There was an interesting post today by Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire. He wrote about having gone to visit a relative near St. Louis, Missouri and driving for some distance on I-70 away from St. Louis.

Dotted along the highway were numerous billboards owned by Porlier Outdoor Advertising. Billboard advertising has become a mainstay in the advertising world as they offer a unique opportunity for companies to reach drivers while they cruise the open road.

Of interest to me was Porlier’s use of the .BIZ domain name for their official website at www.Porlier.biz. The .biz extension was originally released and successfully branded as the official business web address of the internet. Porlier’s use of .biz is certainly a perfect fit for the .biz domain’s intended use.

The company’s billboards are focused on roads between St. Louis and Kansas City, and they have over 440 available billboards for local and national advertisers to use. Several of these are of the electronic type with colorful messages that rotate every 10 seconds.

Porlier can utilize a customer’s own creative designs or develop something unique in-house to suit a customer’s taste.

.BIZ Domain Names .biz, advertising

I have written periodically about various applications of the .biz (Business) web address having seen some impressive real life uses by different companies in North Carolina. From local florists to commercial real estate firms. From medical service providers to global retailers.

Here’s a unique one. Several days ago I viewed on a major highway close to Greensboro, NC a large billboard for ForkIt.biz. Yes, “Fork It”.  ForkIt.biz is a promotional campaign for hospitality careers in North Carolina sponsored by the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. The Association is based out of Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital city, and operates its website on NCRLA.biz. A very good .biz fit.

For the uninitiated, North Carolina is a tourist & vacation state with it’s mountains, beaches, and incredible college sports dynasties. These attractions feed the hotel, hospitality, restaurant, and general tourism industry across the state.

Another local billboard for Northstate Communications uses TurnThePages.biz to invite local businesses to switch away from their current telecom provider to North State’s communication technology.

The .biz address currently has over 2.1 million worldwide registrations.

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Another article is just out confirming that real estate sales are picking up in select markets. The New York Daily News reported that buyers have returned to New York City and are snatching up prime Manhattan apartments.

In response to price cuts, tax incentives, and great mortgage rates, buyers are going after high end residential real estate. Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group, is quoted as saying that positive, market-friendly conditions are motivating buyers.

In May through June of this year, Manhattan residential real estate logged 3600 sales. This was a 47% increase in property sales over the same time period in 2009.

The article identified oversized, three bedroom apartments as one of the hottest items on the Manhattan real estate market.

Liebman, of Corcoran, was also quoted by NY Daily News as reporting that bidding wars had returned to the New York City marketplace. Aggressive buyers drove up bidding as Manhattan real estate inventory began to move … with more than 50% of Corcoran agents getting caught in the middle of a price war.

Premium domain names of interest, include:

• NewYorkCity.biz
• Condos.biz
• Manhattan.mobi
• ManhattanRealEstate.US
• ManhattanApartments.US
• ManhattanCondos.US

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Estates.biz is a new acquisition that pairs well with Condos.biz. The Estates.biz website was created on the newly updated DevHub website development platform.

Real estate is no doubt one of the largest industries in the world. It remains perpetually exciting and relevant because owning a home represents, for most people, the single greatest financial investment of their lifetime.

Luxury estates in particular are of interest to many people as they provide not only browsing entertainment, but also a sense of awe and inspiration. PremiumDomains.biz recently wrote about world renowned architect, John B. Scholz, whose luxury home creations are literal works of art (see article here).

Estates.biz was a relatively short project taking roughly two days. This is in sharp contrast to Charlotte.US or Detroit.US which took approximately five weeks each of full time development. Those sites are highly customized and cover a broad range of content whereas Estates.biz is obviously a singular focus on the high-end luxury home market.

• To browse high quality real estate domain names, visit this link.

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The airline, Air France, currently hold the number one spot on Google for ”France flights” with their AirFrance.US website. The AirFrance.US website drew approximately 184,238 unique visitors for the month of April 2010 (source: compete.com).

The company cover 183 destinations in 98 countries, have 417 aircraft, and conduct 1700 flights daily. That’s quite an active airline. Air France, including affiliates, employ 74,320 people.

They have done an excellent job of utilizing various country codes from around the globe, and have secured nearly all of the world’s country code web addresses for their brand. In addition to offering direct ticket sales on their site for international flights, Air France provide for the booking of hotel accomodations as well.

