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
PremiumDomains.biz wrote about Quinstreet late last year when they acquired Insure.com for a reported $16 million. Their strategic purchase was a bold news event that captured the attention of most internet and domain name blogs.
In October of 2009, I had proposed the question for reader consideration as to what Insurance.com might fetch given that it is the ultimate premium, generic domain name for the entire insurance industry. We have the answer to that question. Exactly $35.6 million.
Quinstreet have purchased Insurance.com in what appears to be a total buyout of the domain name and related assets. This puts Quinstreet at the center of the insurance world. They have effectively bought their way into an industry that is both necessary and highly lucrative. To Quinstreet’s credit, they appear to have keen insight as to the value of a generic domain name and its power to connect with consumers.
Now I will propose another question. What would Insurance.US sell for in the open market? We now know that Insurance.com is well out of reach and has been snatched up permanently for over $30 million. This places Insurance.US front and center as one of the best domain names available for the United States insurance market.
.COM Domains, .US Domain Names
insurance, premium domains, quinstreet
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:
.BIZ Domain Names, .US Domain Names
manhattan, manhattan domain names, manhattan real estate
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.
.BIZ Domain Names, .US Domain Names
air france, airline
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
When a business is migrating their marketing and customer outreach online, they want to cover bases and establish a strong internet presence using good quality domain names.
I happened up on a great business example of domain name coverage using both .US and .com web addresses. DWI and DUI are terms well known in the legal profession, and stand for “driving while impaired” and “driving under the influence”, respectively. DWI is sometimes alternatively referred to as “driving while intoxicated”.
DWI.US and DUI.US are owned by the Houston-based legal outfit of Scheiner Law Group P.C. Either domain name typed into the browser resolves to the Scheiner Law Group website which is very well done and pleasing to the eye. Both domains are short, highly descriptive of the services offered, and certainly fit well with the .US (United States) country code domain.
Similarly, DWI.com and DUI.com are both registered to a Paul Dunham who is using these top domains to offer an online directory of DWI and DUI legal specialists across the United States. Again, within a particular tld space, you have one company reaching customers by registering all of the relevant keywords for a particular area of interest.
You sometimes see this in real estate as well in which a single realty company will register their city location ending in homes, real estate, and condos. Good idea!
Bottom line: Use quality, descriptive domain names to reach customers searching online, and to strengthen one’s internet presence & credibility.
.COM Domains, .US Domain Names
.us, dui, dwi
Neustar, who manage the .US and .biz domain name extensions, are now offering a unique .US blog and .US discussion forum for those interested in the dotUS namespace.
Neustar appear to be growing their services and raising their own profile. Their domain name registry services have been a leading product for years although Neustar are now offering web performance and risk management services too.
Forbes’ survey of the fastest growing tech firms in America placed Neustar in the Top 25 in 2009. To make the list, companies had to meet certain revenue and sales gains milestones. Neustar trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol: NSR.
My favorite .US premium domain names are United States cities. Geo domains are such good fits for the extension and provide lots of website development angles. Two cities I worked on last year were Charlotte .US and Detroit.US, both leading cities in their respective states and also with good national recognition ranking in America’s top 20 cities for population.
.US Domain Names
.biz, .us, Neustar
Couple of news items for those who follow .US and .INFO web addresses. Sedo announced that the OnlineCasinos.US domain name sold earlier this week for $9,999. Online gambling is quite popular worldwide. While laws against it exist in the USA, there remains great interest in U.S. based gambling.
Proponents of internet gambling claim government hypocrisy in that states sponsor lotteries which bring in hundreds of millions of dollars. Some states profit from gambling on horse racing while also hosting gambling casinos that bring in enormous amounts of money and which financially benefit the local economy.
Another notable .INFO sale via Sedo this past week was coupons.info which went for an impressive $17,600. Relationship.net was purchased at Snapnames for $12,950.
Neustar, who manage the .US domain space, posted an announcement on their website that they are seeking to release one and two character .US domain names. Neustar did something 
similar last year with the .BIZ (Business) top level domain which resulted in a number of five figure sales.
.INFO Domain Names, .US Domain Names
