First New TLD Evaluations To Be Released This Friday

Fadi Chehade’s Report on New gTLD Milestones and Deadlines

Mr. Chehade is energized to get the show on the road. He states, “We are on track. We are on target with our deadlines, and the program is under firm control.”

He was much more emphatic and positive in this message. The great news is that this week they will be releasing the first batch of evaluations in the order of the prioritization draw! So this means that new IDN TLDs are in the first stages of moving forward. He even went so far as to say that they are on track to get all evaluations done by August. Wow!

Trademarks should begin moving forward to register their trademarks with the trademark clearinghouse on March 26th.

They are releasing comments on the “strawman” comments about protections for trademarks. Some protections will move forward; some won’t.

He called it a “massive expansion of the DNS”. He is encouraging the industry to continue working and to find agreement on how to manage the process. He feels that the registrar team has done remarkably in negotiating the registry / registrar agreements.

He also introduced the “R3”, a Registrants Rights and Responsibilities Document. This is a first. There is also an agreement on a compliance regime that ensures that there are steps built into the process of how ICANN manages registrar relationships and registrar compliance. He feels there is solid ground for expansion and growth of the DNS now.

He warned that registrars and ICANN must come together if we are to meet the deadlines. He is encouraging registrars to work together and find common ground with ICANN and other stakeholders.

He concluded saying that “the excitement of new gTLDs is global and upon us” and emphasized a bottom up approach.

This is very positive news for the industry.

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Exact Match Domains Still Important

I’ve read a lot recently about how exact match domain (EMD) names are no longer relevant and that they aren’t important for search engine optimization (SEO).  I’ve disagreed with that and have found that if there is information that is worthwhile on an exact match domain name they are easily ranked on Google and other search engines.  Although I think I understand SEO well, I don’t practice it on a massive basis so it was nice to see this piece of research by someone who seems to be doing it regularly.

You can read the article here:

Case Study: How to Rank EMD in Just a Few Days

Hi, I know that a lot of people said that EMD (Exact Match Domain) sites are dead, especially since the latest google EMD update where many EMDs got slapped really hard. This is not true at all, I want to share you a Case Study that my team have done. This one is for a 4,400 Exact Match keyword where we were able to rank in just a few days…

Read the story… | Source: | Date posted: 3/17/2013

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I Start On Monday at 101Domain.com!

101Domain.comI’m really excited to announce that on Monday I start work at 101Domain.com.  I’ve done business with them since 2002 and from a registry perspective they’ve always been one of the most responsive registrars to work with.  They want to grow and already have the most comprehensive offer of domain names in the world.  They’ve worked hard at establishing great registry relations for many years.  Now it’s time to really go to market and show the world what a great domain industry product set they’ve developed.  I can’t wait to get started.

Since I’ve been asking others to print this, I thought I’d publish our official press release here as well. 🙂

For Immediate Release – 101Domain.com Hires Joe Alagna as VP, Channel Development

Carlsbad, CA — March 14, 2013 — 101Domain.com announced today, that Joe Alagna has joined the company as its Vice President of Channel Development.  The two have a long-standing relationship, dating back to the beginnings of Alagna’s work for CentralNic where 101domain became one of the first registrars to work with the CentralNic registry.  Alagna was formerly CentralNic’s GM for North American Markets where he played a central role in building and solidifying the registry’s North American market presence over the last 10 years through successful partnerships with registrars both large and small.

101domain is a leader in the international domain name industry and corporate brand protection solutions and is a rapidly growing force in the space, known for offering a staggering 1,500+ domain name extensions and a broad range of local presence and trustee services to both retail and corporate customers in the United States and abroad.

101domain’s COO, Anthony M. Beltran, states, “We have been hard at work rounding out our executive team to reinforce our capabilities as a global domain name registrar both in the retail and corporate brand services arenas.  Joe is a key addition to our team as we continue to focus on our customers” needs, new product development, channel partnerships, and our key relationships.  We look forward to Joe’s years of experience on the registry side of our industry as well as his unique insights on executing successful value-driven programs and products for our customers.”

 

Mr. Alagna points out, “101domain was one of my first resellers when I entered the domain name business. They’ve been steadfast about their growth and about participating in programs that brought success to both sides and to 101domain’s customers.  I’m coming into this company knowing a good bit about their culture and knowing that we’re going to be a great fit for each other.  101domain is well positioned to take advantage of new gTLDs and is already a leader in international domain name registrations.  They have the ability to assist clients in registering what will soon be over 3,000 domain name extensions around the world.  There is no one that even comes close to this capability and we are going to leverage that to our advantage.”

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Located in Carlsbad, California, 101domain.com was founded in 1999 and has become a leader in the international domain name community. 101domain offers international domain name registration, web hosting, and email services in nearly every top level domain name extension available to individuals and small and medium business customers worldwide.

In addition to its retail services, 101domain’s Corporate Brand Services division offers a full portfolio of managed services designed to secure, monitor, and enforce brand owner’s rights across the internet and throughout the world.

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ICANN CEO States New TLDs May Start as Soon as April 2013

According to ICANN CEO, Fadi ChehadéIt it looks like ICANN is getting  a more clear picture of when new gTLDs are coming out…

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