Domain names are one of the most important parts of the Internet. They have value in the same way as property does in the real estate industry. Unlike the real estate industry it is less obvious why a particular domain has a value, however, the principles of “Location Location Location” remain broadly the same.
In this case, one can liken the inherent value of a property’s location with the constituent words or characters, being close to an exact match, to a high volume of search queries. In other words, how close or accurate a match is a set of keywords to this large number of search queries?
Let’s put it another way, if a group of people approached a real…
Leaving domains with no content or no website inroads the potential value of your investment in their purchase. This is especially true when you’ve held the domain unutilized for a number of years in the hope at some point you’ll get to capitalise on your ongoing investment in renewals.
You will benefit from this investment in the following circumstances:
- unlikely = somebody comes makes you an offer for the domain
- possible = you find a direct reason to build a website on that domain
- always = you want to use the website to help your other businesses online
The harsh reality is that most people hang onto the domains they purchase for years and never actually achieve any…
Yesterday, hopefully I purchased an amazing tool that is going to change my life.
It was thanks to an unknown blog post. I noticed the blogger had remarked that he was using Dragon Dictate and to take his notes on the go. He or she commented that it meant that he was now remembering all his good ideas, rather than forgetting most of them.
That led me to browsing and reading reviews of Dragon Dictate. The consensus was that the tool had improved massively over the last two years. So I gave it a go. I dug into my pocket found the credit card & laid out the money for the application.
Last night when using the tool my productivity…
The ECB should be careful not to be too hasty in disciplining or banning its players from Twitter. Although a ban would prevent leaking sensitive information and reduce the risk to its reputation from ill-considered player tweets, it could risk alienating an already distanced fan base.
Particularly in the case of cricket, where international games are no longer covered by terrestrial television, fans have never been more far removed from their heroes. Social media platforms such as Twitter can be a perfect tonic to those disenfranchised, non-Sky subscribers, giving the ECB and individual players a great marketing opportunity to tap into and communicate directly with their most loyal fan bases.
Having personalised twitter feeds means that players are in the…
The growth of the Chinese tourist is the going to be the biggest change in the tourism industry for a generation.
Britain is on the approved list for China’s tourists. Half a percent of all Chinese tourists already head to the UK for their holidays, that’s over 200,000 people last year, and rising. Two mid market Chinese hotel groups are sniffing around for acquisitions – according to yesterday’s Sunday Times – to take advantage of this demand. That means it’s time to get on with some hotel marketing basics.
When you see a website in your own language you are immediately more likely to trust it. It shouts that the company values you…
With more than a few years experience in helping Hotel brands optimise their web presence, it still never fails to amaze me just how many hotels and booking agents seem to get it wrong when it comes to website usability. Such a high proportion of the industry’s business is transacted online that you would think that ensuring your website is quick and easy to use would be no-brainer. The reality is, though, that nearly half the websites you visit are a long way of the mark.
My team at Halpern Cowan have started the process of collating our expertise on what exactly makes a the best possible online booking user journey and hotel website. We’re…
In spite of waning audience figures, and cancellation for Channel 4, the last Endemol production of Big Brother is gaining unwelcome attention from cybersquatters and online speculators.
In a statement on June 11th, Andrew Robertson, the series’ digital executive producer at Endemol, said the company wanted “to make the online elements integral to the show, so what happens in the house is directly affected by people engaging online.” The official Big Brother website this year is integrated with Facebook Connect and ties in with Twitter and YouTube.
However, beyond the show’s official website and social media profiles, online speculators have been surreptitiously registering multiple domain names and social media profiles relating to this year’s contestants. The cyber squatters…
I’ve been asked by a much loved client to write some notes on Internet Trends that I think are important at the moment.. So here are my thoughts
Ubiquitous Internet
The web will be accessible anywhere all the time. WiFi, WiMax, 3G & 4G will all take their part to allow us to use the internet everywhere all the time.
Mobile
Smartphone usage will continue to increase.
Mobile payments will become one of the preferred methods for payment. The iTunes Store has lead the way and there are interesting services like Square (www.squareup.com) surfacing to change how you and I can utilize our phones to pay for stuff while on the move.
Media consumption
Consumers are empowered. Combine this…