The Domain Business report shows that preference for .uk remains strong with eighty one percent of those surveyed saying they prefer .uk sites when presented with a choice of a .uk or .com in search results. The main reasons given were that it would be more likely to be a UK based company and have more relevance with prices in sterling and acceptable delivery charges.

The report also shows that the global market for domain names is healthy and growing with an increase of 9.5% this year, taking the total number of domains globally to 218 million, an increase of 19 million. Generic Top Level Domains now make up 60% of the market while 39% are country code Top Level Domains.

Commenting on the report, Lesley Cowley OBE, Chief Executive of Nominet, said: “Nominet is proud to continue to operate one of the world’s largest Internet domain name registries and the good news is that the .uk space continues to go from strength to strength. The register was at 9.7 million domains at the end of September 2011 and we expect it to reach 10 million in the early months of next year. As business sites now account for more than three million .uk websites it is impossible to ignore the vital role that the .uk space plays in the national digital economy.”

Phil Kingsland, Director of Marketing and Communications at Nominet, added: “We are pleased to see that the public have such confidence in .uk and we continue to focus on working closely with global and domestic groups to ensure that it remains a safe and secure environment in which to do business. Businesses in the UK recognise that the values of status and trust that .uk stands for positively contribute to the consumer perception of their company online. In looking to establish a brand that customers can have confidence in, buying into the .uk space is a valuable step.”

The full results of the The Domain Business and a wide range of industry views are available by visiting http://db.nominet.org.uk

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Over the past year, the company has seen an 88 per cent rise in the number of spam reports it has received, most commonly where consumers have reported business customers for allegedly sending spam to them. The data lends weight to the theory that the challenging economy and increasingly competitive online marketplace has perhaps led more small firms to cut corners with their email communication. The company recommends that small companies take necessary steps to ensure that emails are only sent to the right recipients who have opted-in to receive them.

As more UK firms are adopting email marketing as a valuable sales and communication channel, it would appear that the problem of business-related spam is escalating.  According to Fasthosts, from June 2010 to June 2011 the company has received 88 per cent more reports from the public regarding genuine businesses who they believe have sent them unsolicited and unwanted emails.  A proportion of cases required investigation and/or action by the provider such as a warning or locking of the relevant email account. In most cases, Fasthosts needed only to provide best practice email advice to the relevant business.

Stephen Holford, Marketing Director, Fasthosts Internet, said: “In a tough economy, small businesses may be tempted to be more aggressive with the frequency of mailings, or begin to take for granted their right to email a contact base.  Every firm must respect the value that consumers place on their Inbox, and take the proper measures to ensure they use email professionally and ethically.”

Internet Psychologist Graham Jones said: “Unwanted email is a major issue which causes frustration, annoyance and stress. If a business emails people without paying proper attention to opt-in systems they can expect increased negativity from their customers and their prospects. And with the ease with which people can complain about companies on social networks, there is the obvious potential for reputational damage too. When people are asked to define spam they simply talk about emails they did not request – no matter who those messages come from.  Many businesses think they are merely doing ‘email marketing’ but their customers actually think they are spamming. There is a clear difference in thinking between many businesses and their customers – and that is bad for reputation and revenue.”

Whilst still rare, it is possible for businesses to become involved in the distribution of spam without even realising. Problems can arise as a result of their email becoming compromised locally, commonly through a virus or Trojan on their hardware such as a PC.  It is vital that all businesses they keep mailboxes secure and regularly update passwords to minimise the risk of exploitation of their domain or mail servers.

Holford added: “Whilst spam is not new, the damage that it can do to business reputation and customer loyalty should definitely be cause for thought. The more responsibility a company shows towards their use of email, the more credible and rewarding email marketing will become as a channel.”

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After months of speculation, Google has finally confirmed that it is indeed trying out a new user interface test on their search results page. The changes, which show the left side search filters are in a scrollable filter, are just part of their move towards testing a form of infinite scroll web search, which is when users don’t have to click a button to take them to the next page, as scrolling down will load more search results instantly, which will give users more and more results for their query.

Christopher Liversidge, QueryClick’s Managing Director comments: “Google’s decision to test infinite scroll web results comes less than a year after they were forced to deny that they were doing exactly that, when a report surfaced in November 2010 that they were already working towards creating these results. While these reports were found to be based on search results caused by a Chrome extension called FasterChrome, the potential for these kinds of results obviously interested Google.”

The news that Google is experimenting with new features on their search results page shows that the search engine is keen to give the user as many results in possible, and also means that they won’t have to continually click through to other pages in order to find what they’re looking for, say QueryClick.

Chris continues: “Over the past year it’s become clear that Google has made a number of tweaks and changes to the way they display their results, in order to make them more accessible to the user. For example, in July 2010, it was revealed that they were making big changes to their image search and Image Search Ads, including larger thumbnail previews, a hover pane, a new landing page, and of course, instant scrolling. So, if these trials are successful, instant scrolling and a whole host of other features could soon be the latest additions to Google’s search results, which can only be good news for Google’s users.”

