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DOMAIN NAME DILEMA AFFECTS ONE IN SIX COMPANIES: Organisations seek alternative avenues to establish an Internet brand
San Diego, CA - December 1, 2003 - New companies are finding it harder to establish their online brands as first choices of domain names become increasingly scarce, according to CommonName, the leading global provider of keyword navigation and Internet search services.
In addition, disputes over domain names is at an all time high, with close to 10,000 URLs currently listed in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Database¹. Cybersquatting is the leading cause of domain name conflict.
Of 115 companies polled in a recent online survey, 17% admitted they had been forced to choose a second or third choice domain name, because the preferred URL was already taken or trademarked to another company.
Another emerging trend is that newly established companies are now choosing their trademarked name based on what URL is available to them. Twenty-two percent of organizations stated that they had either chosen their company name based upon the availability of a domain name, or had actually decided to change the first choice of company name to better suit online availability.
Unable to register their first choice of a domain name, businesses are also looking to other ways to draw consumers to their online presence including keyword navigation, pay-per-click search and pop-up advertising.
"As the Internet becomes more mature and mainstream, domain names are being registered by the millions each year, making it more and more difficult for new businesses to register relevant URLs," said Yurong Lin, CEO of CommonName. "Our research shows that many businesses have no choice but to opt for a second or third choice of URL, which is not ideal. With this in mind, more organizations are realizing the benefits provided by alternative online branding services such as keyword navigation and pay-per-click search. These are cost-effective, targeted and easy to use."
CommonName provides an alternative way to ensure consumers can track down URLs easily and effectively. CommonName Keywords offer the ability to navigate to Web sites using keywords (brand names and everyday terms) instead of confusing Web addresses. In an August 2003 CommonName survey of 519 Internet users, 93% stated they would prefer to navigate the Internet using keywords. Over 30 million enabled users already use intuitive keywords for simplified navigation, while in excess of 50,000 keywords have been registered by businesses to connect faster with customers.
¹ UDRP-DB statistics, http://udrp.law.cornell.edu/udrp/stats.php
About CommonName
Founded in February 2000, CommonName is the largest global keyword navigation provider, with more than 30 million installed users. The company has been profitable since March 2002 and its user base is growing between 500,000 to 1 million users per month.
CommonName’s major product lines are CommonName Keywords and CommonName Search.
CommonName Keywords are everyday brand names or generic terms that can be used to navigate to Web sites instead of complex Web addresses. More than 50,000 business CommonName Keywords have been registered to date. Key benefits of CommonName Keywords for a business include brand protection, brand consistency, providing a convenient method for customers to locate them and drive traffic.
CommonName Search is a pay-per-click search engine. Results are displayed on partner sites and when users type a search term into their enabled browser address bar or CommonName Toolbar. Advertisers are charged for each customer that clicks through to their site. For more information on CommonName, please visit www.commonname.com.
For further details please contact-
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