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After Frank Schilling shook up the domain parking industry with his release of his own parking company, Internet Traffic, it now appears he’s setting course to enter the race against incumbent domain name marketplaces. Schilling re-launched his DomainNameSales site today with a new look and new features.

The relaunch seems to be a natural progression for the company, after launching their own domain parking business. Schilling’s company has been selling domains from their own portfolio of hundreds of thousands of domains for a number of years.  The tools and systems and data that from these sales and inquiries are valuable insights in to the domain marketplace from one of it’s top portfolio owners.  The company freely released their own internal domain sales inquiry tracking system to the benefit of users of the InternetTraffic parking service a few months earlier.  We suspect that we’ll see more iterations from the crew at DomainNameSales in the coming months.

DNN is a big supporter of freeing up information and data like this.  Personally, I’d like to see more accurate reporting on prices, rather than broad ranges. We’ll take what we can get though. Tools and insight like this from leading companies in the domain space can only help to provide more intelligence and better decisions for all.  Clearly we understand that this information held privately is an asset that can improve revenues and fend off competition as well.  Data and information want to be free though.  They help inform the entire marketplace including buyers.  We’re glad to see this company leading the way like this.

The new site features:

• a domain search (displaying recent searches)
• a whois search (displaying recent searchs)
• a newsticker
• a list of recent inquiries
• a list of recent quotes (with price ranges)
• a list of recent sales (with price ranges)
• a chat system  (appears they found a new use for the company’s “chattr” online messageboard experiment)
• a valuation system based on the following parameters:

 

As reported by Symantec a few days ago, many parked domains have the chance to end up on a blocking list due to spammers abusing a security hole in the parking company’s redirect structure.

Symantec: “We have automatically blocked tens of thousands of these domains.”

While the post on Symantec’s official blog does not reveal the affected parking services, quick tests on three services revealed that at least two of them were vulnerable to the exploit. The spammers found a way to use the click tracking in the URL of the parking service to modify the target address by creating a link that contains their own URL. One of the services we found used Base64 encoding, whereas the other one simple used a URLencoded address.

Nick Johnston from Symantec recommends that the parking companies check the refer(r)er URL or add additional hashing to their redirect URLs.

[Update]: One of the domain parking system operators we identified and notified has informed us that a fix will be in place shortly.

[Thank you Hennie]

(c) 2011 DomainNameNews.com (1)

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The domain industry sees many changes. With the downturn of PPC revenue, many of the old-school domainers started to respond more actively to sales inquiries in order to make up for the loss. While it appears that PPC income is not yet on the rebound, many domain investors have been looking to development and other methods of generating additional revenue. Especially with domains that were using a Yahoo! PPC feed the change has been very noticeable.

Driven by the pinch of lower PPC revenues on a Yahoo!/Bing feed, it appears Frank Schilling’s NAMedia has recently switched to a Google feed. The company has also removed their social application originally launched as Note.com, then rebranded as Chatr and now finally Postboard. Via Email Schilling told DNN:

“In the early days of the oil-boom you could literally drill a hole in the ground with a hand-drill and strike a small gusher of oil. Then as the shallow oil ran out.. the hand-drill guys invested in bigger rigs and more sophisticated machinery. Today you have elaborate rigs manned by the hand drillers grandchildren, striking huge oilfields, miles below the sea floor. Many of the people behind the drilling equipment quite literally learned on the job. There is no university for this. The domain traffic business is very much like that. The last ten years have seen an evolution where things have gotten much more sophisticated. A few of the larger operators have embraced technology and grown to deal with the changed landscape in paid search. Google has become a critical partner in the evolution of type-in traffic monetization. The level of technical efficacy required to play there is higher though.

I remain hopeful that Yahoo will turn its third party marketplace around so it remains attractive to domain traffic, but that job is really Microsoft’s responsibility now, and it remains to be seen whether Microsoft cares enough to solidify third party publisher payouts and to fairly value domain name type-in traffic against other forms of traffic in the channel such as Error Search and Keyword Marketplace Arbitrage.”

Aside from switching parking feed providers NAMedia is also allowing others to use this new feed. Schilling created a site at InternetTraffic.com inviting people to apply for a “A no-frills domain monetization platform, for experienced type-in traffic operators.” and promising that “You will make significantly more money here“. According to WannaDevelop’s Mike Cohen, the service is being tested by the likes of Rick Schwartz, Chad Wright, Garry Chernoff, Alex Lerman. [Update] According to our friends at HosterStats, there are currently over 14,000 domains pointing to the service’s nameservers.

“I’m looking for high quality type-in traffic partners to grow a long-term and stable traffic co-operative. I’m in a great position to do this, having a unique structure with a very large tranche of owned and operated traffic. I don’t need (or want) to create a huge profit center for myself on the back of my fellow domainers traffic. This is about trying to reward those who innovate by returning the bulk of the revenue to them, so they can do what they do best.. Everyone who has joined to date, is pleasantly surprised when they see what their traffic is really capable of.”