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This case sets a major precedent in that there are no laws currently in place to protect domain name theft. States like California consider an internet domain name similar to a piece of real estate – if it’s stolen, although it’s a long and expensive process, the owner may have a remedy to get it returned.  But most other states like New York or New Jersey consider the domain name a piece of “intellectual property” similar to a copyright or trademark, and owners have no legal recourse to get back that stolen asset.  Domain name owners hope that this case will instigate new legislature that will protect these valuable properties.

Ostrofsky, author of the New York Times best-selling book Get Rich Click!, The Ultimate Guide To Making Money Online, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having bought the domain name Business.com for $150,000 in 1995 and sold it a few years later for a world record $7.5 million.   Transactions like the one involving Business.com helped to make transactions in domain names a hot investment prospect.  But laws creating remedies for victims of domain theft have lagged behind market progress.

Albert Angel, who spoke at the sentencing, said “in our effort to redress the injuries inflicted on us, we came to appreciate how undeveloped this area of the law is, and how victims of domain theft face an unmarked and totally uphill battle to get a remedy. Today’s sentencing helps to define a path for other victims and law enforcers to follow, and reinforces the likelihood that the theft of a domain can and will be prosecuted.”

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The awards recognise people or organisations that are making a real difference to their communities or society as a whole through the web.

As examples of best practice, winners of the awards can expect to gain international exposure to parliamentarians, academics and the wider Internet community. The awards are run in partnership with Nominet Trust, which invests in initiatives that contribute to a safe and accessible Internet used to improve lives and communities. Last year, three of the finalists went on to receive funding from Nominet Trust.

Entries close in two weeks time – Thursday 28th April – with all submissions to be reviewed by an independent panel of judges chaired by the Rt Hon Alun Michael MP. The award categories this year are:

• Building a networked nation
• Making the Internet safer
• Opening the world of knowledge
• Empowering young people and citizen
• Nurturing powerful local partnerships

For more information on each category and how to apply, please visit http://www.nominet.org.uk/go/internetawards.

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The research also found that two thirds of business owners believe how a company website looks is more important than the location of the business. This makes it even more vital that a company’s website gives the right impression of the business.

“It has never been more important to present your company professionally online. In the digital age, consumers expect a company to have a well thought-out online presence. This is supported by the fact that two thirds of businesses believe that a website has more impact on its success than location,” comments Chris Winstanley, Head of Marketing at BaseKit.

“More and more consumers and businesses are looking online for their everyday needs. It is imperative that SMEs have a website that is easy to navigate, fully functional and well-presented. A well considered website can dramatically add value to the business, especially if it provides customers with all the information they need to make a purchase. The research demonstrates that an unattractive site can detract from the effectiveness of a company and this lack of trust can seriously hit the business’ bottom line,” Winstanley concludes.

The OnePoll survey was carried out between 4^th and 10^th January 2011, and surveyed 577 UK SMEs.

Source:  www.basekit.com

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While some changes are kept under lock and key to prevent spammers and unethical SEO practices degrading the quality of search results, other tweaks are allowed to create something of a stir.

Google’s most recent announcement regarding its inclusion of social media results in SERPs was one such change that – quite appropriately – caused sites like Twitter to get all in a flutter.

Working by aggregating content from social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter and MySpace, the move is yet another step towards a bold blend of search and social; all under one roof.

Commenting on Google’s decision to make its search results richer in social media-related content, a spokesperson for SEO experts QueryClick [http://uk.queryclick.com/] said:

“QueryClick’s SEO predictions for 2011 contained a big focus on the move to mobile search as well as a greater emphasis on social media so it’s not surprising that Google have taken the step to introduce more social media-specific content in their SERPs.   In terms of the benefits of this change for search engine optimisation [http://uk.queryclick.com/en/search-engine-optimisation-seo/], there’s now improved opportunities for sites which are under performing or in highly competitive verticals, jumping onto the first page – albeit temporarily – if their social media output relates to search terms.”

While Google have taken a significant step towards fusing social and search, it is Microsoft-owned competitor Bing, who have developed an exclusive partnership with Facebook.

The ‘Bing Bar’ – a simple tool bar function – allows users to access their Facebook news feed, friend requests and notifications directly from the search engine.

Furthermore, the Bing Bar collates data over time to create a more bespoke and personalised search experience; another feature that is likely to become more and more familiar across a number of search engines in the coming year.

In the meantime, however, only time will tell how quickly the demand for social search takes off across the board.

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The social network Facebook has actually been built into a range of new SIM cards which means you no longer need a smart phone to access it. Instead, you can now use facebook on a regular phone with one of these SIMs plugged into it and share your thoughts and update your status throughout the day via text message.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the digital security company Gemalto has announced the new ‘Facebook for SIM’ which actually embeds Facebook directly onto the SIM card. This simple but innovative solution means that even people who have old mobile phones that aren’t web enabled and don’t have ‘aps’ can become part of the Facebook on the move phenomenon.

