Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Everything sells online -- Even Duck Eggs


CORONA, Calif. -- With the explosion of new Internet-based businesses and the dramatic expansion of online marketing, a
top-quality business website address or domain name has become of paramount importance. The right domain name conveys credibility, is memorable and can deliver potential customers directly to an ecommerce website without the site owner spending a penny for advertising.

The best domain names are comprised of the generic name of the product
or service being offered, experts say. For instance, if you are selling
cars, ideal domain names might include "cars.com," "usedcars.com" or
"luxurycars.com." Such a name enhances natural search engine placement and
instantly links potential customers who prefer "direct navigation" --
entering the generic name of the product they are searching for plus the
common extension ".com" (cars.com) in the address bar -- with the products or services they seek.

A perfect case in point is DuckEggs.com (http://www.duckeggs.com). A
California entrepreneur Sai Pola purchased the generic domain name as an
investment several years ago. Since then, those searching for duck eggs on
the Internet have typed the term "duckeggs.com" into their browser bars and
landed on his site. Though Pola had no intention of getting into the
business of selling duck eggs, he saw a lucrative opportunity and acted,
collaborating with a farmer who now fills and ships the orders Pola
receives for duck eggs thorough his website. Like other entrepreneurs, Pola
observes that direct navigation customers are "very focused and more likely
to complete a transaction" than those who browse more casually through
pages of search engine results.

While companies with strong brands -- Nike, Apple, Starbucks and Dell
-- are likely to attract loyal customers searching for their product by
brand name, millions of other customers are simply looking for the shortest
route to top-quality products, regardless of brand and many products remain without a dominant brand.

The economics of direct navigation are startling and appealing. Beyond
the initial cost of a premium domain name, the cost of running a website
and attracting customers repeatedly through direct navigation is close to
zero. That's because with a prime domain name, the company actually owns the advertising medium and generates its own customer leads. As pay-per-click advertising costs have skyrocketed, the value of generic domains has become clear.

Summing up the growth and promise of generic domain names, Pola said,
"If I can build a premier Internet property using an obscure domain name
like DuckEggs.com without spending a penny in advertising, imagine the
possibilities in other areas!"

SOURCE DuckEggs.com

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