Interestingly, the AirFrance.biz website acts as a company portal, in conjunction with Royal Dutch Airlines, for travel agents affiliated with the two companies. Another .biz domain name, AFKL.biz (Air France/KLM), delivers agents to the same portal.

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US Physical Therapy, Inc. are a leading chain of clinics providing outpatient physical and occupational therapy in 43 states. The company is publicly held and trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol USPH. Their focus is on providing post-operative care for a variety of orthopaedic and sports-related injuries.

Interestingly, the company has secured their domain name acronym, USPH, in all of the leading top level domains: .com, .biz, .us, .info, .net, and .org. It appears that each domain extension hosts USPH’s complete website (no forwarding). This insures that anyone who types in “USPH” in any of the top web addresses will land on the company’s official website.

This is a forward-thinking corporate approach that locks in the company’s online identity and effectively blocks out anyone else from using the “USPH” designation on the internet. Typically, a company’s head of marketing, or contracted marketing firm, will propose this kind of strategy to help build & expand the company’s brand in every way possible.

US Physical Therapy currently operate 372 clinics. The company is particularly well positioned in the states of Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas where they have 40 or more clinics in each of the three states. When a corporation seriously considers the importance of reaching current and future customers, establishing a powerful online presence becomes a number one priority.

.BIZ … the official business web address of the internet.

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Belgard is a leading interlocking pavers manufacturer who make high-quality materials used in the construction of beautiful walkways, driveways, gardens, pools & patio environments. You have likely seen their hardscape materials used in retaining walls and what is referred to as “outdoor rooms” often found in luxury estates.

Belgard is owned by Oldcastle who are a leading international materials company with 1900 locations and 40,000 employees worldwide.

Belgard have an extensive presence in both the United States and Canada with their products having been successfully used in thousands of residential and commercial projects.

The company are utilizing the .BIZ (Business) web address at Belgard.biz, and have designed an attractive website containing plenty of colorful photos of their many projects. Belgard have independent contractors in every state who are well versed on the various Belgard products. The company hosts ongoing training sessions across the country and provide several certifications as well as business development & expansion courses.

.BIZ Domain Names, Site Development .biz, belgard

I have been writing for some time about the corporate world gaining increased awareness of the .biz (business) web space. The trend appears to be occurring in both the United States and abroad (on a truly global basis).

A number of large corporations are operating parallel websites on both the .com and the .biz web address while some companies are solely establishing their primary website on the .biz domain. This makes sense in that dotBIZ is recognized globally for “Business”. Dotcom has the largest footprint, but is not necessarily representative of “business” on a world wide basis.

Below are examples of both international corporations operating with a .biz presence, and also a few privately held companies doing the same.

	WaveSecurities.biz – Merrill Lynch’s online financial management & investment platform.
	RBSGroup.biz – The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Huge international bank with over 40 million customers worldwide.
	Cisco.biz – Cisco Systems Inc. is a well known international computer networking giant.
	EarthLink.biz – Well known internet access company offering business solutions.
	F-16.biz – Yes, the F16 fighter jet, other F-series aircraft and a range of other hi-tech defense products.
	CorporateSuites.biz – East coast based private company who specialize in corporate office suites.
	CitizensManagementInc.biz – One of the largest service companies in the midwest. Part of the Hanover Insurance Group.
	Pepsico.biz – The Pepsi Bottling Group, the manufacturer of Pepsi-Cola beverages worldwide.
	uk-ipo.biz – The official government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the (UK) United Kingdom.
	Start.biz – The National Business Register which keep data on 10 million businesses, trademarks, and brands in the (UK) United Kingdom.
	Billboard.biz – The Music industry web portal for world famous Billboard magazine.
	BaylorCollegeofMedicine.biz – One of the leading medical schools in the United States.
	DSI.biz – A leading provider of management & consulting services offering business valuation & acquisition, forensic accounting, and corporate restructuring.
	TheNCAA.biz – The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).
	DollarCar.biz – Dollar Rent A Car Inc. was founded in 1965, has over 640 worldwide locations, is in 53 countries, and has maintained a fleet of over 185,000 vehicles in the USA & Canada.

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