Registrar Connections

The latest release of the Domain Name Suggestion service improves the stability and availability of the service through a number of service enhancements:

The Tokenizer and Topical engine are among the most impressive technical components for the service. The infrastructure supporting these components has been rewritten to allow these services to be accessed over a network, meaning, by ensuring that the system is highly available VeriSign will be able to provide domain name suggestions reliably when registrants are ready to purchase the domain name they need, allowing VeriSign to scale these services separately as load on the system increases, thus ensuring enhanced service availability. These components can also be plugged into other products, or made available as stand-alone services.

As registrars make a decision on what name suggestion service to use and what to offer to their reseller networks, it is critical that they select a service that is stable and always available. VeriSign Name Suggestions is committed to the highest technical standards that provide for a fast and reliable service.

In addition, the Domain Name Suggestion service has become more resilient to database failures and able to provide Topical and Related suggestions even if the database is unavailable. Plus, a database pool has also been created to protect against database unavailability ensuring a high performing, stable, and high availability service.

Finally, the Adult Content Filter has been expanded to be available at the registrar’s option to be applied to all suggestions, even those that come from the Similar engine. If registrars turn the Adult Content Filter on, a long list of over 100 objectionable words will be filtered out of the suggested domain names.

These new infrastructure features will help VeriSign meet the rising demand for domain name suggestions.

As we continue to improve the Domain Name Suggestion service for our registrars we want your feedback on what you feel is needed or missing.

Your feedback is appreciated. Please send your ideas to the Domain Name Suggestion service Product Manager: Will Shorter at wshorter@verisign.com or via telephone at 703-948-3806.
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Usability Tips: Multi-Layered Help

Contributed by the VeriSign User Experience Design Team
This section will provide tips on how to better convert sales, increase shopping cart sizes, attract attention to promotions and make your site look more secure.

Multi-layered Help Provides Users with the Right Information at the Right Time
Recent usability studies conducted by VeriSign found that providing multi-layered help information resulted in a seamless user experience, increased satisfaction, and improved performance in users successfully completing their goal.

Multi-layered help offers both context sensitive and general help topics. Context sensitive help is displayed inline on the page. Participants in several studies commented that help topics that display on the page they were viewing rather than on a separate page or in a pop-up was preferable. General help, which contains all help topics, is provided on separate pages if the user needed additional information. General help should provide an easy way for the user to return to the page or process they came from.

An approach to multi-layered help presents information to the user in three levels:
• Element specific
• Page specific
• General

This approach eliminates excessive text and clutter on the page, simplifies page navigation, and provides information when the user needs it. Users can then complete their tasks quickly and still receive assistance when required.

Compliance: Registry Registrar Agreements

Compliance Corner - Making Changes That Impact Your VeriSign .com and .net Registry Registrar Agreements

The VeriSign Customer Affairs Office (CAO) and Customer Support (CS) teams have been receiving an increased number of requests to change registrars’ names or other information in our records. Any changes such as changes to your company name, company ownership and primary point of contact should be initiated through ICANN to ensure that your company's accreditation and your contracts with VeriSign are consistent. The CAO and CS will direct you to contact ICANN’s Registrar Liaison office if you need to make changes to this information.

Once you have met ICANN's requirements for making these changes, ICANN will notify all impacted registries of changes to ownership, place of incorporation, company name, primary contact, address, telephone and fax numbers, website URL, and e-mail addresses. At VeriSign, the CAO team receives these notifications and initiates the change process. The information that you will be requested to provide will vary depending on what information is changing. For instance, if it is a change of ownership, the new owner will be asked to provide corporate formation documents, VeriSign Registrar Credit Application, .com and .net Registry Registrar Agreements (if the company name is also changing), Registrar Information Form, and Fax Authorization Form. The new owner may also be required to take the Operational Test and Evaluation Certification.

