The Neustar registry has created a new logo for the .US web address. The new logo contains a fitting new tagline too, “America’s Address“. The .US domain name space currently enjoys just over 1.76 million total registrations, most of which originated with U.S. businesses or U.S. citizens due to the necessity of meeting nexus requirements for United States residency or U.S. incorporation.
.US remains one of the premier web spaces for United States focused websites. While obviously appropriate for American companies & businesses, .US is often identified by foreign internet users as a default web address for the U.S. due to the popularity of two letter country codes in other parts of the world such as .cn for China or .ca for Canada.
A key selling feature of .US is its instant familiarity to American internet users, its uniquely American identity, and the ability to utilize a high-quality .US domain name as opposed to settling for an awkwardly long .com domain name alternative (see graphic above).
The dotUS logo change is good timing going into 2011, and would appear to follow the recent 
logic that dictated the .BIZ logo redesign and associated tagline “Better Name. Better Results.”
.US Domain Names
.us, Americas Address, Neustar
Much is written about attracting visitors on the world wide web. Website visitors come from many different sources such as referral links from other websites, search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing), and the holy grail of all which is direct navigation. Direct navigation traffic is valuable, and occurs when a user actually types a domain name directly into the url address bar and bypasses the search engines completely.
An article was published recently which spoke to the importance of exact match domains and their correlation with high rankings in search engines. Obviously, exact match domains mirror what the consumer is searching for and therein lies superior value.
Exact match domains also rule direct navigation. In examining last month’s traffic sources for PremiumDomains.US, the direct traffic percentage was quite revealing. An impressive 59.85% of the site’s visitors came from users typing the domain into their browser address field. As noted in the graphic above, search engines accounted for only 9.85% of visitors finding the site. Links from other sites accounted for approximately 30% of the sites traffic.
“Premium Domains” is a strong search term for those preparing to buy top quality domains for their business or for investment purposes. Having a domain name which perfectly matches a user’s query creates not only an instant identification for the consumer, but boosts consumer confidence, and creates a logical connection between their input and your output.
California.biz is a marque premium domain from the Menius Enterprises portfolio. California.biz’s monthly direct navigation traffic is currently running around 31%. This is likely lower than the corresponding .com equivalent, but the key point here is that pure generic domain names have no match in direct navigation. And even more importantly, premium generic domains have no equal when it comes to global branding and for launching high-profile websites with which consumers can instantly identify. In other words, “The name says it all.” And that … is the business of domains.
.US Domain Names
.us, direct navigation, premium domains
Good quality generic domain names in the .US web address are typically already registered. dotUS went “public” in 2002 when registration restrictions were relaxed such that any U.S. citizen or U.S. incorporated business could register available .US domain names.
As an investor and developer of the .US web space, PremiumDomains.US have assembled a portfolio of high-quality domains in America’s official web address. Below are a few nice .US domain names covering a range of industries and interests.
As a side note, for those who do not know, Neustar provide a zip code service whereby a user can type any zip code ending in .US such as www.90210.us. This service works across the entire United States and typically produces a page of local information associated with the zip code area that was searched.
.US Domain Names
.us, Neustar
Skip Hoagland is a well known geo domain developer and owner of such beauties as Atlanta.com and Portland.com. Today, Ron Jackson reported in DNJournal that Skip sold MyrtleBeach.com for $6.5 million to Intellistrand.
Not only did the deal deliver a $6.5 million payout to Skip, but he also acquired the remaining 50% interest in a number of other super premium domain properties in which he had been a 50% partner. These included Baltimore.com, Daytona.com, SouthCarolina.com, and Honolulu.com.
This is a huge domain industry news event and a very exciting illustration of geo domain relevance and power. Myrtle Beach is an extremely popular vacation destination and attracts a tremendous number of beach lovers year after year.
Skip Hoagland has one of the most prolific domain name portfolios on the planet. He is known for taking premium geo domains and then constructing functional websites around them. MyrtleBeach.com is a notable example of the synergy created when high-quality generic domain name meets content rich website.
Congratulations to Skip Hoagland. A well-earned success along the road of hard work.
.COM Domains
.com, .us, geo domains, Skip Hoagland
Joe Miller is a candidate for an Alaskan senate seat and he is using a .US domain name (www.JoeMiller.US) for his official campaign website. The website has been active for 2-3 months and is on an upward trajectory as is Joe’s public exposure and popularity.
