Namesco Blog http://www.names.co.uk/blog/ The latest news and information from Namesco en-gb Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[Maximise your online inventory]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Maximise_your_online_inventory Your website is valuable online inventory!
Image of website on laptopSpace on your website is often referred to as inventory and this inventory can earn revenue from every click received, should you wish to place advertisements on your pages.

With Simply.com, Namesco’s own advertising platform we guarantee to place relevant, brand safe adverts on your site and fulfil any inventory you have. Thanks to the sophisticated targeting technology you can be sure that any ads shown will be truly relevant to your visitors and in keeping with your site.

Making money from your site has never been easier.

When deciding to place adverts on your web pages you are called a ‘publisher’, in other words you publish adverts on your site. Each time one of those ads is clicked you earn revenue, directly and securely paid to you via HSBC. You have access to your own personal login and your site's performance and earnings are clearly shown in real time.

So, what adverts will show and how are they chosen?


Diagram of Simply process
Simply uses sophisticated targeting software to essentially match the best adverts to display on your pages. These techniques are referred to as:

  • Contextual: Analyses the content of your pages

  • Yield: Looks at the historical performance

  • Behavioural: Monitors users behaviour


Simply’s unique Cluster technology then constructs groups, correlating the principles above to match the best performing ads to your site visitors, ensuring you achieve the highest click throughs and therefore earnings.

All our ads are brand safe and our advertisers have had to meet strict approval criteria so you can be sure that only safe, relevant ads are shown to your users.

How to get started?




  1. Complete the free registration and then log in from the link sent to your e-mail address

  2. In the menu, click on 'Settings', select ‘Add new site’ and complete the page with UK as your country

  3. In the same menu, select ‘Add New Tag’ and enter details for the number of ad sizes you want.

  4. Then select ‘Manage Tags’ and copy the codes generated on to your site pages


The ads will appear on your site within minutes.

And most importantly, how much does it cost?



Here is the good news, with Simply there are no sign up fees and no recurring monthly account fees. Where Simply makes its money is as a % of the click cost so every time an ad on your site receives a click, you can rest assured you have earnt from it!

Earn from your website with Simply.com today]]> Simply.com Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Maximise_your_online_inventory <![CDATA[80% say they'd trust a .UK]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/80%25_say_they%27d_trust_a_.UK Nominet, the internet registry for .uk domain names, constantly update statistics on the online landscape, and provide a study of the year in their Domain name industry report. In addition, Google commissioned the global consulting group, BCG, to help understand the UK market resulting in The Connected Kingdom: How the Internet Is Transforming the UK. Below are some highlights we found.

Trust and preferences in .uk


Chart of Trust in dotUK
When users were asked if they would choose to visit a .uk site over a .com site when presented with a search result, 80% said that they would click on the .uk website. This same question has been asked over the past four years, and the trend shows that consumers are increasingly reliant on .uk to provide a trusted environment, presenting relevant and local information. This is particularly significant for businesses wanting to attract consumers and shows that a .uk domain name is an important part of their strategy when dealing with UK consumers.

Chart of preference for .UK
Nominet also asked web visitors about preferences for .uk sites when browsing or buying products online. Again a marked preference for .uk over .com is shown in both cases. For e-commerce though 77% prefer a .uk site which is a step increase from a year ago.

With this preference comes high expectations. Consumers especially anticipate a .uk site will show prices in £'s. On the other hand, lower delivery charges from a .uk versus a .com are not expected by the majority.

Expectations of a dotUK

A nation of e-shopkeepers?


Napoleon's slur looks like a prediction when considering the digital economy. BCG's investigations showed the UK has embraced the internet and is now, per capita, the largest e-commerce market and the second largest online-advertising market globally. This is borne out in the Nominet data with over 2 million new registrations of .uk domain names in 2010.

Chart - Annual New .UK Registrations 2001 - 2010

In particular, BCG found that it is small and medium enterprise (SMEs) that are empowered by the internet. Data from the ONS showed that annual growth of online sales between 2004 and 2008 was 43% for SMEs versus 31% for businesses with 1,000+ employees. This is not limited to 'cloud' computing start ups either. Case studies include Wiggly Wigglers, selling worms online and UK tights, selling - you've guessed it - tights alongside the likes of mydeco where you can design your rooms online in 3-D.

Internet to reach 10% of UK GDP by 2015


Looking to the future, the BCG report forecats that the the Internet economy is likely to grow to 10% of UK GDP by 2015. This is significantly faster growth than other sectors of the economy and does depend on several determining factors. Consumption is seen as the biggest driver of this growth which depends on greater penetration of broadband (in line with predictions of the Economist Intelligence Unit) and that goods and travel purchased online account for 30% of online consumer's overall purchases (compared with 23% today).

In their final conclusion, BCG consider the UK to be well positioned in the Internet economy and offer some encouraging words for business, government and entrepreneurs to grasp the nettle. All in all, we think this report and the figures from Nominet are defintiely a spot of good news for all of us as we head into 2011.