It is important to note that the information relating to ICANN accredited registrars will not be changed in the VeriSign systems until the CAO team has received all of the documentation that it requested. This means that even if you have completed all of the requirements to change your name with ICANN, if you have not completed necessary documents required by the VeriSign CAO team, your name will not be updated in the VeriSign systems, on your invoices, in the VeriSign Whois, or in the Registrar Listing on the VeriSign website. The prompt provision of requested information is critical to keeping your account with VeriSign in good standing. Any questions that you may have regarding this process should be directed to the CAO team at cao@verisign-grs.com.

Good Online Campaign

Five Key Thoughts for a Good Online Campaign
There’s no straight recipe for a successful online media campaign. Besides, the great fun and attractiveness of the Web comes from the vast array of communication opportunities in terms of creative, design, targeting and modifying. The online space is so dynamic and its reach is so truly universal that media flexibility makes sense to both advertisers and end users.

However, there are some key points that serve as an informal guideline when defining an Internet campaign.

1 – Be original. Do more than just another online campaign: Your audience needs to enjoy it, and even better, feel compelled to forward and share it. Be careful not to replicate a great idea that someone else (maybe a competitor?) has just developed -- you don’t want your message to be confused with others. Being original is a key aspect in advertising. Take the risk. Executing out-of-the-box is especially important on the Web.

2 – Focus on your target customers (not on your products): It is common for marketing communications to have the product or service as the communication focal point. It is easy to describe products benefits, functionality and new enhancements. The challenge is to create a campaign that will impact and change consumer behavior in favor of your products. Research can play a key role in this process. Listening to potential customers and their opinions and insights may be of invaluable in developing the right message. Another simple idea is to open dialogue channels with your audience, for instance via the company’s Web site. From the collected comments, you can sense the audience’s tone and also identify topics that customers or prospects are looking for when they go to your site.

3 – Stick to your budget and deadlines: No plan will be efficiently developed to achieve your goals if it does not respect the budget and established deadlines. A great idea positioned with the right message on target will not become a successful advertising campaign if not in line with what is available to be spent in terms of dollars and with the timing the business needs to see results flowing in. A great online campaign starts from a combination of cost and timeline management with creative quality.

4 – Keep an eye on new technologies: The Web allows for the use of so many distinct formats and strategies to “touch” end users. From banners, pop ups, pop unders, expandable banners, floaters, skyscraper, email marketing, video streaming to viral marketing and rich media, to cite a few, you can build a customized online campaign that will touch your prospective customers. The formats will continue to grow as new technologies provide space and tools for creative development of new formats and types of interaction between ads and end users with compelling results.

5 – Less is more: On the Internet, your advertising campaign will deliver its message if it is clear and straightforward. Remember people are usually doing very specific things online, either reading news on the economy, looking for a restaurant’s address, buying a book or simply checking email – so you only have a few seconds to capture their attention. Draw attention to your ad with a clean design with harmonious colors, not too many special effects, short text with impactful and meaningful words.
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VeriSign Registrar Overview and Training Camp (ROTC)

In response to customer feedback, we are pleased to announce the first-ever VeriSign Registrar Overview & Training Camp (ROTC), to be held on:

November 7, 2007
At the VeriSign Office in 21345 Ridgetop Circle, Dulles, Virginia, U.S.A.

VeriSign ROTC is being offered to all registrars free-of-charge, but space is limited so register today to reserve your space. Multiple attendees from registrars are encouraged.

The VeriSign ROTC event is intended for registrar staff who are new to the domain name industry or who just want a refresher course, such as registrar employees with responsibility for:

After attending the VeriSign ROTC, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the domain name industry and the registry -- from the high level trends to the day-to-day intricacies. Additionally they will learn about registry/registrar business processes, terms, definitions, reports and tools. Plus attendees will enjoy a tour of the VeriSign operations network center.

For any questions, please email NamingMarketing@verisign.com. We look forward to seeing you at the VeriSign ROTC!
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Welcome New Account Manager

Jennifer Gore is joining the Naming Services business unit as Account Manager. Jennifer brings not only her palpable energy, passion and smarts but her impressive 14 years of combined experience in business development, marketing and product management in the online sector, from established companies such as Nextel, AOL, MCI and Network Solutions.