We recently reached out to Elliot Silver of www.elliotsblog.com regarding his strategy behind which websites to develop and which ones to add to his portfolio. He had some great advice to share.

By Elliot Silver
Internet Entrepreneur and Domain Industry Veteran

When I purchase a domain name in the aftermarket, it’s because I can imagine it as a fully functioning website. I don’t buy brandable domain names that could be used by someone, but I prefer names that are intuitive and don’t require any explanation (for example a dog walker directory on DogWalker.com. As an individual domain investor, I don’t have the time to build each domain name I buy, as a majority of my business comes from re-selling domain names for revenue.

Developing a domain name can be a time consuming and costly experience, and just about every domain investor I know has contemplated it. Choosing the right domain name(s) to develop is an important process, and I want to share some of the considerations I make before deciding which domain names should be developed and which should be re-sold.

While some might tell you that the most important consideration is your level of interest in a particular topic, I think you really should focus on the monetization options before choosing a domain name to develop. Yes, it’s important to like a particular topic, as that will certainly help you stay interested in your website, but if the monetization options are limited, you may spend a lot of valuable time and effort building something where there won’t be a positive ROI. Sure, you can develop a website without making money, but I personally wouldn’t have the time to dedicate to building a website if I couldn’t monetize it eventually.

Three sources of revenue for my developed domain names include direct advertising sales, Adsense, and affiliate banners/links. I recommend that you look at developed websites that will be your competition and see how those are monetized. Consider whether you will have the ability to monetize in a similar fashion. You will probably want to connect with that website’s advertisers since you already know they are paying for Internet advertising in the field of your interest.

Another consideration that is important is how competitive the field is. High paying verticals may yield more money in the long run, but search engine competition is probably fierce, and it will be an expensive and time consuming task to compete with well funded companies. For instance, if you want to compete in the auto insurance vertical, you should know that Geico, State Farm, All State, and a variety of other high powered websites will all be your competition. Unless you spend a significant amount of money on web development and SEO, you may find it extremely tough to compete. If your site is on page 7 of Google for your competitive keywords, you probably won’t earn much revenue.

Consider your expected time commitment for a particular website. Think about how much time it will take to update the site you choose (content, upgrades, inventory…etc) and determine if you’ll be able to commit that amount of time. By default, some domain name topics may require you to commit more time, and others may be seasonal. For instance, if you are creating a website about new book reviews, you’ll have to continue to update the site in perpetuity, or it will go out of date. Conversely, a website about a breed of dog may not require frequent updates and may be less cumbersome to operate.

Along the same line, you’ll want to determine the size and scope of the website on a particular domain name. In the past, I’ve built large websites with significant amounts of unique content, while I’ve also built sites that contain just a few pages. You’ll want to consider the size and scope of the project before setting out to develop, as some domain names should be more comprehensive than others.

The current traffic levels isn’t a very critical consideration, but knowing that can be helpful in making a decision. If you have a great domain name that receives target type in traffic, or it has traffic from targeted inbound links (perhaps it had been developed previously), this can be helpful to know. Valuable incoming links can help with SEO, and the traffic can be helpful for testing as you develop. IMO, building a website that already receives traffic puts you one step ahead, and it shows that there is “life” in that domain name.

As I touched on in the beginning, a very important consideration is your interest in the topic. The more interested and knowledgeable you are, the better off your site will be in the long run. If you come across as an industry expert, people will cite your website, which will help increase your traffic, reach, and authority. Companies want to advertise on the leading expert websites, and being perceived as an expert will help drive revenue. Additionally, as the website grows, your interest is less likely to wane, and you’ll continue to want to innovate and improve it.

There are many personal and financial considerations to make before devoting time and money to building a website on a particular domain name. It is important to think about all of this before you dedicate your time and effort to a particular project. These are some of the considerations I personally make when considering development.

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As announced in a press release today, Metaverse has released a new product domain parking service. The “Metaverse for Domains” service displays products related to the domain name on the site and pays a 15-20% commission on sales. The service will only work with domain names in which the company has retail products to compliment the domain name. Currently Metaverse offers products for domains in the wall art, posters, and home decor markets, but is planning to add more product types.

Metaverse started in 2002 as a technology company, offering a web content management software package delivered as a hosted service. To showcase the features of their content management package, they launched FulcrumGallery.com – a demo site which at the time only displayed images of the master painters. The site grew a life of its own and was re-launched in 2004 as an online store. Sales on Fulcrum Gallery soon surpassed software sales, leading the company to switch focus on online retail. Today, their store offers over 200,000 art prints which can be custom framed or transferred to canvas.