Gemalto explain it thus:

The innovative solution provides mobile subscribers with simple and convenient access to core Facebook features such as friend requests, status updates, wall posts or messages. It also offers unique functions: people can sign up for this service and log in directly from the SIM application. Interactive Facebook messages pop-up on the phone’s screen so people can always share up-to-the-minute posts and events. One can also automatically search their SIM phonebook for other friends and send them requests.

Despite the fact that the sales of smart phones are increasing, the majority of the worlds’s 5 billion mobile phone users have ordinary old fashioned feature mobile phones. Every single one of them will now have the potential to immerse themselves in news feeds, likes and dislikes, and so on. It also means that for the less developed parts of the world where mobile phones are far more common and plentiful than computers, the social network will become far more accessible.

According to On Device Research, at the moment, more than 50% of Asian and African mobile internet users and around 20% of users in developed countries such as the US and UK don’t access the internet on a computer.

More than 200 million of the active users on Facebook, access through their mobile device rather than their computers, and these people tend to be around twice as active on facebook as the non mobile phone users.

A free trial period is currently underway, but when this is ended, Gemalto’s SIM will be available by subscription.

Other companies such as HTC, ChaCha and Salsa also unveiled phones at the MWC that will give the mobile phone user network a deeper social integration.

http://pressrelease101.co.uk/technology/sim-card-nfc-payment-system-to-go-live-this-summer/21101/
http://freesimcardsuk.org.uk/

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Nominet is taking a more consultative approach to policy development, and has published more details of its new process framework at www.nominet.org.uk/policy

The policy process is designed to ensure participation from the broadest group of stakeholders possible. It can involve the development of an ‘issue group’ to discuss issues relating to .uk policy, which encourages participation from relevant stakeholders around the UK. These groups will discuss specific issues and provide policy recommendations to Nominet’s Board for consideration. This ensures that Nominet hears the considered opinion of relevant stakeholders prior to making any policy decisions.

The policy process is managed by the Nominet Secretariat and all interested parties can sign up for updates at www.nominet.org.uk/policy/signup

In addition, Nominet today announces updates on two current issues.

Criminal Activity involving use of domains

The Dealing with domain names used in connection with criminal activity issue group is being formed, in response to a proposal submitted by Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). The publication of this proposal led to a wide range of stakeholders expressing an interest in being involved in the discussion. Nominet is calling for those wanting to put themselves forward to take part directly to register by 23rd February.

It is anticipated that the group will be selected by 2nd March, and will meet for the first time later that month. An independent summary of the issue has been commissioned and will be circulated to stakeholders and issue group members in advance of first meeting of the issue group.

Expired Domain Tasting

Expired Domain Tasting is a proposal for an issue group.

The policy process was started with a proposal submitted by a Nominet member regarding the monetisation or traffic monitoring on expired domains by registrars.

Nominet is calling for stakeholders to comment on the proposal, or the treatment of expired domains more generally, by 2nd March. A decision as to whether this issue proposal will progress to the constitution of an issue group will be based on the feedback received. Comments can be submitted at www.nominet.org.uk/policy/issuegroups/contribute

Eleanor Bradley, Director of Operations at Nominet comments: “We’d encourage anyone that wants to be involved in the process to get in touch and have their say. We want to gather the broadest range of feedback possible across all matters of .uk policy and feed it into our policy development process.”

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The company will be charging annual prices of just £2.68 for .co.uk , £2.99 for .org.uk and .eu, £5.89 for .org and £5.99 for .com and .net domain names. Other domain name prices are listed on their web site at www.kualo.co.uk/domains

The company additionally includes a DNS Editor and Email Forwarding free of charge with all domain names, and offers professional email address solutions from just £10 per year.

“We have been working extremely hard this year to deliver the best possible value to our customers, without compromising on the quality of service we provide”, said Jo Stonehouse, Kualo’s Managing Director. “Earlier this year, we introduced new, low cost web hosting packages starting at just £1.79 per month – and we’ve done so whilst maintaining 100% network uptime throughout the year, and an average support ticket response time of just 18 minutes. I’m delighted to now announce that Kualo now offers really low domain prices that beat even the largest domain registrars on the web.”

In order to help people migrate domains registered elsewhere to Kualo, the company will be running a ‘Domain Transfer’ promotion until the end of the year. All .uk domain names can be transferred to Kualo free of charge, and all other domain name extensions will be offered at reduced ‘transfer in’ rates which will also extend the domain registration period by one year. The discounted transfer prices are available at www.kualo.co.uk/domains/transfer.

For more details and pricing please see the Domain Registration section on the company’s web site at www.kualo.co.uk/domains

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