As a Nextel mobile commerce director, Jennifer managed the retail and enterprise sectors for wireless data and commerce services. As a result, she was a major contributor to company product evolution that resulted in over 30 million paying users. In addition to holding various business and product development executive positions with significant online brands such as AOL and Network Solutions, Jennifer captured new vertical markets through penetration of Online Information Services such as Web Hosting and Site Development, Domain Name Services and Ecommerce applications. Jennifer holds a MBA from George Washington University.

We are all excited to welcome Jennifer and know that she too is looking forward to her new role. When asked about her transition into the Naming business unit, Jennifer said, "Within this emerging era of online integration into our physical environments, VeriSign Naming Services is in a key position to be a significant contributor in the development of the next iteration of the online name resolution. These are exciting times and I am thrilled and eager to work closely with the registrars in helping them strengthen their business and the channel!”
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Special Report on Technology from eMarketer: E-Mail Marketing – Getting Through to Customers

Broadband penetration is up 14% in Western Europe
US e-mail advertising spending will grow from $338 million in 2006 to $616 million in 2011, an increase of 82%. However, US spending on e-mail marketing will rise by only 16% during these six years, from $1.43 billion in 2006 to $1.65 billion in 2011. By contrast, over the same period US online advertising spending will grow by 160%.

The key reason for limited spending growth is the low cost of e-mail. Even significant increases in e-mail advertising and marketing activity yield only moderate increases in total spending.

Despite the continued problem of spam and heightened consumer sensitivity to unsolicited e-mail messages, e-mail marketing continues to deliver attractive levels of return on investment (ROI). Several surveys indicate that most US marketers plan to continue increasing their use of e-mail marketing.

In the News

This section contains a selection of articles pertaining to the Domain Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.

"Whimsy Trend in Business Names"
Monterey County Herald (CA) (10/01/07) McKay, Martha
Many new high-tech companies are using uncommon or made-up words for their name to make it easier to register a corresponding domain name. With tens of millions of registered domains and only 250,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary, it is almost impossible to find an available "real word" domain, leaving companies to make up words. Although it is easier for companies to make up a word rather than find an appropriate "real word" domain, there is a downside. "Unless you have a big idea, a weird name is going to be a risky choice," says marketing expert Laura Ries. "In general, coined words are harder to establish simply because no one has heard of them." Many companies have begun using a "double o" name, copying Google and Yahoo, because the two circles make it easy to create a good logo design and the "double o" name has come to convey a company that offers accessible technology. Yoomba, Ooma, NewlineNoosh, and Skooba are all recently formed "double o" companies. However, although the "double o" naming strategy may be reaching its saturation, other whimsical names are still popular, evidenced by such recent startups as Blinkz, Boynq, Trimble, and Pownce.
https://register.medianewsgroup.com/reg/login.htm?url=http://www.montereyherald.com/search/ci_7050602?IADID=Search-www.montereyherald.com-www.montereyherald.com&nclick_check=1

"New Generic Top-Level Domains Another Step Closer"
PR Newswire (09/11/07)
ICANN has taken two major steps toward the launch of generic top-level domains (gTLDs). First, the ICANN-run Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) council approved suggested procedures intended to direct gTLD application and approval. Further discussion of the GNSO recommendations will occur at ICANN's 30th International Public Meeting set to run from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2. ICANN also opened the bidding for businesses who want to create gTLD Requests for Proposals. "This is all about increased choice. As the GNSO report notes, among many things, there is demand for additional top-level domains as a business opportunity and that this will stimulate competition at the registry service level," says ICANN CEO Dr. Paul Twomey. "The creation of the application and evaluation process for new top-level domains is extremely important. It means we are continuing to move towards our goal of new gTLDs coming online in 2008."
http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20070911/LATU09311092007-1.html

October 2007

In this issue:

New Release: Domain Name Suggestion Service