Can this new service compete with existing solutions like NameMedia’s SmartName Shops or Epik? Will domainers trust the new entrant into their space? Metaverse also mentions that the sites generated through their service may be indexed by Search Engines, but will they ultimately face the same de-listing struggle as other services? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

See the full press release after the jump.

Metaverse Creates Retail Sales From Underutilized Domain Name Assets
Metaverse launches first of its kind retail domain name monetization platform, creating value for domain owners and retail customers alike.

Monmouth Junction, NJ (PRWEB) November 22, 2010

Metaverse Corporation has launched a new solution which enables owners of unused domain names with a retail product focus to earn an income stream by allowing Metaverse to launch an online store at their domain name. The resulting revenue share is much higher than can be found with solutions that rely on advertising as the primary means of creating monetization while the domain owner holds the domain for future use or sale.

Most of the registered domains on the Internet are left unused while domain owners hold them in their portfolios for future use or sale. Few options have been available to create any income from leveraging their value during this time. Domain name owners seek to try to create some income from the domains in the meantime to help cover annual registration costs. However, almost all available solutions rely on advertising revenue as a means of monetization, which results in very little value created; commonly only a few cents a month to a few cents a day.

These solutions typically consist of a 1 to 5 page website which is nearly 100% full of advertising. These “websites” are essentially spam and are an annoyance to visitors and are for good reason excluded from being indexed in search. Conversely, the websites Metaverse launches are full featured online stores with hundreds of pages of relevant products, which provide a positive user experience and often results in being ranked in search.

“With so many premium names tied up in portfolios, it’s hard to secure a good name for retail use,” said Metaverse founder and Chief Executive Doug Kerwin. “A good domain name is extremely important in online retail. Our platform enables us to launch new brands leveraging good domain names, sharing the rewards with the domain owner.”

Metaverse’s first of its kind solution launches a fully featured online store at the domain, sharing 15 to 20% of the product revenue with the domain owner. For example, if you own the name JazzDecor.com, Metaverse will launch a store which directly offers for sale several hundred Jazz art prints and posters. Users who visit this domain find relevant products related to their intention in visiting the site and make purchases. The resulting revenue share can be a hundred times higher than what the domain owner would earn with traditional advertising based methods.

Metaverse will only work with domain names in which it has retail products to compliment the domain name. Currently Metaverse offers products for domains in the wall art, posters, and home decor markets, but will be adding additional product types. More information is available at http://www.metaverse.com.

About Metaverse Corporation – Metaverse is the parent company of FulcrumGallery.com and wholesale distributor Lieberman’s and has been a leading online retailer in the wall art space since 2005. The company has offered private label solutions of its e-commerce platform since 2007 to several hundred clients including many big box retailers. Metaverse currently employs 60 in its South Brunswick, NJ offices.

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(c) 2010 DomainNameNews.com (6)

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Armorize, a web security company, reported on their blog today that Network Solutions had been displaying a widget box that contains malware.  The company was notified and quickly remedied the parking pags.  Based on a yahoo search only, there are over 5 million domain names with NSI parked landers that may have been affected by this drive by malware.

According to Help Net Security, the malware is a drive-by variety that doesn’t take much to infect the users computer. Simply visiting a parking page hosted by NSI would trigger the download.

The malware then modifies the registry, monitors four of the most popular browsers, redirects users using popular search engines to other websites, pops up advertisement according to a list of search terms and duplicates and renames itself to resemble a varied assortment of legal and illegal software (mostly key generators and cracked software versions). It then “phones home” to several URLs in order to receive further instructions and download more malware.

Only 50% of the antivirus solutions included in VirusTotal’s check detected this malware a couple of days ago, and it was discovered to have the ability to block well-known by download analysis services such as Wepawet and jsunpack.

This attack definitely marks the beginning of the exploitation of hosting providers as a means to compromise a massive amount of domains and spread malware to millions of users in a short period of time. Let’s hope that hosting providers will take this occurrence seriously and rethink their defenses from top to bottom.

This is not good news for parking companies and domain owners who rely on parking revenue. As parked pages become synonymous with malware or problems, users will shift away from clicking more and more. . . Is this just another nail in the coffin for domain parking?

(c) 2010 DomainNameNews.com

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IDG’s PCWorld just published an article by Jared Newman about 15 Internet Annoyances and how to fix them. Of course the author thinks that parked domains are one of them, even if they may actually get the user to where they want to go. So Newman recommends all domains that involve framed parking on the Oversee.net owned Information.com domain:

13. This Web Site is Bogus

Sometimes when you mistype a URL or click an old, abandoned link, you’ll come upon these junky Web sites filled with useless links, a search bar that returns who-knows-what and a deliciously ironic slogan, “What you need, when you need it.” This is the work of cybersquatters, who occupy Web sites in hopes that you’ll click on those links and make them some money.