Sources:

  1. Nominet: Domain name industry report 2010 and statistics

  2. The Boston Consulting Group: The Connected Kingdom: How the Internet Is Transforming the UK

]]> Mike Brunt Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/80%25_say_they%27d_trust_a_.UK <![CDATA[Beware Domain Name Poachers]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Beware_Domain_Name_Poachers
This practice is perfectly legal, but the emails are misleading and take advantage of the fact that some bigger brands find it difficult to maintain a complete view of their Domain portfolio.

A proactive approach to securing the international extensions that are in-line with your online strategy is the core message of our Domain Name Management service. Our dedicated Account Managers are fully aware it can be confusing knowing what extensions should be prioritised. We already manage the domain names of many of our clients that recognise their online brand and customer experience is a priority.

Should you find a domain is registered to a third party and it’s important to your portfolio or in breach of your Intellectual Property rights, we have a recovery team on hand that will advise you as to which options are available to you. Our acquisitions team can handle discrete negotiations with third party registrants and manage the entire process on your behalf.

So keep an eye out for emails that attempt to poach Domains which you could register and help secure your international portfolio.

We can secure all international extensions available and help recover lost domains. For further details please call 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.]]> S Ewart Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Beware_Domain_Name_Poachers <![CDATA[New Domain Extension News]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/New_Domain_Extension_News
For further details about any of the extensions below, please call our Domain name Management team on 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.

Globe showing countries

.UK Short Domain Extensions
Nominet, the .UK domain Registry recently revised the rules for domain registration and is releasing single character, 2 letter and previously reserved domains which will open up a whole new set of marketing opportunities for UK businesses and the first Sunrise period is about to close.

Our Domain Name Management account team can help you and your clients make your application. So whether you want to secure a great numerical extension like 1.co.uk or short memorable domains like bb.co.uk, get in touch today to find out more.

The Registered Rights Sunrise stage closes on 17th January 2011. Applicants must prove Intellectual Property rights and be holders of registered trademarks enforceable in the UK and provide evidence of use in the UK on or before 1 January 2008.


.EE (ESTONIA) Registrations Made Easier
We can make it easier and faster to register a .EE (Estonia) Domain by supplying you with the required local Admin-C that will enable you to secure your Domain. Get in touch to find out more.


.SO (SOMALIA) Landrush Is Coming
The Landrush period for .SO (Somalia) Domains will open on Jan 10th and run to Feb 28th 2011 without registration restrictions. Auctions will be scheduled for multiple applications from Mar 14th 2011. General availability will open on April 1, 2011 with “First come First served” principle.


.SA (SAUDI ARABIA) Sunrise Is Coming
The .SA (Saudi Arabia) Sunrise period is opening on 10th January to 7th March 2011. To register a .SA domain name in this phase, it’s necessary to own the corresponding third level domain name .com.sa (or other sub domain).

Since the .SA domain authority has changed its registration regulations, .SA Registrants must either have a local presence in Saudi Arabia or have a trademark registered in Saudi Arabia. Domain name must match either a company name or a trademark.

We can secure all international extensions available including these new addresses and help recover lost domains. For further details please call 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.]]> S Ewart Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/New_Domain_Extension_News <![CDATA[Domain Markets Growing]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Domain_Markets_Growing
New annual .UK registrations were expected to hit two million for the first time by the end of 2010 with .UK replacing China’s .CN as the world’s second largest country code Top Level Domain Registry after .DE. Strengthening the UK’s global position in this way has to be viewed as a strong indicator of the growth that the UK Internet economy can expect in coming years.

Nominet reports that 80% of consumers in the UK still prefer to use a .UK website over a .COM website -with the figure up 3% on 2009 and so consumer preference is still weighted towards a local marketing presence.

For the first time, Nominet has also considered the role on Domains in advertising and reported that 65% of UK print and television advertising now includes domain names. Unsurprisingly, a larger proportion of print adverts (83%) featured URLs than television adverts (61%) and .UK Domains were still more prevalent than .COM.

There was however a variation between .COM and .UK addresses based on publication and audience. Adverts within publications with a global audience and those promoting business-to-business goods or services showed higher percentages of .COM addresses, while UK specific titles and consumer goods were more likely to feature a .UK address.

Read the full Nominet report.

We can secure all international extensions available and help recover lost domains. For further details please call 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.]]> S Ewart Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2011/01/Domain_Markets_Growing <![CDATA[We Smashed Our Children In Need Target!]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/We_Smashed_Our_Children_In_Need_Target%21

Our target this year was to raise over £3,000 for the Children In Need appeal. We’re delighted to announce that we have absolutely smashed our target and raised a whopping £8,563!

This fantastic amount was a joint effort from our staff and our customers. All week we’ve been donating £2 from every sale received and on Friday our staff held a day of fun and games and fancy dress. This year’s fastest eating competition consisted of three contestants, a giant chocolate bar each, a plastic knife and fork and a pair of ski gloves. The results were messy. The bake sale went down a real treat, as did the personal delivery of afternoon tea to everyone’s desks by our management team.