The JoeMiller.US logo makes good use of the traditional red, white, and blue colors common to the American flag. The .US logo is prominently displayed in almost all of Joe’s campaign materials (signs, t-shirts, automobiles, website) and implies the appropriate “American” association for which .US was intended.
I have seen Joe interviewed on both CNBC and CNN in the past two days. The CNN piece in particular displayed the .US logo prominently. This type of exposure is excellent for raising the .US profile in America.
As a side note, some state governments use the .gov web address while many utilize .US. A few examples of state senate sites include:
.US Domain Names
.us, dotUS, politics
The .US web address is the official country code of the United States. While .com became a popular mainstay during the internet’s early growth period, the .US domain space became available to the general public in 2002 and is America’s web address. Some .com investors are bothered by this and are concerned that the widespread adoption of .US may threaten their .com investments eventually.
Personally, I do not feel this is the case. My position is that .com and .US will co-exist very well alongside one another. Both domains offer excellent alternatives to U.S. based corporations and individual internet users looking for a recognizable web address.
I enjoy seeing American companies embrace their .US domain name. An up and coming player in the security and surveillance market is Charlotte-based Iverify.US Inc. They are located at www.iverify.us and have already established themselves as a technology leader and fast rising local company.
Iverify.US have been covered by the Charlotte Business Journal on several occasions with the most recent article ranking Iverify as #5 on the local Charlotte Fast 50 companies. Iverify offer unrivaled in-store monitoring and 24/7 interactivity such that they can communicate instantly with both store personnel and customers.
So effective is their technology at reducing shoplifting and other store crimes that they have been awarded expanded contracts with a number of chain retail stores and private corporations. The company bought, and now occupy, a 40,000 square foot building where 185 employees work in three 8-hour shifts to provide constant video and audio surveillance monitoring for their customers.
Once again, quality American businesses utilizing the .US web address in the manner for which it was intended.
.US Domain Names
.us, Charlotte, iverify
A recent check of Sedo showed some interesting domain name sales which illustrate just how global the domain name market has become.
- Sound.ch for $7450 (.ch is the country code for Swtizerland)
- Cafe.de for $19,050 (.de is the country code for Germany)
- Pocketbook.eu for $11,993 (.eu is the county code for the European Union)
- BudgetAir.in for $20,000 (.in is the country code for India)
- Falcon.co.uk for $9183 (.co.uk is the country code for the United Kingdom)
- Finanzblick.de for $7574 (.de is the country code for Germany)
- Gezocht.nl for $24,500 (.nl is the country code for the Netherlands)
- SEO.es for $7620 (.es is the country code for Spain)
- Tech.TV for $5000 (.tv is the country code for Tuvalu, but branded for “TV”)
A recent Moniker .US domain auction produced the purchase of Flights.US for $11, 770. Another recent Moniker brokered sale was Slots.ca for $206,906 (.ca is the country code for Canada).
Also in the news was the sale of SydneyHotels.com for $100,000 by owner Rick Schwartz to a company with a network of travel focused domain names & websites. This same company own the LondonHotels.biz website among many others.
Here is an update on the growth of America’s official country code, the .US web address. Between February 2009 and the end of June 2010 (roughly 1 year and 5 months), the .US web address added 338,764 new registrations for a current total of 1,724,961 .US domain names in play. This was a remarkable 24.4% increase in registrations.
Related domain names of interest:
SydneyHotels.biz | Kolhapur.in | WestHollywood.US | ChicagoIllinois.TV
Domain Sales, Internet Domains
.us, cctld, global domain names
John B. Scholz is a world class architect and luxury home designer from Scottsdale, Arizona who has been in the business for 35 years. John followed in the footsteps of his father, Donald J. Scholz, who founded Scholz Homes in 1946.
John Scholz’s website is located on Scholz.US and showcases an incomparable & beautiful portfolio of luxury estates which John has created in his impressive architectural career. Below is a picture of Uptown Court in Surrey, England coined by MSNBC as “The Most Expensive Home For Sale In The World”.
John’s stunning home creations have been viewed around the globe including countries such as the United States, Canada, The Middle East, Eastern & Western Europe, and the Carribean.
I have been an advocate, supporter, investor, and developer of .US premium domain names for 8 years. It is fulfilling to see the dotUS web address utilized by entrepreneurs, artists, and professionals from across America. John is certainly a mega talent in the world of luxury home design. Pairing his superb talent, reputation, and name with the .US web address makes for another great business + domain name combination.
dotUS … the official country code of the United States
.US Domain Names
.us, dotUS, luxury homes