The Fix: Firefox users can once again use BlockSite to turn one major cybersquatter’s Web sites into blank pages–just add “*.information.com” to your restricted list. This will foil one major cybersquatter whos sites always refer back to that domain, but unfortunately the same trick doesn’t work in Internet Explorer’s list of restricted sites. No matter what browser you’re in, never give squatters the satisfaction of clicking on anything.

Of course the article also calls anyone who would re-register and park a previously registered and expired domain a cybersquatter, forgetting that the term implies an actual infringement on someones trademark. Maybe we should add journalists who do not do proper research to the list? I guess I could post that as a comment on his article, but then again, that would require registration on the site, which also is one of the annoyances he lists.

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

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In June of last year, Google and Louis Vuitton were engaged in battle before the Cour de Cassation (France). The French court requested the opinion of the European Court o justice (ECJ) on three matters. Today, the European Advocate General issued an opinion advising the ECJ regarding its anticipated ruling. The AG opinion available here (Opinion) included the following:

“The selection by an economic operator, by means of an agreement on paid internet referencing, of a keyword which will trigger, in the event of a request using that word, the display of a link proposing connection to a site operated by that economic operator for the purposes of offering for sale goods or services, and which reproduces or imitates a trade mark registered by a third party and covering identical or similar goods, without the authorisation of the proprietor of that trade mark, does not constitute in itself an infringement of the exclusive right guaranteed to the latter under [the Directive]”

“Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 89/104 and Article 9(1)(a) and (b) of Council Regulation … 40/94 … must be interpreted as meaning that a trade mark proprietor may not prevent the provider of a paid referencing service from making available to advertisers keywords which reproduce or imitate registered trade marks or from arranging under the referencing agreement for advertising links to sites to be created and favourably displayed, on the basis of those keywords.”

“In the event that the trade marks have a reputation, the trade mark proprietor may not oppose such use under [the Directive].”

“The provider of the paid referencing service [Google] cannot be regarded as providing an information society service consisting in the storage of information provided by the recipient of the service within the meaning of Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/… in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (‘Directive on electronic commerce’)”

What could this mean for Domainers? As we know, domain names in PPC serve as keywords for PPC results. While some PPC providers allow owners to categorize domains or add additional keywords, Google and Yahoo require that the added words bear a contextual meaning to the actual domain name. In essence, domain names used in PPC serve the same function as Google’s keywords as used in advertising. LouisVuitton.com is thus served up as “louis + vuitton”. The PPC advertisement links appear because advertisers who have paid Google/Yahoo to have their advertisements appear on pages in the domain channel when such keywords are used in a search.

We must of course wait for the official decision of the ECJ but it is nice to see when people “get it”, particularly when they are in such authoritative positions.

So, one may ask….. How is the PPC system any different from what the European Attorney General sees as infringing activities? In a real sense of course there is no real difference other than one keyword is purchased from a list and the other is in the form of a registered domain name (and of course you are you and Google is king).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the various sectors of the Internet. Of course, UDRPs and the like are based on a different standard. However, even the panel decisions remain subject to court decisions. Now if only we could convince domainers to pursue legitimate claims in court, we might have something that would benefit everyone.

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©Paul R. Keating, Barcelona 2009. Mr. Keating has been an attorney since 1983. He escaped the good life in San Francisco and now lives and works in Barcelona Spain. He specializes in domain name related matters including ownership structures, taxation, transactions and domain dispute resolution. Paul@law.es.

(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com

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Sedo just sent out the following security alert:

We have been informed that due to a security problem at one of our competitors a list of their customer data including plaintext passwords is currently circulating on the web including relevant hacker forums.

Our Security and Compliance Team has found several of our own customers matching the publicly available list. Due to the seriousness of this matter combined with the possibility that you might be using the same login data/password at more than one parking company, we strongly suggest you to change your password at Sedo.

Sedo uses cryptographically unbreakable ciphertext for password checks and does not store your password in plaintext. This, and a variety of other security measures, ensures that your Sedo account is always safe from third parties.

We generally recommend to always use different login IDs for different sites and never hand out login IDs to any third party.

Should you have any further questions or needs, your dedicated account manager is looking forward to help.

Kind regards,

Your Sedo Security and Compliance Team

They are referring to NameDrive, which, as Domain Name Wire reported yesterday, had less than 1% of their client accounts hacked recently.

Many domainers use the same passwords at different sites, including registrars, parking companies, forums and email providers. If just one of these accounts gets hacked, all your other accounts are at risk if the password is the same! This is especially true if a site stores your passwords in plaintext. However, depending on the quality of a password, hackers might be able to recover it even if it is encrypted.

Sedo has had its share of security challenges in the past, so it is very nice to see that they are alerting their customers to this common risk.