Thanks to everyone who got involved in any way at all, we couldn’t have done it without you!]]> awright Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/We_Smashed_Our_Children_In_Need_Target%21 <![CDATA[.CO.NO Sunrise Now Open]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/.CO.NO_Sunrise_Now_Open
Please note that the domain name will consist in the registration of a .CO.NO subdomain (xxxx.co.no) by CoDNS B.V., a private company totally independent from NORid, the official Authority for the Norvegian domain name extension “.NO”. NORid is therefore not responsible for the registration or the servicing of .CO.NO subdomains by CoDNS B.V.
By ordering such a .CO.NO subdomain, you hereby accept the specificity and nature of the registration.

Launch schedule is as follows:-

Sunrise Period
• 1 Nov 2010 – 31 Jan 2011: Reserved to trademark owners only and assigned with the principles of “First come first served”.

Go Live Period
• 22 Feb 2011: Open to general public without any restrictions and assigned with the principles of “First come first served”.

We can secure all international extensions available and help recover lost domains. For further details please call 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.]]> S Ewart Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/.CO.NO_Sunrise_Now_Open <![CDATA[.SO Domains Available Soon]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/.SO_Domains_Available_Soon
The launch process takes place over 4 months before General Availability release in March 2011.

Sunrise: November 1st - November 30th, 2010
Period during which holders of Eligible Trademarks will have the opportunity to submit a corresponding Application for the registration of a Domain Name in the .SO TLD. If more than one Applicant has submitted an Application during this phase for an identical domain then this will go to auction.

Sunrise Auction: December 1st - December 15th, 2010
Auction for domains with more than one credible application.

Landrush: December 16th - February 9th, 2011
Period during which any interested party shall have the opportunity to submit one or more Applications for Domain Names that were not previously registered or applied for during the Sunrise Processes, or otherwise reserved by the Registry or Restricted by the registry. If more than one Applicant has submitted an Application during this phase for an identical domain then this will go to auction.

Landrush Auction: February 10th - February 28th, 2011
Auction for domains with more than one credible application.

General Availability: March 1st, 2011
Period following Landrush where available Domain Names can be registered on a first-come, first served basis.

We can secure all international extensions available and help recover lost domains. For further details please call 0845 363 6173 or arrange a call back.]]> S Ewart Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/.SO_Domains_Available_Soon <![CDATA[Children In Need Appeal 2010]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/Children_In_Need_Appeal_2010
We’ve just launched our Namesco JustGiving donations page and are asking our customers to help us support the appeal by donating securely in this way. We are also holding fundraising events at our offices throughout the week including getting the bosses to make the drinks all day, for a fee, and the fastest eater competition which has seen past year’s contestants munching through tins of baked beans with a toothpick!

On Friday 19th November all our staff are invited to take part in our fancy dress day, which this year is themed ‘what I wanted to be when I grew up, aged 5’. We’ll put on games, a bake sale and other activities, with all money raised going to the Children in Need Appeal.

We’d be delighted if you could help us reach our goal and improve the lives of many. Please visit our JustGiving page and donate what you can.

THANK YOU!

Namesco support Children In Need 2010]]> Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/Children_In_Need_Appeal_2010 <![CDATA[Do you know your web success?]]> http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/Do_you_know_your_web_success%3F

Measuring how successful your website is proving to be is essential to getting the best out of your web presence. Piwik, one of our 100+ Free 1-click Installs provides detailed reports on your website traffic via a modular drag-and-drop, dashboard style interface. Available on all our Linux hosting packages, Piwik aims to be an open source alternative to Google Analytics.

Benefits



  • All visitor statistics are available to you and stored in your own MySQL database - not 'in the cloud'

  • Modular drag-and-drop dashboard interface

  • Extensive API for querying visitor data


How it works


Piwik works in a similar fashion to Google Analytics: you add your website to it, output a piece of code (Javascript) and then insert this code into your website pages. The reports run in real time, so you should start seeing visitor data as soon as you have added the tracking code to the page.

Interface


Piwik Dashboard

The interface itself is slick and easy to use without any clutter; if you have used Google Analytics before then the dashboard layout will feel familiar. The dashboard is widget based and you can drag and drop modules around, so you can customise it as you wish by removing the modules that you don't want and adding those that you do.

Reports


You can output reports in various formats such as charts, graphs or tag clouds and switch between them in a couple of clicks. Data can be exported as CSV, TSV (for MS Excel) XML, JSON, PHP or as an RSS feed. A nice feature (especially for SEO) is that you can set up daily, weekly or monthly automated email reports that include a PDF of the reports
that you specify - perfect for keeping your clients (or your boss ;) ) in the loop.

Piwik User Settings


Plugins


Piwik provides a bunch of different APIs that you can use for querying the visitor data collected. There is also extensive documentation at the Piwik developer zone, so as long as you know a bit of PHP you can quickly get started.

Support


Support is provided through an active forum and there is also an FAQ on their website.

How to install


It just takes a couple of seconds to install with 1-Click - you can search for it or find it under Polls and Surveys in the 1-Click section of your Online Control Panel]]> Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.xsession.com/blog/2010/11/Do_you_know_your_web_success%3F