Whitepapers
The Foundation for the Online Business of Brands and of Cybersquatters
(FairWinds Partners)
With millions of domain names occupying and continuously changing the Internet, navigating the Web can be a challenging task. Given the omnipresence of sites such as Google and Yahoo!, one might assume that users primarily go to search engines to reach their intended destinations online. However, as mentioned previously, Direct Navigation is far more prevalent than many might think. According to a Forrester report, Direct Navigation accounts for 38 percent of Web site traffic. WebSideStory’s StatMarket division (now a part of Omniture) estimates that more than 67 percent of global Internet users arrive at Web sites through Direct Navigation. Because such a large percentage of users navigate without the aid of search engines, understanding the dynamics and impact of Direct Navigation is critical.
A Time For Domain Strategy & Discipline
(FairWinds Partners)
A large portion of direct navigation results in Web users finding the Web site or content that they were interested in. For instance, a user who types hotmail.com directly into the address bar will be brought to Microsoft’s www.hotmail.com Web site, where he or she can manage an email account. In other cases, users that search with generic keywords are directed to sites that have been strategically purchased by corporations. For example, the domain salad.com leads to the Clorox Company’s Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing site.
Improving PPC Search Engine Campaign Results Using Generic Domain Names
(Memorable Domains)
A generic domain name describes a product or service using the words people automatically associate with the topic. Examples would be:
- TaxPreparation.co.uk
- CarNavigation.co.uk
- MerchantAccounts.co.uk
One of the benefits claimed for such generic domain names is that they attract more search engine clicks (both organic and paid) for product and service searches. Reasons given are:
- The close association between search terms and domain name encourages searchers to click
- The presence of search terms in the domain name leads to higher organic rankings or a better ad quality score in pay-per-click ad ranking algorithms
- Search engines commonly automatically bold any word