09 June 2013

Domain name changes tricky

Plenty of warnings out there--

Golden's ServiceMagic becomes HomeAdvisor in risky rebranding strategy - The Denver PostTwo recent examples of companies changing online identities didn't generate great results. When the social network Reunion switched to MyLife in 2009, it experienced a fairly significant loss in traffic, said Ridenour, who spoke with the company about its change in preparation for ServiceMagic's relaunch. E-tailer NutsOnline.com switched to Nuts.com in January and despite the simpler URL, the company immediately saw its nonpaid Google search traffic tank. Three months after the switch, visits were down more than 50 percent, costing the company at least 100 to 150 orders a day, according to The New York Times. . . .

Domain name change leads to 20% drop at HomeAdvisor - Domain Name Wire: " . . . Later in the call the company confirmed that the “glitches” were related to search engine optimization. The company’s 10Q filing with the SEC states: “HomeAdvisor domestic revenue was negatively impacted by a 20% decrease in accepted service requests due primarily to the domain name change.” Switching domain names is hard, even if you’re upgrading to a better domain. . . ."

Trade Sanctions Cited in Hundreds of Syrian Domain Seizures — Krebs on Security: "Network Solutions LLC. and its parent firm — Jacksonville, Fla. based Web.com — have assumed control over more than 700 domains that were being used mostly for sites hosted in Damascus. The seizures all occurred within a three- to four-day period in mid-April."

How Demand Media sees its domain name business - Domain Name Wire: "The company is working to spin out its domain name business into a separate business and expects that to happen by the end of the year or in early 2014. CEO Richard Rosenblatt explained that the company wants to be an end-to-end provider of domain services. The group will continue to own its own portfolio of domains, hold an expansive distribution network, and provide services to buy, sell, and monetize domains."

Trade Sanctions Cited in Hundreds of Syrian Domain Seizures — Krebs on Security: "Network Solutions LLC. and its parent firm — Jacksonville, Fla. based Web.com — have assumed control over more than 700 domains that were being used mostly for sites hosted in Damascus. The seizures all occurred within a three- to four-day period in mid-April."

more news links below



expVC.com Domain Name News Archive

expVC.com on Twitter