of name recognition” from one- and two-character dot-travel domains is warranted remains to be seen because dot-travel has not generated the traction that proponents initially envisioned.

By all accounts, dot-com is still the place to be.

One airline which would probably be interested in the development of one-and two-character dot-travel domains is American Airlines, which has the AA.com website.

AA.travel would seem a natural fit for the airline.

Asked about it, American Airlines spokesman Billy Sanez was noncommital.

Said Sanez: “We protect our intellectual property as best we can.”

American probably will take AA.travel, but it doesn’t sound as though any champagne corks are popping at the airline over this dot-travel development.

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