Web development, design, and site optimization

Tucows (AMEX:TCX, TSX: TC) has just announced the launch of their YummyNames site, which lists domains from their portfolio of names for sale online. The company has before sold individual and groups of names directly and via various brokers and is now formalizing some of their offering under a new brand.

“YummyNames, the public face of our domain portfolio service group, provides an additional means by which to realize the value of our domain portfolio assets to drive continued growth for the Company,” said Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows.

There are “ten thousands of names” listed on the site; Tucows’ portfolio is estimated to contain more than 70,000 domain names. Sample names listed for sale are countryrock.com, divorced.com, lemons.com, listener.com, mygarden.com, thepub.com, tool.com and veggies.com. While the site stats that “These premium domains are priced starting at $500 USD”, it appears that none of the names has actually listed a fixed price at this point. Names are being offered for purchase or lease. The site lists previous clients such as: Bell Mobility, CanWest Global Communications, EMI Music, General Motors, Grand & Toy, Harlequin Enterprises, Johnson & Johnson,  Microsoft, Nestle and RBC Royal Bank.

The Tucows domain portfolio mostly consists of names that were not renewed by registrants, as well as domain names that were purchased as part of the Netidentity acquisition. S

[via Press Release]

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The Internet is overwhelming. Getting yourself a web presence for either your personal hobbies or your business can be even more overwhelming. Especially if you are like most small business owners who already have too much on their plate to learn all of the ins and outs.

A few months ago, Register.com launched its Learning Center to help its customers and potential new customers navigate their way into a successful online presence. if you have not had a chance to read through the articles, do yourself a favor and drop by. Feel free to read the advice and share it with your friends and colleagues.

Here is one example of an article posted to the Learning Center:

Choosing the right domain name for your business

Now that you’ve done all the research, come up with a marketing strategy, and have design in mind for your website, all that’s left is to do a Domain round-up (search for the domain name you want) and pick a domain name. Although that sounds easy to do, it must be a name that everyone will remember and associate with your business. Adding to the challenge is the fact that as more and more businesses build websites, it has become increasingly difficult to find a clever URL that is not already taken. The bottom line is: it is still possible to get a great domain name - you just need to be creative! Here are some tips to help:

• Use short, easy to remember keywords that describe your business. The website’s name should reflect your company’s name, describe the services and/or products provided, or describe what’s sold. Keep the name as simple as possible, so customers can remember it. Typically the best names are usually the key words of the name of the company. For example, a pet store that calls itself Posh Pets would want the URL Poshpets.com.
• If you are a US-based business, keep the name in English. For example, some people won’t connect that you design and sell chairs with chaise.com.
• Personalize your name by geography or come up with a synonym. If two companies are using the same name, try to differentiate your website from theirs. For example, PoshPets.com might be located in Chicago, but yours is located in New York City. Try PoshPetsNYC.com.
• Can’t register it under “.com” - try the other extensions. Such as .biz, .net, .org. The extension at the end of your domain name is called a Top Level Domain (TLD). Although .com TLD’s are always top of mind, others are gaining popularity and may offer more availability for the domain name you desire.
• Try the secondary market to purchase pre-registered domains. As the supply of new (un-registered) domains decreases, there is a growing demand to purchase domains that have been already registered but are not in use - so don’t abandon hope yet! You can search for available ‘premium domains’ at many domain registrars. But the caveat, once again, is price. Purchasing a pre-registered domain name can cost anywhere from $100 to over $1 million, depending on the quality of the name.

Don’t use symbols. Your domain name needs to be at least two characters long, and can’t contain symbols, such as $ # or @. For example, if your business provides tracking services for the stock market you’re not allowed to use $tocks.com.

If your company name is taken, go to WhoIs to find out who has registered it - maybe they will sell the registration to you. You can find registered users of the domain you desire by searching the WhoIs database but beware - some domain name owners might ask a higher than expected premium for a highly desirable name.

Watch your expiration dates! A domain name isn’t forever and needs to be renewed. Be careful not to accidentally allow your domain name to expire, and have it become available for registration by others. Add your expiration date to multiple calendars so that you don’t forget to renew the very key to your online business - your domain name.

Now I know, I know, I work for a domain name registrar. In fact I have worked for one in particular for a very long time. But believe me when I tell you that registering your domain name for as many years as you can will benefit you with your SEO in the long run.

Search engines such as Google and Yahoo are known to provide a higher value on domains that have been registered for extended periods of time. The reason is simple, this shows a user commitment to the domain name and website. It also is an indicator that this website is not a temporary spam site. With the price of a 1 year registration next to nothing these days, spammers are notorious for snatching up domain names for 1 year at a time and then discarding shortly after.

So how long can you register your domain name for? You can register on most extensions for terms anywhere from 1 to 10 years. If you have the dough, max it out from the get go. If not, try registering for a minimum of 2 years, 3 years would be even better.

Recently the WHIR posted a few videos they made of their trip to the Toronto offices of OpenSRS also known as Tucows. Now I know they are a competitor of my company’s but hey, they are Canadian and they are fighting the same battles all us registrars are battling.

Enjoy the videos:

More »

If you thought the domain world was a little over complicated as it was with all the various extensions already available, you are not going to like latest news to come out of ICANN meetings taking place in Paris. It appears as early as next year, anyone with a little financial backing will be able to apply to have their own extension created. I am sure some will go to good use, but I lay more on the side of skepticism here. Not only do I think some bad ideas will come out of this, I think this will just cause a nightmare for organizations looking to protect their brand names online.

Here is the story courtesy of CTV.ca:

Web regulator opens door to infinite domain names

Updated Thu. Jun. 26 2008 1:11 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

“Dot-com”, the ubiquitous term that has come to serve as a description for all things Internet-related, could be in the sunset of its heyday following a key decision Thursday on domain names.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann — the body that regulates the Internet, voted unanimously to ease up restrictions on domain names such as .com or .net.

The decision, made on the final day of week-long meetings in Paris, could trigger a frenzy of bidding as companies rush to claim domains like .investment or .travel.

In fact almost anything could become a web address under the new rules — from personal names to trademarked brands for major corporations.

Individuals could get domains named after themselves so long as they could prove they have a business plan and “technical capacity” according to the plans for the system.

However, companies with intellectual property linked to a specific name will have first dibs on their own domain, like .ctv, for example.

The new rules would mark a historic change from the current system where only .com, .net, .edu or .org are permitted, in addition to country domains like .ca or .au.

The new system could be in place as early as next year, but many details have to be worked out first.

As it is proposed now, applicants would go through a review phase, where others would have the opportunity to object to a requested domain over racism, trademark issues or similarity to an already existing domain.

If the application isn’t challenged, it would be ushered through.

But even some members who voted for the plan had concerns about its implementation.

“If this is broadly implemented, this recommendation would allow for any government to effectively veto a string that makes it uncomfortable,” Susan Crawford, a Yale law professor on the board told The Associated Press. She called for more clarity prior to implementation of the changes.

Icann also voted to open for public comment a proposal to allow domain names that are written with non-Latin characters, such as Arabic.